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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Knicks

May 16th, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers‘ long rebuilding process could get a boost Tuesday night, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. With a little luck in the draft lottery, Philadelphia could acquire two new starters to go with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. The Sixers have a 17.2% chance to land the Lakers’ top-five protected selection and a 9% shot at the Heat’s top-10 protected pick. Philadelphia’s own pick is currently slotted at number three and is guaranteed to fall in the top six.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers interviewed Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant about the possibility of playing with his older brother, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jerami Grant just completed his rookie season in Philadelphia and is under the team’s control through 2017/18.
  • Arkansas forward Michael Qualls will have a pre-draft workout for the Sixers on Tuesday, Pompey tweets. Connecticut’s Ryan Boatright will work out for the team on the same day, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
  • Rakeem Christmas of Syracuse will work out for the Celtics later this month, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
  • The Knicks are among 14 teams to meet with Kentucky’s Trey Lyles, Zagoria tweets. Also, Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky met with team president Phil Jackson this week, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. Kaminsky quipped that even though he is only 22 years old, teams are treating him like he is 65. Duke’s Justise Winslow also met with Jackson and the Knicks, according to Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
  • Bojan Bogdanovic gave the Nets plenty to like in his first NBA season, according to Reed Wallach of netsdaily.com. Brooklyn signed the Croatian forward last summer after Paul Pierce left for Washington. Bogdanovic proved to be an effective shooter and won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for April. He is under a three-year contract and is scheduled to make more than $3.4MM next season and nearly $3.6MM in 2016/17.
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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Raptors, Knicks

May 15th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers fans may want to hope that the team doesn’t land the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News opines. Cooney’s reasoning is that if Philly nabs the No. 1 overall pick the team will either select another big man, or quite possibly trade the selection for more future assets, which could further delay the team’s rebuilding process. Conversely, if the Sixers fall to third or fourth the team will be more likely to select D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay, and thus land its point guard of the future, Cooney adds.

Here’s more from the NBA’s Atlantic Division:

  • The Raptors have six free agents whom they need to decide the futures of, and Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com examines the situation for each. These players include Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, and Lou Williams.
  • Knicks team president Phil Jackson met with Russell at the draft combine today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter links). Also meeting with the Knicks, though the Zen Master wasn’t present, was Kansas big man Cliff Alexander, Zagoria adds
  • The Knicks also met with Duke’s Justise Winslow and Jerian Grant of Notre Dame, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays in a series of tweets. Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein said that he is scheduled to work out for the team in New York this Sunday, Herring adds.
  • Cauley-Stein also sat down with members of the Sixers’ front office, and he came away with the impression that the team was genuinely interested in him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
  • Arkansas power forward Bobby Portis has a workout scheduled with the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports (Twitter link).
  • The Sixers have scheduled workouts on Tuesday for Keifer Sykes and Terry Rozier, both of whom are guards, Pompey tweets.
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MSG’s Isiah Thomas Hire Irks Phil Jackson

May 15th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

James Dolan’s decision to bring Isiah Thomas back into the fold as team president and a minority owner of the New York Liberty, a WNBA franchise, hasn’t sat well with Knicks president Phil Jackson, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. Jackson, according to a team source, has expressed concern over Thomas’ presence at Madison Square Garden, Isola notes.

This latest event further fuels speculation that the Zen Master won’t finish out his five year contract, and Thomas could eventually replace Jackson as team president, the Daily News scribe adds. “He’s not happy about it but what can he do about it,” one MSG official told Isola. “This is just the start of it.”

The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve Thomas as an owner, and a person familiar with the process believes he will be rejected, Isola relays. Even if Thomas is voted down by the WNBA, he would likely still remain on as the Liberty’s team president, which has already caused a backlash from WNBA coaches, the team’s fans, as well as multiple women’s advocate groups.

The crux of the issue with the hiring of Thomas is his high-profile sexual harassment case back in 2007. “This is a decision, at least to me, comes out of left field,” said Connecticut Sun coach Anne Donovan, a former Liberty assistant. “Bring him back to MSG? OK. But how do you pin [Thomas] to the women’s pro team?”

For his part, Thomas has said that he will not have a role with the Knicks, but league executives are convinced that Thomas accepted the job with the Liberty as an entry level position to eventually return to the Knicks, Isola relays. With Jackson expressly signing on with the assurance that he would be free to run the team without interference from Dolan, the potential presence of Thomas in the decision making process for the team would certainly be a troubling development, though that is merely my speculation.

