New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Hinkie, Anthony, Jazz

June 28th, 2014 at 11:50pm CST by Cray Allred

Many NBA stars are having discussions of teaming up now and in the future, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Here’s more from around the NBA:

Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer details how Sixers GM Sam Hinkie pounced on the Magic‘s needs by drafting Elfrid Payton at No. 10 and then trading him to Orlando, receiving back the 2015 first-rounder Philadelphia owed to the Magic.
A Knicks player that recently spoke with Carmelo Anthony told Marc Berman of The New York Post that the star forward gave no indication of leaving New York.
The Jazz will most likely let 2013 draft pick Raul Neto spend another year developing overseas, reports Jody Genessy of Deseret News.
Utah has yet to decide what to do with 2008 draft selection Ante Tomic, per Genessy. The Jazz could buy out his overseas contract and bring the center over to contribute this season, trade his rights, or simply wait another year.
Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald tweets that Ray Allen is still in the Heat‘s plans going forward. Allen has been leaning toward returning to play another year alongside LeBron James.

Knicks Notes: Calderon, Anthony, Thanasis

June 28th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Cray Allred

We learned earlier today that the Knicks are feeling increasingly optimistic at their chances of re-signing Carmelo Anthony, and are planning to make a run at Pau Gasol in free agency. Here’s more from New York:

Jose Calderon wants to play with Anthony, telling reporters including Marc Berman of The New York Post that he will soon tell the forward that he can make his life easier from the point. “I’m hoping to talk to him for sure,” Calderon said. “I’d love to make everything easier for him and make the team successful and try to get as far as we can.’’
Calderon added that he would help recruit other players to New York as well. “This is my team,” said Calderon, who has ties to potential Knicks target Marc Gasol. “I’m going to help to improve it as much as I can. Anybody that we can get here or would be interested, I’d be willing to talk to, to try to make them come to the Knicks.”
Thanasis Antetokounmpo may play in Greece next season, where teams are interested in signing him, reports Berman in a separate piece. Antetokounmpo was drafted with the 51st pick the Knicks received in the Dallas trade.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders runs the numbers on the recent Knicks/Mavs trade. Since Dallas is a non-tax paying team, they were allowed to unevenly match the salaries of Samuel Dalembert, Calderon, and Wayne Ellington for Tyson Chandler, and count Shane Larkin‘s full salary toward the exception. Dallas receives a $1,536,960 trade exception for Larkin’s departure, and New York receives a $3,637,073 exception for Raymond Felton.
Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com runs down how the draft moves of the teams planning to pursue Anthony may affect the race to sign the prized free agent.

Knicks Confident About Re-Signing ‘Melo

June 28th, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Cray Allred

Sources tell Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com that the Knicks are “quietly confident” they will be able to re-sign Carmelo Anthony, in part due to the star forward’s growing bond with president Phil Jackson. ‘Melo will be chased by teams that appear closer to a championship than New York in free agency, but the Knicks are hoping that their recent trade with the Mavericks, which provided an upgrade at point guard with Jose Calderon, will make their roster more appealing to Anthony.

With head coach Derek Fisher and the newly acquired point guard Calderon, Jackson has put in place some of the pieces for his cherished triangle offense. If Anthony re-signs in New York, one of the biggest remaining gaps for the system would be a skilled big man. The ESPN scribes’ source says that Jackson is planning on pursuing Pau Gasol at a discounted rate to fill that need this summer, and the team has its eye on his brother Marc Gasol for the 2015/16 season, when the Grizzlies center will be a free agent. Currently, the most the Knicks could offer Pau would be the taxpayer’s mid-level exception of $3.278MM, a steep pay decrease from his $19.3MM salary in 2013/14.

This summer will be a highly intriguing one for the Knicks. The hiring of Jackson brought hope to a franchise that has bumbled away opportunities and flexibility for years. Knicks fans have been hoping the Zen Master could work his magic and turn the Knicks’ straw to gold. While a typical turnaround for a franchise as limited as New York requires some losing and patience to regain cap space and assets, Jackson would certainly increase his legend if he could jump start the turnaround in his first year as a front office executive.

