Derrick Williams Finally Comfortable
- Derrick Williams has finally put aside the pressure of being the second player drafted in 2011 and has found a home with the Knicks, writes Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com. “This league is about opportunity, situation and timing – those three things right there,” Williams said. “And if you have good opportunity, situation is right, and the time is right on point, you can’t be stopped.”
Isola: Porzingis Ought To Be Shut Down
- Knicks rookie power forward Kristaps Porzingis should be shut down the rest of the season, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News opines. Porzingis, who has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, must be handled with care because he’s a franchise-altering talent, Isola continues. Selecting Porzingis in the lottery is the only home run that Phil Jackson has hit as team president, Isola adds.
Grant, Galloway Benefit From Youth Movement
- The Knicks will lean on their younger players the rest of the season, including a backcourt of rookie Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway, according to Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Grant made his first start while Galloway had a team-high 18 points in a win over the Nets on Friday. “If things are going well with the young guys, we’ll keep extending their minutes, giving them as much time as possible,” interim coach Kurt Rambis told Kerber and other members of the New York media. “And [the veterans] were all OK with that.”
Porzingis To Attract Free Agents?
The Knicks‘ Kristaps Porzingis could be the rare young player who affects decisions in the free agent market, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski claims. In a video response to a reader’s question, Wojnarowski said Porzingis has a clear path toward becoming an All-Star. “Elite free agents generally aren’t as interested in young talent as they are veteran, winning talent in its prime,” Wojnarowski said. “But Kristaps Porzingis of the Knicks is an exception. He’s far more and will be far more intriguing to free agents than say, the Lakers’ young core.”
Execs Have Maintained Afflalo Likely To Opt Out
Executives around the league believed Arron Afflalo was likely to turn down his $8MM player option for next season with the Knicks even before the shooting guard and interim coach Kurt Rambis began publicly disagreeing about whether they discussed Afflalo’s benching, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Afflalo’s choice is key since the team would have the cap flexibility necessary to chase middle-tier max free agents if he opts out, Begley notes. Afflalo and teammate Derrick Williams must decide on their player options no later than June 22nd, the day before the draft.
- The Knicks have recalled Cleanthony Early from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). Early has made only one 19-second appearance at the NBA level since he was injured in a December shooting.
Afflalo Upset With Bench Role
The Knicks‘ decision to switch him to a reserve role isn’t sitting well with Arron Afflalo, who now appears all but assured to opt out of his deal for 2016/17 and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Afflalo took to his personal Instagram account to voice his displeasure, writing, “Two years of just control what you can control right?… while making years of growth appears as if it has just stopped. Yeah, OK. 10th year coming up and this time around that [expletive] won’t be forgotten.’’
- Afflalo refutes Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis‘ account that the two had a discussion about the benching, emphatically stating that there was no miscommunication between the pair and that no conversation occurred, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “There’s no breakdown in communication,” Afflalo said. “We never had the communication. …I don’t know why he would say there was a conversation.”
Knicks, David Lee Spoke About Potential Deal
The Knicks and David Lee had talks about a would-be reunion while Lee was in the midst of a buyout with the Celtics earlier this season, as Lee said today to reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post and Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter links). Lee instead wound up signing with the Mavericks on a deal that gave him more than $2MM for the rest of this season. The Knicks, who are limited to the prorated minimum salary, couldn’t have paid him that much. Still, the veteran big man is poised to become a free agent this summer, when he’ll ostensibly have another chance to join the Knicks, the team for which he played his first five NBA seasons.
Lee was one of the players in an apparent trade proposal involving Carmelo Anthony that would have sent Lee from the Celtics to the Knicks last month. The Celtics and Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, cooperated to try to find a new home for the two-time All-Star, but the buyout path proved more lucrative than a trade would have been. Lee gave up just $458,575 in the buyout, much less than Dallas is paying him on his new contract.
The thought of returning to the Warriors has crossed Lee’s mind, but he was ineligible to sign with Golden State during the buyout period because the team traded him to Boston just this past summer. He’ll be able to rejoin the Warriors as soon as July if he wants, but he recently told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he’d moved past any thought of returning to the Bay Area, and he’s spoken on multiple occasions about his contentment with Dallas.
The Mavs will have only Non-Bird rights on Lee, sharply limiting their ability to go over the cap to re-sign him, though Dallas, like the Knicks, will have the chance to open plenty of cap room in the summer ahead. The same isn’t true of the Warriors, who already have $73MM in guaranteed salary commitments with Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli headed for restricted free agency.
Arron Afflalo Says Reserve Role Will Influence Option Decision
- Knicks shooting guard Arron Afflalo isn’t thrilled with interim coach Kurt Rambis‘ decision to bring him off the bench and indicated that his role will influence his decision-making process this offseason, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Afflalo has a player option worth $8MM for the 2016/17 campaign. “It’s different, but all I can do is get out there and try my best,’’ Afflalo said. “With seven games to go, I’ll be able to assess what’s best for me as a player. Right now I got to do what the team asks me and play the minutes and role they ask me. Hopefully I’ll have more good games than bad.’’ The veteran also added that he doesn’t expect his role to change before the season ends, Berman notes. “I doubt it. It doesn’t matter to me at this point,” Afflalo said. “If things go well, I have intentions of it going well, [but] if not, I will move on to the next.’’
Knicks, Wroten Work Out Complex Guarantee Structure
- Tony Wroten‘s minimum-salary pact with the Knicks is non-guaranteed for next season, but a $25K partial guarantee kicks in if he’s still under contract at the end of October 1st, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That partial guarantee would increase to $125K if he sticks through opening night and jump to $345K if he makes it through December 15th, Pincus also shows.
Revived Porzingis Helps Rambis; Galloway Still In Plans
- Kristaps Porzingis has broken out of his slump, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post examines, and the numbers show he’s putting up essentially the same sort of production under Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis as he did under the fired Derek Fisher, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. That dismisses one of the arguments against the team removing the interim tag from Rambis’ title, Begley suggests.
- The Knicks have reportedly given up on the idea of Langston Galloway as a point guard, but Rambis insists the team is still high on the soon-to-be free agent, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone relays. New York can make him a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of about $1.18MM. “We like his defense, we like his ability to organize and execute our offense,” Rambis said. “We just continue to challenge him to broaden his game . . . He’s just not playing at his best right now.”