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Draft Rumors: Porzingis, Wood, Dawson

May 15th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

At least one GM is among the multiple executives who believe Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis has a shot to be drafted as highly as No. 2, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The head of basketball ops for another team said that he’s a “lock” for the top five and that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go within the top three, adding that he’d draft him in front of Jahlil Okafor, the Duke center who occupied the top spot in projections for most of the season. The 19-year-old is No. 5 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and No. 8 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here’s more as draft rumors kick into high gear:

  • Christian Wood, a power forward out of UNLV, is hoping to follow in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s footsteps as a ball-handler with unusual height and length, Howard-Cooper writes in the same piece. The Bucks intend to interview Wood, Virginia small forward Justin Anderson and others today, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
  • Both the DraftExpress team and Ford go in depth on the measurements from the combine, with Ford, in his Insider-only piece, noting that most top prospects sized up well and that this year’s draft class is among the longest groups in memory in terms of both height and wingspan.
  • Michigan State power forward Branden Dawson has interviewed with the Wizards, Clippers and Pelicans at the draft combine, as he told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Ellis, in the same report, adds Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky and Rashad Vaughn to the list of prospects with whom the Pistons have spoken.
  • Terry Rozier met with the Pistons, too, as well as the Mavs, Suns, Knicks and Spurs, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
  • The Sixers, Lakers, Cavs and Bucks have interviewed Cameron Payne, Kyler also tweets. Payne spoke with our Zach Links recently about his draft prospects.
  • Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds the Hornets and Warriors to the list of teams speaking with Rakeem Christmas (Twitter link).
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Western Notes: Matthews, Draft, Young

May 14th, 2015 at 10:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Young of CSNNW.com wouldn’t be surprised if Wesley Matthews gives the Blazers a discount to re-sign him this summer. Young interprets GM Neil Olshey‘s tone from his season-ending press conference as a signal that the team will pursue a new deal with the shooting guard. “We know his value to us,” Olshey said, adding that “We also know he’s going to have market value around the league. That’s another competitive part of the free agent process that we’re going to have to participate in.”

Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:

  •  The Blazers are scheduled to meet with UNLV’s Christian Wood, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links). Portland is also expected to take a close look at big man Myles Turner, Young notes.
  • Seth Curry will join the Pelicans‘ summer league squad, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Curry made two appearances for the Suns during the 2014/15 season while on a lone 10-day contract.
  • Oregon senior guard Joseph Young interviewed with the Spurs, Pelicans, Knicks, Wizards, and Clippers today, Jabari Young tweets.
  • Sean Meagher of The Oregonian looks at Blazers point guard Tim Frazier, who inked a multiyear deal with the team this season, and what the player’s role might be next season. Frazier’s minimum salary arrangement with Portland is non-guaranteed.
  • The list of players whom the Thunder have interviewed during the combine includes Kelly Oubre, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyus Jones, Terry Rozier, Turner, and Stanley Johnson, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Atlantic Notes: Casey, Knicks, Towns

May 13th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Raptors fans should hope that the team reportedly bringing coach Dwane Casey back for another season means that the franchise will allow him to finally put his stamp on the team, Eric Koreen of The National Post writes. For Casey’s system to succeed, he will need GM Masai Ujiri to add a few more capable perimeter defenders, and a mobile power forward to negate some of center Jonas Valanciunas’ natural limitations in the perimeter dominated NBA, Koreen adds.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Casey understands he needs to make adjustments on both the offensive and defensive end, Koreen writes in a separate piece. “I take accountability not establishing the offensive style of play we should have. … We had a false sense of security because we were winning playing that way after DeMar [DeRozan] went down,” Casey said after the season ended. “We never got back to our roots defensively. We never could get the horse back in barn.”
  • Fran Fraschilla, ESPN’s NBA draft analyst, believes Karl-Anthony Towns might be a better choice than Jahlil Okafor for the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “[Town is] not as ready-made as Okafor may be offensively, but he’s got tantalizing shot-blocking potential and he’s developing into a low-post scorer,” Fraschilla said. “… He’s the grand slam and Okafor is the home run.”
  • If the Knicks are looking for young, affordable players to develop, Begley (on Twitter) suggests that they take a look at D-League standout Eric Griffin.  The 6’8″ swingman averaged 19 PPG and 6.6 RPG last season for the Texas Legends.