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Magic

June 27th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls trade that sent the No. 16 and 19 picks to the Nuggets for the chance to draft Doug McDermott actually hurt the teams chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.The article notes that by adding Anthony Randolph‘s $1.825MM salary to McDermott’s $1.898MM cap hold as the 11th pick and the roster charge of over $500,000, Chicago actually now has about $1 million less to offer Carmelo in free agency than they would have had if they kept both picks.

Draft Grades: Atlantic Division

June 27th, 2014 at 7:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the 2014 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back and see how each team used the draft to make improvements and fill needs. I’ve already looked at the Central and Pacific Divisions. Now it’s time for the Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics

Team Needs: Power Forward, Shooting Guard, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 6 Marcus Smart (Point Guard)
No. 17 James Young (Small Forward/Shooting Guard)

The Celtics find a potential replacement for Rajon Rondo in Smart, a player who should improve his shooting with some work, and who is capable of defending both backcourt spots. If Rondo isn’t dealt, Smart can slide over and play shooting guard. The biggest worry with a starting backcourt of Rondo and Smart will be their ability to stretch defenses as neither is a reliable outside threat. Good value for pick at that spot.

In Young, Boston gets the potential scoring threat that team so badly needs. Young is a still developing player who will take a few seasons to reach his potential. But he’s a fearless gunner with a sweet outside stroke who can also take it to the basket. Defense will be an issue for Young as he needs to add bulk as well as improve his on ball defense if he wants to get minutes under coach Brad Stevens.

Overall Draft Grade: B+ — The Celtics were hoping to flip these picks for Kevin Love, so that diminishes their overall score for the night. But they did snag two players who should be starters by 2015/2016.

Brooklyn Nets

Team Needs: Youth, Depth, Point Guard, Wing Players

Draft Picks:

No. 44 Markel Brown (Shooting Guard)*
No. 59 Xavier Thames (Point Guard)**
No. 60 Cory Jefferson (Power Forward)***

*Purchased pick from Timberwolves
**Purchased pick from Raptors
***Purchased pick from Spurs via Sixers.

The Nets needed to acquire some cheap depth, and that’s pretty much what they accomplished. The franchise had a better night than expected, acquiring three second-rounders on draft night. None of the players they selected project out as a starter, but Jefferson could prove useful this season, while Brown and Thames will take longer to bear fruit.

Overall Draft Grade: C — The team acquired some potentially useful pieces, but nothing that improved the franchise for next season. It was a better haul than expected, considering the team had zero picks heading into the draft.

New York Knicks

Team Needs: Center, Youth, Small Forward

Draft Picks:

No. 34 Cleathony Early (Small Forward)
No. 51 Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Small Forward)
No. 57 Louis Labeyrie (Power Forward/Center)*

*Purchased pick from Pacers

The Knicks went into draft night desperately attempting to acquire a first round selection. They weren’t able to move into the first round, so thanks to the recent Tyson Chandler trade with the Mavericks, Phil Jackson at least had a chance to make his first mark on the franchise. Early buzz was that the team was looking at Patric Young at No. 34. But when Early fell out of the first round, the Knicks couldn’t pass him up.

Early can play, but where that will be still remains unclear. He’s not fast enough to guard small forwards, nor is he big enough to be a power forward. Scouts also have serious misgivings about his ability to handle the ball. He’s also 23 years old, which means he’s close to his ceiling. Despite all the knocks, I think he’ll become a nice rotation piece for the Knicks in a season or two.

Antetokounmpo was a reach. Neither the Bucks, who employ his brother, nor the Sixers, who he played for in the D-League, decided to take him. That should tell you something right there. Granted, there wasn’t much left on the board at the time, so he might be worth the chance.

Labeyrie is unlikely to ever play in the league, which makes the move to purchase the draft pick a puzzling one.

Overall Draft Grade: C+ —Credit to Jackson for getting some picks in the draft. Early was a good value for the slot, but the team’s other two selections were probably just footnotes.

Philadelphia 76ers

Team Needs: Shooting Guard, Depth, Talent

Draft Picks:

No. 3 Joel Embiid (Center)
No. 12 Dario Saric (Small Forward)*
No. 32 K.J. McDaniels (Small Forward)
No. 39 Jerami Grant (Small Forward)
No. 52 Vasilije Micic (Point Guard)
No. 58 Jordan McRae (Shooting Guard)**

* Acquired from Magic for No. 10 overall pick, Elfrid Payton
** Acquired for No. 54 overall pick Nemanja Dangubic
***Also traded No. 47 Russ Smith to the Pelicans in exchange for the rights to Pierre Jackson, last year’s No. 42 overall selection.

