New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Rumors: Okafor, Russell, Bledsoe

June 21st, 2015 at 10:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Team president Phil Jackson has given up hope that Duke’s Jahlil Okafor will fall to the Knicks with the No. 4 pick in Thursday’s draft, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Jackson doesn’t talk much to other teams, Berman notes, but he has a connection to the Lakers through fiancée and team co-owner Jeanie Buss. Los Angeles holds the second pick and is believed to be interested in the Duke center. The Knicks have not held a workout with Okafor.

There’s more draft news from New York City:

In the same article, Bobby Marks, who spent 20 years as an executive with the Nets, says the Knicks should celebrate if Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell is available at No. 4. “I don’t look at him as a young kid who could take a couple years,’’ Marks said. “Put him on the court right now and let him play. If he fell to 4, you take him, unplug your phone and call it a night.’’ Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Okafor are widely expected to be the first two players selected. Up third are the Sixers, who reportedly are considering Latvian Kristaps Porzingis as well as Russell. Berman writes that another team, such as Orlando, could trade up to take Porzingis, which would also benefit the Knicks.
New York is giving serious consideration to trading its first-round pick, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The Knicks reportedly aren’t sold on any of the talent available after Towns, Okafor and Russell and think they can do just as well if they trade down in the draft. “This is a draft that everybody feels like, in the lottery, from 1 through 14, there’s really good players, and a lot of good players that will be there in the later part of the first round, too,” Jackson said. “History tells us that 1 through 10 usually indicates that you’re going to get a starter at some level.”
The Knicks should try to move the No. 4 pick to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe, writes Jeff Jarboe of Foxsports.com. Bledsoe signed a five-year, $70MM contract with Phoenix last summer after months of contentious negotiations.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Winslow, Knicks

June 20th, 2015 at 9:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers own the No. 3 selection in Thursday’s draft and Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are expected to be off the board by the time Philly picks. Tom Moore of Calkins Media speculates what the team will do should either big man fall to them. If the draft goes as expected, the Sixers will most likely choose between D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay, who I opined should be the selection in the franchise’s Offseason Outlook. Moore notes that the team could easily trade down in the draft or make some other unexpected move, citing GM Sam Hinkie‘s unconventional approach in the past.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division

The Sixers have worked out Justise Winslow, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The forward should be an impact defender for a team right away, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors explains in his Prospect Profile of the forward.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines the journey that Winslow has taken through high school and college to become a surefire lottery selection. Winslow is reportedly the “leader in the clubhouse” to be taken by the Knicks with their No. 4 overall pick. Scarito has Winslow going to New York in his latest Mock Draft.
The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky and Joshua Smith in addition to working out Trey Lyles and Kevon Looney yesterday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

And-Ones: NBPA, Hackett, Stoudemire

June 20th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The way teams discuss their own pending restricted free agents is under fire from the National Basketball Players Association, which has officially taken the position that the traditional “we’ll match any offer” comments so often made by NBA executives are a circumvention of the salary cap in their intent to discourage potential rival bidders, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. The league had issued a memo back in November warning teams that, while the NBA itself doesn’t agree with the NBPA’s stance on the matter, league officials see enough potential merit in the union’s stance to advise those who continue with match-any-offer comments that they could be opening themselves up to legal action, Stein notes.

The ESPN scribe’s sources informed him that this impetus stems from Klutch Sports agents Rich Paul and Mark Termini, who urged the NBPA to challenge the way that teams have historically dropped none-too-subtle hints about their plans to match offers in an attempt to depress the market for restricted free agents. This movement stems from the willingness of new NBPA head Michele Roberts to aggressively speak up for the players, Stein adds. It’s not too surprising to see Paul and Termini at the center of this, given that they represent Eric Bledsoe, whose restricted free agency dragged on for months last year after the Suns pledged to match any offer. The duo also represent Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Norris Cole, all of whom could become restricted free agents this offseason.

Here’s more from around the league:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire said that he’d love to return to the Mavericks next season, but is also potentially interested in returning to play for the Suns or Knicks, Jared Zwerling of BleacherReport tweets.
Euroleague guard Daniel Hackett intends to void his contract with Emporio Armani Milano in order to pursue an NBA contract, David Pick of Eurobasket.com relays (Twitter link). The 27-year-old out of USC went undrafted back in 2009.
The Blazers held workouts on Friday for Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), Seth Gearhart (Rice), Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern), Dakari Johnson (Kentucky), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Thomas van der Mars (Netherlands), the team announced.

And-Ones: Payne, Rodriguez, Johnson

June 19th, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Potential lottery pick Cameron Payne suffered a non-displaced fracture in the ring finger of his right hand during a pre-draft workout for the Nuggets on Monday, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports. The point guard visited a hand specialist, and it was determined that it was a clean fracture that will not require surgery, and the former Murray State player will sit out the next three weeks as a precautionary measure, Givony notes. “Cam continued to work out even after suffering the injury in Denver, and he could probably play in a meaningful game tomorrow if he needed to,” Payne’s agent Travis King told Givony.