Eddie Scarito and Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Atlantic Notes: Anderson, Iverson, Knicks

May 12th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets announced today that Alan Anderson underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle. The procedure was performed by Nets’ foot and ankle specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Anderson is expected to resume basketball-related activities in July, according to the official announcement. The 32-year-old reportedly intends to opt out of his player option worth $1,333,484, and GM Billy King has relayed that the team would like to re-sign the swingman.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Colton Iverson, the No. 53 overall pick in the 2013 draft whose rights are owned by the Celtics, hopes to finally make the team’s roster next season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I just hope to be as aggressive as possible this summer and kinda show [the Celtics] what my role can be for this team,” Iverson said. “Show them that I am ready for this opportunity.” In 56 games this past season for Laboral Kuxta split between Liga ACB and Euroleague play, Iverson averaged 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds over 20.5 minutes per game.
  • Iverson also indicated that he felt that he could have helped the Celtics this past season with his rebounding and toughness, Forsberg adds. “I thought there may have been an opportunity for me, but at the same time, they are still building right now, and maybe that was not the right time,” said Iverson. “They are still rebuilding — they’ve communicated that with me — that they are trying to get their main components, their starting five solidified, then they’ll build their roster after that. It’s kind of a waiting game right now for me and them. I just hope that the rebuilding process is as strong as possible right now.”
  • Knicks president Phil Jackson has been vocal in his distaste for teams that rely on bombing away from beyond the three-point arc during the playoffs, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. New York had led the NBA in 3-point attempts during the 2012/13 campaign when it won 54 games, but fell the 21st this past season when the franchise only managed 17 wins.
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Thanasis Antetokounmpo Likely To Join Knicks

May 11th, 2015 at 12:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks have informed the representatives for Thanasis Antetokounmpo that they will likely sign him to an NBA deal for next season, agent Tim Lotsos tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.  Last summer, the athletic forward turned down a two-year, $550K deal overseas to play for the Knicks’ D-League team in Westchester.  Now, it seems like his sacrifice will pay off rather immediately.

Lotsos tells Begley that Antetokounmpo’s “first goal” is to play for the Knicks, but he also wants to get his NBA opportunity.  The Knicks have been wowed by the small forward’s athleticism, but they’ve also wanted him to get a little more polished before making the leap to the Association.  Last year, when the Knicks were clearly out of the playoff mix, there was some speculation that the Greek standout could get a call up to the varsity squad, but that never materialized.

The Knicks could offer Antetokounmpo a tender for next season and retain his rights, but that would give him the opportunity to seize a more lucrative overseas deal this time around.  Last year, Antetokounmpo earned just $25K, less than 10% of what he would have made elsewhere.

Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, was drafted late in the second round of the 2014 draft by team president Phil Jackson, who was very impressed with his athleticism. Antetokounmpo averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per 36 minutes this past season in the D-League, but Begley hears from scouts that say he’s still too raw and too inconsistent with his jumper to contribute at the next level.

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Atlantic Draft Notes: Knicks, Nets, Celtics

May 9th, 2015 at 10:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Justise Winslow and Carmelo Anthony sat together at Yankees Stadium on Friday night and Ian Begley of ESPN.com wonders if the two players could become teammates in New York next season. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks Winslow as the fifth best prospect, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him as the sixth. Meanwhile, the Knicks reportedly have Winslow in the fifth spot on their draft board.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The lowest pick the Knicks can have via the lottery will be the fifth selection and Marc Berman of the New York Post talks to Ryan Blake, the NBA’s scouting consultant, about the top five players on New York’s draft board. The list includes Winslow, D’Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns in ascending order.
  • Robert Windrem of NetsDaily examines the moves that Brooklyn made in order to lose control of their own first-rounder through the 2018 draft. The Hawks have the right to trade picks with the Nets this season because of the Joe Johnson trade.
  • Boston will pick a few spots lower in the draft because it made the playoffs and Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald wonders if the short playoff run was worth it. The Celtics have the 16th pick in the draft, as our Draft Order page shows, but if they would have won a few less games, the team would likely own the 11th pick and a slim chance at a top three selection.
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2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Knicks

May 8th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Knicks utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…

D-League Team: Westchester Knicks

Affiliation Type: One-to-one

D-League Team Record: 10-40

Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 1

Total D-League Assignments: 2

Player Stats While On Assignment

  • Cleanthony Early: 2 assignments, 3 games, 21.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.0 APG. .456/.286/.583.

D-League Signings

Assignment/Recall Log

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