The Sixers went into the night loaded with picks and high hopes. They were unable to trade up to select Wiggins, and when Parker went No. 2, it seemed all but assured they would select Dante Exum. But for the second draft in a row, Sam Hinkie took a chance on a player who might not set foot on the court all of next season.

Embiid is the most transformative player in the entire draft. But he could end up being the next Greg Oden just as easily as the next Hakeem Olajuwon. If Embiid can overcome his mounting injury concerns, this draft will be looked back on with great fondness. But this draft will also be looked at as tanking 2.0 for the team since it did nothing to get better for the 2014/15 season.

We just discussed Embiid, but Saric isn’t planning on coming over to the NBA for one or two seasons, minimum. The same with Micic. Both picks are decent values. Saric went right where he was slotted, and has a wealth of potential. The big question is if the team was better served to reach for that potential or better served selecting T.J. Warren, Adreian Payne, or Doug McDermott — and not having made the trade with Orlando that swapped picks.

Micic was predicted as a late first round selection in some mocks, so he’s a value where the team picked him. I’m very high on the selection of McDaniels, a player I thought had mid first round talent. He’s a ferocious defender who will make others around him better. Really like that pick. Grant was also a good value in round two, and he could develop into a nice role player for the team.

Overall Draft Grade: B+ —The final grade rests on Embiid’s health, but he might be worth the gamble. Saric was another good gamble, though the team might have gotten more value at the spot. The second round was filled with good value selections, though only McDaniels has starter potential. This is one that could easily change to an A+ if Saric and Embiid pan out. Passing on Exum could come back to haunt them.

Toronto Raptors

Team Needs: Center, Small Forward, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 20 Bruno Caboclo (Power Forward)
No. 37 DeAndre Daniels (Small Forward)

If you shook your head and had no idea who Bruno Caboclo is, you’re not alone. Most experts didn’t even have him on their draft boards, much lest being taken in the middle of the first round. Caboclo has been described as the “Brazilian Kevin Durant.” Toronto would be happy if it turned out he was the Brazilian Giannis Antetokounmpo. This pick is a reach, especially considering the better known talent that was still on the board at that slot. This was easily the most puzzling selection of the night.

Snagging Daniels in the second round was a solid pick, and Daniels could develop into a productive reserve.

Overall Draft Grade: D- — I’m still having a difficult time processing the selection of Caboclo. Especially when Clint Capela, Mitch McGary, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston were still on the board. The Raptors could have traded down and still nabbed their man. Daniels is a solid second-rounder, but went in range he was expected to go. The Raptors wanted Tyler Ennis, and were probably heartbroken when he was taken by the Suns at #18. Not a great night in Toronto.

‘Melo To Meet With Lakers, Rockets, Mavs, Bulls

June 27th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:43pm: Anthony will also sit down with the Lakers to hear their free agent pitch as he envisions making a decision in the second week of July, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Knicks would be willing to offer a max deal to Anthony if necessary to retain him in spite of Jackson’s repeated requests that he take a discount, Spears also hears.

WEDNESDAY, 4:33pm: Anthony hasn’t identified a favorite yet, Broussard writes in a full piece. The meetings haven’t been formally arranged, since teams can’t yet reach out to Anthony, but those are the clubs Anthony has decided to visit, Broussard clarifies. The Knicks remain “very much alive” in the ‘Melo sweepstakes, Broussard adds, reiterating his earlier report that Kobe Bryant intends to reach out to Anthony, too.

4:18pm: Carmelo Anthony will sit down with representatives from the Rockets, Mavs and Bulls when free agency begins on July 1st, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Leon Rose client has already met on multiple occasions with Knicks president Phil Jackson and his staff.

That list of teams doesn’t include the Lakers, who appeared this week to be in a group with Houston, Dallas and Chicago at the forefront of the race for the high-scoring forward. Still, there’s nearly a week to go before the start of free agency, so the Lakers may still wind up meeting with him.

