New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Seek Backcourt Help

December 18th, 2015 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

Some within the Knicks front office recently said they’re interested in adding a young scorer or a shooter to the backcourt, sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Still, New York isn’t near any significant move and don’t intend to bring in anyone who would significantly impinge upon their future cap flexibility, Begley also hears.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson apparently likes Jimmer Fredette, Begley writes, but the former 10th overall pick who’s playing for New York’s D-League team said in the days following his initial arrival to the Westchester Knicks roster that he hadn’t heard from Jackson or coach Derek Fisher. Ticket sales, and not strictly Fredette’s on-court ability, fueled the team’s decision to select Fredette in the D-League draft, as Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote at the time.

Few Knicks players are thought of as all that valuable on the trade market, a group that includes only Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez, Begley writes. Carmelo Anthony is presumably part of that group, too, but the Knicks have given no indication that they’ve thought about trading him, according to Begley. Anthony has a no-trade clause.

New York reportedly expressed interest in Jamal Crawford this summer, and the Clippers have apparently surveyed interest in him around the league in recent weeks. The Timberwolves have apparently made Kevin Martin available in trade discussions, though it’s unclear if the Knicks are eyeing him, and he has a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, a number that could cut into cap flexibility. Brandon Jennings is on an expiring contract, but he’s only now returning from a torn Achilles tendon and Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said a few days ago that he’d yet to have a single trade conversation about him with other teams.

The Knicks have more than $55MM in guaranteed salary for next season. The team also has an open roster spot, giving them a measure of flexibility most of the league doesn’t have.

Who do you think the Knicks should target? Comment to share your ideas.

Atlantic Notes: Afflalo, Porzingis, Marshall

December 18th, 2015 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Arron Afflalo‘s ability to score and his smooth transition to the triangle offense have proven him an effective offseason addition for the Knicks, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Still, Afflalo’s time in New York could be short-lived, since he can turn down a player option worth $8MM and hit free agency again next summer.

“He’s been really valuable,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “He has that attacking, aggressive mindset that is contagious. You need guys on the floor who have to play in the moment, willing to make the plays and take the shots.’’

See more on the Knicks amid our check around the Atlantic Division:

The Afflalo signing, as well as the team’s deals with several other veterans, came with the stewardship of Kristaps Porzingis in mind, Fisher said, as Berman details in a separate piece. One of the moves Fisher mentioned was the surprise addition of Sasha Vujacic, Berman notes. “That was a big part of why we specifically went after certain guys in free agency — Robin [Lopez], Arron, guys who can provide that type of leadership and example,’’ Fisher said.
Soon-to-be free agent Tony Wroten and offseason signee Kendall Marshall are returning to health for the Sixers, but they’re not a seamless fit, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News examines.
The Raptors‘ bench has underwhelmed this season, and beyond replacing free agent signee Luis Scola in the starting lineup with Patrick Patterson, Eric Koreen of The National Post suggests a trade for a veteran scorer. Toronto doesn’t have much in the way of mid-level salaries to spare for an easy swap, but it does have extra draft assets, Koreen writes.
Still, the Toronto organization doesn’t regret letting Lou Williams leave in free agency over the summer, and while the Raptors‘ bench scoring has fallen drastically, the team’s reserves still have a positive net rating thanks to the front office’s intended defensive upgrades, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

And-Ones: Grant, LaVine, D-League

December 15th, 2015 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said during a live chat on Lakers.com (h/t to Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times) that the team has no immediate plans to make any trades. “The trade deadline’s not for a couple of months. We’ll sit and monitor our team — make calls, take calls, see where where we are a month from now,” Kupchak said. “If something comes up that we think will help us down the road, we’ll look at it.” Here’s more from around the league:

Knicks coach Derek Fisher doesn’t want rookie point guard Jerian Grant to take his first game not in the Knicks lineup to heart, and says that learning to deal with adversity will be good for the young player, Fred Kerber of The New York Post writes. “For your entire career there are going to be [these] ups and downs that can break you or make you,” Fisher said. “When the opportunity comes back around, you capitalize, and that shows a level of professionalism and sustainability that as a young player you have to develop. So there isn’t anything he’s doing wrong, it’s just night to night I’m going with what fits best.”
Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell wants to get Zach LaVine more minutes but he is finding it difficult because of the team’s depth at the position, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “We have Kevin Martin, who has to play,” Mitchell said regarding the calls for LaVine to have an increased role. “We have Shabazz Muhammad, who has to play. And so, I understand when everybody is sitting there and tweeting and blogging about it. But come put my shoes on. It doesn’t work like that. We have a team. We have a cohesive locker room. And we have to keep it that way. Eventually, all this stuff gets worked out. Until it gets worked out, it’s my job to manage the minutes, manage the egos and keep everyone playing at as high a level as possible.”
The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis and Cameron Payne to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Huestis’ sixth stint with the Blue on the season and Payne’s second.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Porzingis, Zeller

