New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Stoudemire, Celtics, Nets

January 13th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t sure that he wants to remain with the Knicks amid a rebuilding effort, as he told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks reportedly have no plans to trade Stoudemire, who’s set for free agency at season’s end.

“It’s a very difficult situation at this point,’’ Stoudemire said. “It’s a hard decision for me to make. My loyalty has always been with New York and the Knicks. So it will be tough right now to make a decision as far as going somewhere else at this point. It’s something I have to think about. I’m sure over time I’ll sit and think about the best scenario for myself. For now, I know I’ve been through injuries throughout my career. I have to make sure I’m able to be strong enough and prepared to play for a team contending for a championship. New York is trying to rebuild. Hopefully that will be sooner than later.’’

Stoudemire laments the departure of now-Cavalier Iman Shumpert, who like Stoudemire is a client of Happy Walters, as Berman notes. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are receiving $1,319,236 in cash from the Grizzlies as part of the Jeff Green trade, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Mikhail Prokhorov lost an estimated $400MM in one day in the midst of global economic trouble late last month, an attorney and adviser to Russian oligarchs tells Stefan Bondy and Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News. Russia’s economic downturn is reportedly one of the reasons that Prokhorov has reportedly put the Nets up for sale.
An industry consultant tells Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com that he believes that the Nets will command a price akin to the $2 billion the Clippers fetched, while a consultant said to Soshnick that he isn’t sure that the Nets are as attractive as the Clippers were.
Some believe that Andrei Kirilenko is giving up the rest of his salary this season to tend to his wife as she endures a difficult pregnancy, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Pompey hears from a Brooklyn source who questioned whether that’s indeed the reason the forward hasn’t played in two months.

New York Notes: Knicks, Nets, Melo, Howard

January 12th, 2015 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks own a record of 5-35, which is good for first place in our reverse order rankings. After the trade last week that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavs, the team clearly won’t be buyers at the trade deadline this season. It’s early in the season for most other teams hovering around .500 to make that kind of decision but Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles (Twitter link) has put the Nets in the conversation about potential sellers in the NBA marketplace.

Here’s more from the Empire State:

Carmelo Anthony wants to be involved in recruiting players to the Knicks, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork. “This is why I wanted to come back, to be a part of the plan,” Anthony says. New York is projected to have room for the addition of at least one maximum level contract, although the exact amount of cap room will be unknown until the salary cap is calculated during July’s moratorium.
Dwight Howard will play in Brooklyn for the first time tonight and he reminisces on what could have been if he would have been traded to the Nets, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork writes. “Like I said, everything happens for a reason. There was a point in time where I thought this [Brooklyn] was the best place for me to play basketball. I guess things didn’t happen the way I wanted them to,” Howard said. The Nets were once on the shortlist of teams that the center preferred to be traded to when he was still with the Magic.
Jason Terry will also return to Brooklyn for the first time since being traded from the team last season. The 15-year veteran thought the Nets were going to achieve more over the last few seasons. “I’m surprised a lot,” Terry told reporters, including Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. “For me, when I came here it looked like they were going to put something together a big run for two or three years down the line. But when there’s that much pressure on you to win, and it doesn’t happen, they’re gonna make changes.” As a member of the Rockets, most would consider Terry to now be in a better position to win another NBA title.

Knicks Shop Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani

January 12th, 2015 at 10:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are active in attempts to trade Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani, reports Marc Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN.com. However, New York is clinging to Amar’e Stoudemire and doesn’t plan on trading him, Stein and Begley add. Bargnani is a candidate to hit waivers next month if team president Phil Jackson can’t find a trade partner by the February 19th trade deadline, according to the ESPN scribes.

Knicks coach Derek Fisher last month called Bargnani a “big piece to the future,” but it appears that’s changed in short order as the Knicks have plummeted to the worst record in the league. The Knicks relinquished their 2016 first-round draft pick as part of the trade that brought Bargnani from Toronto, but injury has kept him from all but two games this season. He’s making $11.5MM this year, the final season of his contract, but league executives reportedly believed over the summer that it would require the Knicks to attach two first-round picks to offload him. There’s a decent chance that price has come down some, with Bargnani drawing ever close to the end of his deal, but it still seems like it’ll be hard for Jackson to find a taker.

A report last week indicated that Jackson hadn’t yet given up on Calderon, in spite of speculation that he’d be the next Knick to go after the team sent Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland last week. The team’s stance on Calderon, too, appears to have changed, and while there are plenty of teams who are high on him, the point guard’s contract stands as a deterrent, Stein and Begley write. Calderon is making between $7MM and $8MM each season through 2016/17.

The Knicks reportedly shopped Stoudemire over the summer and discussed a deal with the Sixers, though Stoudemire’s salary of more than $23.4MM makes him quite difficult to trade. He’s proven a key part of the Knicks this season, averaging 13.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game, making 13 starts. It’s conceivable that the Knicks would re-sign him, at a greatly reduced rate, for next season once his contract expires this summer, Stein and Begley write.