The Mavs would appear to have the easiest shot at Anthony given their cap flexibility, and it appears that would be true even with the acquisition of Tyson Chandler, as rumored. The Rockets and Bulls would have to perform some salary cap gymnastics, but Houston appears confident it can dump the salaries of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, and the Bulls have the option of amnestying Carlos Boozer. Such maneuvers might not be enough to clear money to make a competitive bid for Anthony on their own, but they’d erase the most significant salary hurdles for those teams.

Eastern Rumors: Rondo, Love, ‘Melo, Bucks

June 27th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters Thursday night that he intends to keep Rajon Rondo around in spite of the team’s decision to draft fellow point guard Marcus Smart at No. 6, observes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Rondo’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors, but Ainge, as usual, did his best to dispel such talk, also dismissing the idea that Smart’s arrival is a harbinger of soon-to-be restricted free agent Avery Bradley‘s departure.

“Absolutely. No question,” Ainge said of whether Smart and Rondo could share the floor. “And [Smart] and Avery. No question. [Smart]’s a very versatile player. He can play off the ball. He can handle the ball. With his length and his size, he can probably play against a lot of small forwards — 6’3″, long wingspan, 230 pounds. He’s a very versatile player. Easily those guys can play together, and I think they would really thrive playing together, all of them.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Kevin Love is “100%” on board with the notion of signing a long-term deal with the Cavs if LeBron James returns to Cleveland, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Trade talk between the Cavs and Wolves had reportedly halted when Love made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland past his current deal if Minnesota sent him there.
Knicks president Phil Jackson reiterated his desire for Carmelo Anthony to take less than the maximum salary to re-sign with the club, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “I think it puts limitations on a team,” Jackson said of a maximum-salary contract. “What happens is then you end up having two or three players that have big contracts and everybody else’s is either veteran minimums or young players coming in. You don’t have that middle ground for a player that’s veteran, comfortable leadership-quality people. Miami explored it. I think they got the most out of it.”
The Bucks are looking to acquire a veteran big man, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, who believes that Larry Sanders would be a part of any deal to acquire one (Twitter links).

Knicks Acquire Louis Labeyrie

June 27th, 2014 at 1:20am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 1:20am: The deal is official, the Pacers announce.

THURSDAY, 11:40pm: The Knicks have struck a deal to acquire 57th overall pick Louis Labeyrie from the Pacers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). New York sends cash in return for the French big man, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.

Clippers Shopping Matt Barnes, No. 28 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:15pm: The Grizzlies have rebuffed the Clippers’ attempts to trade for Allen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

5:32pm: The Knicks are giving signals that they intend to keep Shumpert rather than dealing him for a pick, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

5:11pm: The Clippers trying to package Matt Barnes and the 28th overall pick as the draft draws near, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers would ideally like to send them to the Knicks for Iman Shumpert, several NBA executives tell Turner. Another possibility is using those assets to acquire Gerald Green from the Suns, Turner hears. The Times scribe also says Rivers has interest in Tony Allen (Twitter link).

Barnes and Shumpert were involved in a rumored trade around the deadline, and it appears that Rivers is after the Knicks swingman again. Sending a would-be fourth first-rounder to Phoenix would cause complications for the Suns, though the executives suggest to Turner that Phoenix could put a few of those picks in another trade. Allen played for Rivers when both were with the Celtics.

The 34-year-old Barnes is set to make nearly $3.4MM in 2014/15. His contract is only guaranteed for $1MM beyond that.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Felton, Knicks, Celtics

June 26th, 2014 at 6:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a “tremendous” chance that the Sixers take Joel Embiid at No. 3, though they’re still deciding, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, a source who spoke to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com threw cold water on the idea that Philly was zeroing in on the Kansas big man (Twitter link). Regardless, it won’t be long until we find out. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Phil Jackson didn’t want to trade Raymond Felton until he had a sense of what might happen with Felton’s legal situation, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Felton this week struck a plea agreement to avoid jail time on felony gun charges.
The Knicks have done their homework on Baylor’s Cory Jefferson, leaving rival execs with the impression that they’re targeting him with the No. 34 pick they acquired from the Mavs, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Any movement the Celtics make from No. 6 will be down, not up, as both A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and USA Today’s Sam Amick hear (Twitter link).
The Sixers asked Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh to work out this morning, but it’s unclear whether they accepted the invitation, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
The Nets are making a strong push to buy a pick later in the first round, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.