Here’s more from around the league:

Former NBA coach Avery Johnson acknowledged earlier this week that if he had waited until after the NBA season ended, he would have likely landed a head coach position in the league, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”I know without a shadow of a doubt, that if I had waited, there would have been a high probability I would have got an NBA job based upon the conversations my agent was having with some people,” Johnson told Reid. ”But the main thing is that there is no turning back. I’m here at the University of Alabama and this is the right situation.” Johnson has coached the Mavericks and the Nets, and he owns a career regular season record of 254-186.
Texas big man Myles Turner is scheduled to work out for the Pistons on Saturday, the Heat on Monday, and the Knicks on Tuesday, Dwain Price of The Star Telegram relays (Twitter link).
Real Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez, who is considered the top point guard in Europe, plans to try and secure an NBA deal this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. NBA front-office executives regard Rodriguez as an elite backup playmaker in the NBA, and his representatives at CAA began calling teams today to gauge initial market interest for Rodriguez, Wojnarowski adds. The 28-year-old’s contract with Real Madrid contains an NBA buyout provision that isn’t expected to become an obstacle, the Yahoo! scribe relays. Rodriguez last played in the NBA during the 2009/10 season, appearing in 66 contests split between the Knicks and the Kings.

Knicks Rumors: Jackson, Isiah, Free Agency

June 19th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks president Phil Jackson mentioned the need to add big men multiple times within an interview with Scott Cacciola of The New York Times, leading Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to speculate that the team is zeroing in on reported target Greg Monroe (Twitter link). Jackson suggested to Cacciola that the team would have drafted a big man, likely either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, if it had landed one of the top two picks in the draft. The Zen Master admitted the lottery setback that gave the team only the No. 4 pick resulted in a change of plans that figures to have a ripple effect on the rest of the summer.

“We know there are a limited number of guys we can bring in this year,” Jackson said about free agency. “We think we’ll get competitive guys to play. I think we’ll complement the guys we have here, and we’re going to move forward. We do know we’re going to have big guys in that group. We’re going to have to search out some big men.”

We’ll pass along more revelations from Jackson’s interview with Cacciola here:

Jackson told Cacciola that he and GM Steve Mills expressed their concerns to owner James Dolan when he presented them with the idea of hiring of former Knicks executive Isiah Thomas as president of the New York Liberty, a move with which Jackson was reportedly uncomfortable. “Jim Dolan had talked to us about it over dinner, maybe a month before it happened,” Jackson said. “We said, ‘Are you cognizant of the fact that this at least has the look of putting the fox in the henhouse?’ Is that a good term? In reviewing the history of it, we were told what the approach was by the Garden and how it went down. Jim said, ‘If you have any suggestions that you want to come back with, I’m open.’ And not being in that field, I didn’t have any information. It’s not where my head is at. So we’re not giving them any advice, and it’s going both ways.
Mills is “the future of this franchise,” Jackson told Cacciola, making it clear that he envisions a longer tenure for the GM than for himself.
All of the Knicks players expressed in their exit interviews that they’d like to return to the team, Mills said to Cacciola. The team only has fully guaranteed contracts with Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cleanthony Early.
Jackson once more touted the triangle and expressed full confidence in his abilities as an executive after subpar results in his first full season in charge of the roster. “Without a doubt,” Jackson said in response to Cacciola’s question about whether he still would have taken the job last year, knowing what he knows now. “I knew it was going to be a challenge. We just didn’t have any room to work last year. We knew that we were going to have to make big changes with the limitations that we had, being in a locked-in situation as far as the salary cap goes. That’s why when I said recently that I didn’t know why I wasn’t given some votes for Executive of the Year, I wasn’t kidding. I was really serious. We had a yeoman’s job of having to get rid of a lot of fat on our roster to get to where we are. I saw Mitch Kupchak got a vote, so I know some people valued what the Lakers were doing obviously.”

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/18/15

June 18th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”

Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors. Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.

Now that we’ve gotten the preamble and fine print out of the way, it’s time to get to the topic of the day: What should the Knicks do with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft? New York’s dream scenario of landing the No. 1 overall pick didn’t pan out, and in fact, the franchise was the only one whose draft position worsened as a result of the lottery. Now the team is at the mercy of the Wolves, Lakers, and Sixers, all of whom select ahead of the Knicks. There have been reports that team president Phil Jackson is looking to trade down to secure more assets if one of the team’s top three targets of Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are all off the board by the time the franchise is officially on the clock.