Pacific Notes: Rivers, Bryant, Wright, Kerr

January 11th, 2015 at 10:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers coach Doc Rivers isn’t sure if he is permitted to talk to his son about joining the team, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Austin Rivers is expected to be moved from Memphis to Boston Monday as part of a three-team deal. Rumors emerged that the Celtics don’t want to keep Rivers and could be shipping him to the Clippers, although a third team may be needed to facilitate the deal. “I maybe should call the league,” Doc Rivers said. “It may be tampering. Listen, if it got to that point, yeah, we would talk, clearly.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers coach Byron Scott said he played Kobe Bryant too many minutes early in the season and dropped a hint about shutting Bryant down for the rest of the year, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Bryant has missed six of the team’s last 11 games, but Scott said any decision will be made gradually. “I keep thinking about game-to-game right now,” he said. “So I haven’t gotten to that point. Maybe after the All-Star break, maybe we will start talking about something like that if necessary.”
New Suns center Brandan Wright impressed the opposition coach in Sunday’s double overtime loss to Memphis, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Wright had seven points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of action in his first game since Friday’s trade from the Celtics, but the Grizzlies’ Dave Joerger sees him as a perfect fit. “He plays off the ball as well as anybody in the league, being able to get into pick-and-rolls and then separate and get out of pick-and-rolls,” Joerger said. “What you do on that deal is then you either have dunks or you create long close-outs of two guys who are very willing and capable of making perimeter shots. Then if you have to run out too fast, whew. You just keep chasing your tail.”
The Warriors‘ Steve Kerr is coaching the best team in the NBA, but he could have been with the worst, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Kerr admits he had a verbal commitment to join the Knicks before opting for Golden State. “I told [Knicks president Phil Jackson] that I was going to come as long as we could work a contract out,” Kerr said. “And we didn’t ever work a contract out.”

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Fisher, Free Agency

January 10th, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team president Phil Jackson is accepting blame for the disaster that has befallen the Knicks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. After Saturday’s lopsided loss to the Hornets, Jackson made a public statement to New York fans in which he acknowledged his mistakes. “Obviously I didn’t do the right thing in picking the group of guys that were here,” Jackson said. “A lot of it was etched in stone, we had guys with guaranteed contracts. But in anticipating that we were going to be better, that we were giving hope to our fans that maybe there’s a possible playoff opportunity here, you know, that goes on me.” The Knicks are 5-35 and hold the top spot in Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings.

There’s much more from the Big Apple:

Jackson remains optimistic that New York will be a popular destination for free agents this summer, Begley tweets. Jackson said several agents contact the team regularly to pass along their clients’ interest.
Before midseason officially arrived, the Knicks started playing for next year, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The team cleared some cap room with this week’s trade that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. Much more will open up this summer when Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani come off the books. “It’s not easy to build a team,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Going forward there’s always been a balance you’re trying to find between talent, character, mental toughness, physical toughness, experience, coachability, all of the different factors. There’s no guarantee that it all works out even after you do all that assessment.”
Spending money has rarely brought success for the Knicks, writes David Berri in Time Magazine. Berri, an economics professor at Southern Utah University, analyzed the Knicks’ performance in seasons where they ranked among the NBA’s biggest spenders. He found that since 1987/88, when New York’s payroll was among the league’s three highest, the team had a losing record in 12 of those 17 seasons.

Eastern Notes: Wroten, Taylor, Butler

January 10th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

CSNPhilly.com’s John Gonzalez took an in-depth look at the potential trade value of Tony Wroten, who was rumored to be the subject of trade discussions between the Clippers and the Sixers earlier this week. A pair of league executives told Gonzalez that Wroten could possibly net GM Sam Hinkie two second-rounders, and another said that it would be difficult to get fair value for Wroten, so it would be wiser to hang on to the guard. Philadelphia currently owns a whopping 15 second round draft picks between now and 2020.

Here’s more from the East:

The Hornets have recalled Jeffery Taylor from the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. In four games with the Spurs he averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 26.2 minutes per contest. This was Taylor’s initial jaunt of the season to the D-League.
Rasual Butler had the remainder of his contract guaranteed for the season when he remained on the Wizards’ roster past Wednesday’s deadline. The veteran swingman’s play has made him an integral part of Washington’s rotation, and Butler also has a fan in Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. Thibodeau, who briefly coached Butler in Chicago, said of his former player, “I think it’s the perfect fit for him and he’s a great pro. He’s a guy who plays year-round and stays in great shape. And I think when you look at what John Wall does and you look at what Andre Miller does, he’s the perfect fit because he creates space and his career says how well he can shoot the three. But to be doing it at this stage of his career is a real credit to him. But we always felt strongly about his professionalism, his attitude, how much he loved he game. And the shooting part, that’s never going to go away.”
Despite all of the Knicks‘ struggles this season, first year coach Derek Fisher‘s confidence hasn’t wavered, and he believes this turbulent campaign will help him become a better coach, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes.

