New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Triangle, Free Agents

April 9th, 2016 at 9:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Carmelo Anthony would like the Knicks to have more roster continuity from season to season, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “I think that’s the most important part, just having some type of consistency, just a group of guys being together for a period of time and not just rotating in and out each year,” Anthony said. Bondy pointed out that Anthony has had over 70 different teammates and four different coaches since coming to New York.

Here’s more from the city that never sleeps:

Anthony believes the triangle won’t work in New York unless there is more continuity on the Knicks‘ roster, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I don’t think guys can learn the [triangle] system right away being here for only a couple of months and then we rotate guys in and out,” Anthony said. “Guys need to be together for a long period of time in order for us to learn the system, master the system.”
Anthony wants to be involved in courting free agents this summer and sees free agency as a huge opportunity for the Knicks, Iannazzone passes along in the same piece. “If you have an opportunity to make additions in free agency you should take advantage of that,” Anthony said. “I think every team wants to better themselves during free agency.”

Anthony Wants To Be Involved In Free Agent Recruiting

April 8th, 2016 at 8:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony is adamant about being part of the Knicks‘ free agent recruiting efforts this summer after being excluded from the process by team president Phil Jackson last offseason, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Post scribe also notes that if New York strikes out in free agency this summer, all bets are off regarding Anthony’s willingness to remain with the team through another season of rebuilding.

Knicks Notes: Fisher, Jackson, Wroten

April 8th, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Knicks coach Derek Fisher took some digs at team president Phil Jackson this week, saying that the Zen Master still has much to learn about being an executive, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I think a lot of people forget about Phil because of history within the game of basketball — one of the greatest basketball minds, coaches we’ve ever seen — there’s an assumption that he’s supposed to know what to do in every situation,” Fisher said during an appearance on NBA TV. “He’s also still learning as an executive, as a president of an organization, which is completely different than coaching. My assumption, without assuming, is there was a lot of learning he had to do and we all had to do while working together. … I think Phil is still settling in, but organization-wide, they are still settling in as to who the Knicks are in their DNA.’’

Fisher also noted that Carmelo Anthony is on board with being part of the team’s rebuilding process, Berman adds. “From what I learned from coaching and being with Carmelo is that he wants to win, but he’s also willing to work with younger players and allow the development process to happen,’’ Fisher said. “He was happy with Kristaps Porzingis’ development.”

Here’s more from New York:

Interim coach Kurt Rambis told reporters that Fisher was lax in teaching Knicks players the triangle offense and that he and the other coaches are playing catch-up in implementing the system, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “If you want to learn something and truly learn something, you have to immerse yourself in it. That probably goes for about anything,” Rambis said. “We didn’t fully immerse ourselves into practicing it, developing it, learning how to work with it, going through the breakdown drills to execute it properly. We kind of skirted over things. So the real learning process of it didn’t have enough time to take place. We also didn’t allow the players the kind of time that it needs to allow them to get comfortable with it.“
Tony Wroten won’t suit up for the Knicks this season, but he asserts that he will be the team’s starting point guard in 2016/17, Berman relays in a separate piece. “Without a doubt, without a doubt,’’ Wroten told Berman when asked if he believes he will start next season. “I’m working hard. That’s what I want to be. That’s my mindset from here on out. I want to help my team, and I feel I can help them and learn from them in practice now. [I can learn from] watching Carmelo [Anthony], Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway, Kevin Seraphin. They brought me in like family. I’m already comfortable with the team and I haven’t played a game yet or practiced. So I’m definitely excited.”

Playing Time In Final Games Will Have Financial Consequences For Langston Galloway

April 8th, 2016 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

Langston Galloway, Knicks — Galloway is 60 minutes shy of 2,000, the number he needs to hit the starter criteria and lift his qualifying offer from $1,180,431 to $2,725,003. The Knicks have three games left, and he’s averaged 22.5 minutes per game since the beginning of March, so this one could come down to the wire.

Carmelo Anthony Wants Input On Next Coach

April 7th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony desires a say in the Knicks‘ future personnel decisions, including the selection of the next head coach, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I think you have to. I think you have to have some type of input, whether it’s input or dialogue, whatever word that you want to use,” Anthony said. “I think you have to have that. I think at this point it needs to be some type of connection, some type of communication. Especially if we want to right this ship, there definitely needs to be some type of communication.” The small forward added that he hasn’t had any discussions with team president Phil Jackson or other members of the front office about who should coach the team next season, Begley notes.