December 13th, 2015 at 7:11pm CST by Will Joseph

Kyrie Irving is ready to play, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, but Cavs coach David Blatt told reporters the star point guard won’t see the court Tuesday. Despite Irving practicing well and looking good, according to Blatt, the Cavs prefer to use extreme caution with Irving, McMenamin details. While it was reported that Irving would play before January, a Cavs source told McMenamin that the he wouldn’t mind if Irving sat out until February if it meant Irving’s chances of being healthy for an extended playoff run would increase.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Cody Zeller, whom the Hornets exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option in November, is thriving in the role of center after playing his first two years in the league as a power forward, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
Kristaps Porzingis has likely hit a rookie wall, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. The Knicks‘ European sensation went scoreless for the first time in his NBA career on Saturday and finished a three-game road trip with averages of 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 24% shooting, Bondy writes. Porzingis played in only 50 games last season in Spain over nearly seven months, and he is already more than halfway toward reaching his minutes total from last season, according to Bondy.

Atlantic Notes: D’Antoni, Thomas, Knicks

December 13th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Will Joseph

Sixers head coach Brett Brown said the franchise reaching out to Mike D’Antoni is unrelated to last week’s hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. What’s more, Brown said the team has been thinking about adding a veteran coach “for a while,” Pompey relays. Of course, and as Pompey points out, Colangelo and D’Antoni have a history together. Colangelo is the former Suns owner and D’Antoni went 253-156 in five seasons as the Suns coach. The Sixers confirmed reports that they are talking to D’Antoni about joining the team as an associate head coach, Pompey notes.

“This is a good thing,” Brown said in regards to D’Antoni, per Pompey. “That name is a good thing. How could that not be a good thing?”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics have been a different team since the arrival of Isaiah Thomas in last February’s trade deadline and the point guard is emerging as a possible all-star this season, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Boston owns a .627 winning percentage in his Thomas’ first 51 games in Boston, according to Forsberg. After making only one start last season with the Celtics, Thomas has started 21 times this year and is averaging 20.8 points per game.
In order to turn their season around, the Knicks need more out of Carmelo Anthony despite the star coming off surgery, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. Bondy compares Anthony to Rajon Rondo of the Kings because they are both polarizing figures, and writes that Anthony needs to have the kind of season that Rondo is experiencing before Kristaps Porzingis becomes the clear face of the franchise.
Kendall Marshall, who played in his first game of the season Friday night, should provide the Sixers stability at the point guard position with his ability to take care of the ball and 3-point shooting, Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com details.

Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Whiteside, Johnson

December 13th, 2015 at 11:58am CST by ChrisCrouse

Kristaps Porzingis is having an outstanding rookie season and Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News argues that the Knicks are becoming his team. While Lupica admits that Carmelo Anthony is the current star and face of the franchise, Porzingis’ play will allow him to carry the team sooner than later. The 20-year-old is averaging 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds, while shooting 35.4% from downtown in 27.3 minutes per game this season.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Although it will only take one team to offer him a max contract, Hassan Whiteside‘s market value may have been overstated, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines in his latest mailbag. Winderman points out that it seems the Heat are not fully committed to making Whiteside a focal point, citing the team’s reluctance to keep him in the game late in the fourth quarter.
While the possibility of trading for Joe Johnson seems unlikely for the Bulls due to the veteran’s $24.89MM salary, if the 34-year-old agrees to a buyout with the Nets, Chicago would be a logical landing spot, Sam Smith of NBA.com argues in his latest mailbag. Smith is merely speculating, as there has been no indication that Johnson or Brooklyn would pursue a buyout.
The Pistons have assigned Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard to the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to their Twitter feed. Terry Foster of the Detroit News reported on Saturday that Dinwiddie might be sent down to the D-League today.