Would the team be better served to trade down for a lower pick and either a young veteran player who can contribute right away, or a future pick? Should Jackson stand pat and select the best player available? How about trying to trade for a star player, similar to how the Cavs obtained Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins last summer? If so, then who do you think would be a reasonable target? Take to the comments section below with your thoughts and opinions on these points and more. We look forward to what you have to say.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Knicks, Celtics

June 17th, 2015 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There have been reports that the Knicks intend to trade down in the NBA Draft if Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are off the board when New York is set to pick at No. 4 overall. As for what team president Phil Jackson is seeking in return for the fourth pick, in his weekly chat Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) relays that the Knicks want a young veteran player and a pick in the 8 to 14 range. One player who New York has been linked to in that draft range is fast-rising playmaker Cameron Payne of Murray State, who would fill a glaring need for the franchise at the point guard spot.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams is expected to receive strong interest from teams that include the Kings, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, providing a clear competition for the Raptors to retain his services, Shams Charania of RealGM writes. Williams is expected to seek a three-year deal in the range of $27MM or four years for $35MM, Charania adds.
The Celtics held workouts today for Kevon Looney (UCLA), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova), and Maurice NDour (Ohio), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
The Wizards will hold workouts on Thursday for Justin Anderson (Virginia), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Aaron White (Iowa), Derek Cooke Jr. (Wyoming), and Maxie Esho (UMass), Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Working out for the Cavaliers today were Josh Richardson (Tennessee) and Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops notes (on Twitter).
The Hornets are hoping that newly acquired Spencer Hawes can help replace the outside shooting the team lost when Josh McRoberts signed with the Heat last offseason, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “In the offseason you try to make your team fit better together, and I think that’s what this trade does. Our defense is more than good enough to win and our offense isn’t,” Clifford said. “If you look more specifically into the numbers [the flaw] is our [long] range shooting. What Spencer will do is improve our range shooting and he’s also a very good passer.”

Eastern Rumors: Lou Williams, Boozer, LeBron

June 17th, 2015 at 10:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald expects Lou Williams to reach out to the Heat, among others, in free agency this summer. Still, the Heat are unlikely to have the cap space to afford the reigning Sixth Man of the Year unless two among Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic and Luol Deng leave the team this summer, Jackson notes. Otherwise, Miami would be limited to either the $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception or the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level. Neither would probably be enough to land the Wallace Prather client who’s likely seeking a significant raise on his $5.45MM salary with the Raptors from this past season. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Someone close to Carlos Boozer told Jackson that he wouldn’t be surprised if the power forward signed with the Heat this summer, though Jackson asserts, as he writes in the same piece, that it would almost certainly be a minimum-salary deal if he were to go to Miami.
LeBron James has taken a detached, passive-aggressive stance to expressing his views on the moves his teams make during offseasons in which he’s been a free agent in the past, but the Cavs want him to give direct input this summer, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com details. James is likely to opt out and sign another two-year deal with a player option on year two, Windhorst writes, seconding what Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote was a widespread expectation during the season, preferring leverage for himself over comfort for the team.
The Knicks would love to acquire an extra pick, whether in the first round or the second, a source told Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, whom the Knicks drafted 51st overall last year, would consider signing overseas instead of again playing in the D-League, as his did this past season, if the Knicks don’t sign him to their NBA roster this offseason, agent Tim Lotsos tells Berman for the same piece.

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Russell, Scariolo

June 16th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets lost the two likeliest spots to deal veteran Joe Johnson after the recent trades made by the Pistons and Bucks, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily writes. There were reports that both franchises were interested in acquiring Johnson and his player-friendly salary of $24,894,863 this past season. Unloading Johnson for non-guaranteed deals like those the Bucks acquired in Caron Butler and Shawne Williams would appear to be the ideal way for the Nets to shake up their roster, Windrem adds. But with both Charlotte and Detroit seemingly out of the running, Brooklyn may need to pursue a trade for a player like Wilson Chandler or Randy Foye of the Nuggets, or perhaps the Cavs’ Brendan Haywood, if it truly wishes to part ways with Johnson this summer, Windrem opines.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers have a pre-draft workout scheduled with Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell for Wednesday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. Russell had cancelled a previous workout with the team due to illness.
Despite being waived by the franchise last September, Pierre Jackson says that he would like to play for the Sixers next season, Tom Moore of Calkins Media relays (Twitter link). “There’s a little bit of loyalty here. I want to play in Philadelphia, man,” Jackson said. Jackson, who is coming off a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon, was cleared to resume basketball activities back in April.
Spanish national team head coach Sergio Scariolo was offered a position as an assistant on Raptors coach Dwane Casey‘s staff, which Scariolo declined, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link).
In his latest mock draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has Duke forward Justise Winslow as the Knicks‘ “leader in the clubhouse” to be nabbed with the No. 4 overall pick if the team doesn’t trade down.
The Knicks have a workout scheduled on Thursday for Kentucky big man Trey Lyles, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer

June 16th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver signaled Sunday night that he doesn’t anticipate a lockout taking place in 2017, when the league and the union can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, as Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com details. Players association executive director Michele Roberts said last week that the sides will begin negotiations this summer toward a new labor deal.

“I think we have a very fair deal right now,” Silver said. “I think the deal is designed to pay players a percentage of revenue so it self-adjusts as revenue goes up. And when the new television deal kicks in in 2016/17, the players are going to be averaging over $8MM a year. I think, again, it’s a fair deal. If there’s things they want to talk about, of course we’ll talk about them. But I’m not overly concerned. I think we’ve got a great thing going right now. I think both sides recognize that.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.