Rambis, who is reportedly Jackson’s preferred choice to coach the Knicks in 2016/17, said he would relish the opportunity to have the interim tag removed from his title, Begley relays in the same piece. “It would be fantastic,” Rambis said. “I want to be a head coach in this league. This is a great franchise; it’s a terrific city, fan base. It would be a thrill beyond thrills in order to take this situation from where it was when we all first came here and turn it into a situation where it’s extremely promising and we have a chance to get in the playoffs and do well in the playoffs and get this city and this organization a potential championship. That’s a goal, and that would be a tremendous thrill.“

Patrick Ewing Hopes To Land Interview For Coaching Position

April 6th, 2016 at 5:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hornets assistant coach Patrick Ewing hopes to secure an interview this summer for the Knicks head coaching position, though he isn’t banking on landing the job, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Audio link). “Naturally, I’d love to be back in New York,’’ Ewing said. “I still have a home there in the offseason. I still get to go back there. My kids are still in that area. I guess it’s not meant to be. I’m happy where I am in Charlotte. It is my goal to be a head coach. If the Knicks called me and offered me a position and gave me an interview, I think it would be great. I’ve played there. I’ve been one of their best players. My number is in the rafters. I think it would be a great fit.’’ Interim coach Kurt Rambis is reportedly team president Phil Jackson‘s preferred choice to lead the team next season.

Rubio Says GM Told Him He Was Almost Traded

April 6th, 2016 at 2:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ricky Rubio says Timberwolves GM Milt Newton told him the team “almost traded” him at the deadline but didn’t because the right offer didn’t come, but Newton dismissed that notion, saying the point guard might have misinterpreted their conversation, as both relayed in interviews with Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Reports indicated the Wolves engaged in trade talk regarding Rubio before the February deadline with the Bucks and, to a lesser degree, the Knicks. Milwaukee turned down an offer of Rubio and a protected 2016 first-round pick for Khris Middleton, while Minnesota rejected a counterproposal of Michael Carter-Williams for Rubio, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.

“When the GM comes to you and says that’s what happened, it hurts, but you’ve got to be professional,” Rubio said. “You’ve been here all your career and thinking they were supporting you. At some point, they weren’t. But I’m professional. I’m going to give it my all. I love playing basketball and every time I step on the court I want to win.”

Newton told Krawczynski he would try to communicate more often with Rubio and said he’s already sought the point guard’s input on possible moves. The GM, to whom the Wolves have committed through at least the summer, called Rubio “extremely valuable to the organization,” as Krawczynski notes.

“I told him we’ve never, ever called another team to trade you, but it is my job to listen,” Newton said. “I even shared that with his agent. I never told him we almost traded you, because we didn’t almost trade him.”

Knicks See Ujiri As Potential Jackson Successor?

April 6th, 2016 at 10:38am CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks owner James Dolan is exploring potential successors for team president Phil Jackson, with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believed to be among them, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News indicates and as fellow Daily News scribe Stefan Bondy confirms via Twitter. Jackson can opt out of his contract after next season. The Zen Master is currently pushing for a new multiyear deal for Kurt Rambis that would remove the interim tag from his head coaching title, sources tell Marc Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Dolan confidant Irving Azoff supports Jackson and is close with Rambis, according to Isola, who points out that Azoff also has ties to Ujiri. Former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, who brought Ujiri to the Raptors, is a business partner of Azoff, Isola notes.

It would be no shock for Ujiri to become heavily sought after given his success with Toronto, which has already set a franchise record with 52 wins this season and is poised to enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and in Denver, where Ujiri’s final team also set a franchise record with 57 wins. Still, it remains to be seen whether he would have interest in leaving the Raptors for New York, particularly given the strong pull he felt toward the Toronto organization when he left the Nuggets. Plus, his Raptors contract runs for two more years, Isola points out.

Jackson, 70, has been vague about whether he intends to finish the five-year contract he signed to run the Knicks in 2014, though comments he made last month seemed to indicate he doesn’t intend to go anywhere soon. People close to him even reportedly raised the idea he would coach on a part-time basis next season, though Jackson shot that idea down.

Instead, Jackson appears ready to formally give the coaching job to Rambis, an outcome Jackson has reportedly hoped for ever since naming Rambis interim coach in February. New York is just 8-16 since firing former coach Derek Fisher, and sources indicated to Marc Berman of the New York Post that Fisher drew more respect from Knicks players than Rambis does. Carmelo Anthony has said he’d like Jackson to at least listen to other candidates for the head coaching job.

Knicks Encouraged By Play of Grant, Galloway

April 5th, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks are encouraged by the recent play of Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway, who are being paired together in the backcourt more frequently as the season winds down, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. While the duo has been far from perfect, the signs of progress have given the coaching staff hope for next season, Kerber adds. “They do some good things, and they do some not-so-good things,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said. “A lot of it is when you’re in that guard position, you’ve got to be able to … assess situations. In terms of their defense, their mobility, we like their size, we like their length, so it can be a problem for other teams when we have that sort of length in the backcourt.”

Knicks Sense Walton Not Ready To Leave Warriors

April 5th, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks increasingly sense that Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton won’t leave Golden State for a head coaching job this summer, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Knicks team president Phil Jackson is in contact with Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, who used to play for the Zen Master, and Jackson isn’t impressed with Tom Thibodeau, who worked for Paxson as Bulls coach, Berman writes. The Post scribe also implies Jackson isn’t about to go out of his way to hire former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, leaving few options other than interim coach Kurt Rambis, whom Berman hears is closer with Jackson than just about any coach is with his boss and allows Jackson the level of input he’s longed for. However, Knicks players don’t respect Rambis as much as they did former coach Derek Fisher, sources indicated to Berman.