And-Ones: ‘Outperformers,’ Bryant, Dinwiddie

December 12th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four Western Conference players join Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis on an “Outperform” Team compiled by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. The columnist honors the players who have most exceeded expectations during the first quarter of the season. The other team members are the Kings‘ Rajon Rondo, the Warriors‘ Stephen Curry, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki and Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant addressed his relationship with former teammate Dwight Howard after tonight’s loss in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together was to get him to play his best basketball,” Bryant said. “That involves pushing buttons.” Their rocky relationship was believed to be part of the reason Howard left Los Angeles for the Rockets in 2013.
Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie may be headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Sunday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. A slump and injuries have reduced Dinwiddie’s playing time, and he has dropped behind Steve Blake in the point guard mix. Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy suggested that Dinwiddie might benefit from increased minutes in Grand Rapids. “We have tried to use the D-League a little bit so he gets some game time,” Van Gundy said. “I think he has to take advantage of every opportunity he’s got to work and get better.”
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced via press release. Huestis has played in seven games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.57 blocks.

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: New York Knicks

December 12th, 2015 at 5:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the New York Knicks:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $67,964,567*
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $67,964,567

*Note: This amount includes Arron Afflalo‘s player option worth $8,000,000 and Derrick Williams‘ player option, which is worth $4,598,000.

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, New York would have approximately $21,035,433 in cap space, or $27,035,433 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

New York will also need to make decisions regarding Cleanthony Early and Langston Galloway, both of whom are eligible to become restricted free agents next summer. If the Knicks wish to retain the right to match any offer sheets the two players were to receive the team would need to submit qualifying offers to both, with Early’s being worth $1,180,431 and $1,180,431 for Galloway. Galloway could bump his figure up to $2,725,003 if his playing time remains steady, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron noted. Those numbers would merely be placeholders until the players either inked new deals or signed their qualifying offers, which would then set them up for unrestricted free agency the following offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Atlantic Notes: Hollins, Stevens, Lopez

December 12th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets coach Lionel Hollins seemingly turned a compliment Stephen Curry gave point guard Jarrett Jack into a negative, Fred Kerber of The New York Post writes. Responding to Curry’s praise of Jack’s vocal leadership when the two were teammates in Golden State, Hollins said, “Did Stephen Curry say it? When Stephen Curry speaks, everybody listens … so it must be right. I see the same thing. Here’s the deal. Too much is made of leadership. Everybody should be a leader on the court.”

“Leadership comes by you going out there and doing your job to the best of your ability as hard as you can consistently. You do that, people are going to follow you. Then the great players lead by their ability to score the ball, and people follow them because they know that they can help them win,” Hollins continued. “The worst kind of leadership is that ‘Rah-rah, come on, everybody.’ To me, that’s just annoying people. I think leadership is like, ‘OK, somebody’s missed two or three, don’t worry about it, I got you, I’m going to come back to you again.’”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The strong play of Knicks rookie big man Kristaps Porzingis may force coach Derek Fisher to shift center Robin Lopez to the bench, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Lopez, who has struggled this season after signing a four-year, $54MM deal this past summer, notes his slow start is due to adjusting to the triangle offense, Berman notes. “Defensively, that’s been pretty consistent,’’ Lopez said. “I’ve always been able to fall back on that. Offensively I’m trying to figure things out. How much I’m expected to score? What am I expected to do when I catch the ball in the post? Now I’m getting more comfortable, starting to realize what the role is.’’
Brad Stevens has molded the Celtics into one of the NBA’s toughest defensive teams despite the lack of a true rim-protector, Brett Koremenos of RealGM writes in his analysis of the team’s improvement.

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Brown, Joseph

December 10th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown has already developed a solid relationship with new team executive Jerry Colangelo, who was officially hired on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. When asked how often he communicates with Colangelo, Brown responded, “All the time. I think for me to be able to call upon somebody like him and say, what do you think of that, is a priceless sounding board for me. I love it. I respect his history. When answers come out you immediately respect the history of which that opinion was formed. It’s amazing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is frustrated by the team’s struggles this season and isn’t hiding his displeasure, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. “Losing is frustrating,” Anthony said. “I don’t want this to be an ongoing situation or an ongoing feeling where we have to come into the locker room and explain why we’re losing basketball games.” Anthony is also upset with New York’s pace of play, and wants the team to increase its tempo, a team source tells Begley. “He [Anthony] felt like they were stuck in the half court too much,” the source told the ESPN scribe.
The Raptors are hoping to imitate the long-term success of the Spurs as an organization, which is one reason why Toronto signed Cory Joseph this past offseason, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “You can’t go through a program like that, I don’t care what program you are with in college or the pros, if you’re from a successful program some of those habits come away with you,” said coach Dwane Casey of Joseph. “That’s why bringing a guy in like that from a winning program, that’s won a championship, knows what it takes to win. Those qualities have rubbed off on him.“
The Celtics have once again assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s sixth trek to Maine this season, as our tracker shows.