Knicks Sign Amundson To 10-Day Deal

January 10th, 2015 at 8:40am CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 8:40am: The signing is official, New York has announced.

FRIDAY. 8:42pm: The Knicks continue to look to add to their roster, and now have set their sights on another player that who was acquired in the recent three-way trade with the Cavs and the Thunder. New York is eyeing Louis Amundson for a 10-day deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Amundson, who was waived after being acquired, could be signed as early as Saturday, Stein notes.

Amundson appeared in 12 contests for Cleveland this season, averaging 0.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per contest. His career numbers over 358 games are 3.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 0.7 BPG. His career slash line is .489/.000/.487.

New York’s roster count is currently at 14 players, which includes Lance Thomas, who is also reportedly being inked to a 10-day contract.

Knicks Ink Lance Thomas To 10-Day Pact

January 10th, 2015 at 8:37am CST by Eddie Scarito

SATURDAY, 8:37am: The signing of Thomas is official, the Knicks have announced.

FRIDAY, 8:27pm:The Knicks will sign Lance Thomas to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Thomas had been acquired by New York in the three-way trade with the Thunder and Cavs that sent Dion Waiters to OKC and J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. Thomas was then waived prior to Wednesday’s deadline so that New York could avoid guaranteeing the remainder of his 2014/15 salary.

Thomas appeared in 22 games for the Thunder this season, including 13 as a starter, averaging 5.1 points and 3,4 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per night. His career averages over 3+ seasons in the league are 3.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 0.4 APG. His career slash line is .428/.000/.759.

This move will increase the Knicks roster count to 14 players. This number also includes Langston Galloway, who is also in New York on a 10-day deal.

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Shumpert, Anthony

January 9th, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One reason that Knicks owner James Dolan hired Phil Jackson as team president was for his championship credentials, but Jackson’s winning pedigree hasn’t translated thus far in selling the players on the triangle offense, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “When I played, the credibility Phil and his staff had came when he walked in the door,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “We were all intrigued in wanting to figure it out, knowing they won championships doing this. We wanted to figure out how to win championships within this format. In recent years, Phil wasn’t coaching and there weren’t any teams running this system. So these current players can’t say this team won a championship last year or two years ago doing it.”

Here’s more out of NYC:

Iman Shumpert says that his new team, the Cavaliers, remind him of of the Knicks circa 2012/13, Berman writes in a separate piece. “It’s going to be different,’’ Shumpert said. “I think it will be like my second year when we had Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. We had a lot of different guys who did a lot of different things.’’
Shumpert also relayed that he’s happy to be on a Cavs team that is likely to make the playoffs, something that the 5-34 Knicks have little chance at, Berman adds. “Of course everybody wants to win and be in the playoffs and compete more,” Shumpert said. “I didn’t want my season to end early. There’s work to do here, too. We definitely are going to get to work.’’
With the Knicks’ season all but over, Anthony has to believe that New York’s front office has a plan that will work, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. “When I first committed back to New York, that was something I always said: I had to trust that them guys know what they’re doing and believe in them guys. And that was one of the reasons I wanted to come back,” Anthony said. “Here’s an opportunity with the trust. Everything starts now.”

Eastern Notes: Williams, Deng, Thompson

January 8th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets‘ Deron Williams, who is the subject of trade rumors, will be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed one of his ribs was fractured, Roderick Boone of Newsday reports. “Deron reported some soreness above this area over the weekend and as a result underwent imaging studies on Monday, which were negative,” team physician Riley Williams III said in a statement. “[Wednesday] during the game, he reported a new onset of symptoms below the prior area of soreness. New imaging studies done [Thursday] demonstrated the fracture. There is no timetable for his return.”

Here’s more from the East:

Luol Deng is rumored to be on the trading block, with the Grizzlies a possible suitor, but despite the Heat‘s struggles this season, Deng insists he doesn’t want out of Miami, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel reports. “I’ve had no issues,” Deng said. “My whole thing I’ve been saying this year is we’ve been trying to get it right, fit everybody in. It’s never that I’m unhappy or anything. Just because they’re trade rumors, I’m not the one asking for trades.“
Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida examined a number of potentially available players with whom the Heat could upgrade their roster, including Andray Blatche, Samuel Dalembert, Tyler Johnson, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson.
When informed that the newly acquired Timofey Mozgov would be taking his place in the Cavs‘ starting lineup, Tristan Thompson handled the news like a true team player, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I’ve come off the bench most of the season,” Thompson said. “Whatever it takes for us to win. [I’ll] come out and join the bench mob again. Bring the energy with myself, Delly [Matthew Dellavedova] and all the other guys so that’s a role that I embrace and I’m trying to be the X-factor.“
One thing that J.R. Smith will miss about being with the Knicks is his friendship with Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Kernan of The New York Post writes. “I was upset that I don’t get to play with my best friend who I’ve played with for the last nine or 10 years,’’ Smith said. “We’ve been together so long and we complemented each other so well from the inside out game. Off the court too, we hung at each other’s houses.”