Atlantic Notes: Carmelo, Rondo, Shumpert
Derrick Rose refuses to recruit, but Carmelo Anthony (reportedly) might be willing to woo stars to New York. Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smtih told USA Today’s Jason Jordan that Anthony is trying to convince Rondo to sign with the Knicks in the summer of 2015 when he is a free agent. Here’s more on that and other news out of the Atlantic Division..
- Anthony refused to discuss the report, writes ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley. “C’mon, man. In my book, that’s tampering,” he said. If the report is true, however, that’s a promising sign for Knicks fans if the pending free agent is working to get stars to join him at MSG.
- Iman Shumpert is clearly uncomfortable with all of the trade talk surrounding him and Knicks teammate J.R. Smith empathizes. “Nobody wants to be traded,” Smith said, according to Begley. “To be in the situation he’s in with a hell of a team and the teammates that we have, it’s tough to go through that.” Shump took his anger out on the Magic last night, scoring 10 points in 25 minutes in the Knicks’ 38-point win.
- Despite uneven playing time in Boston, Gerald Wallace says that Celtics teammate Kris Humphries won’t be requesting a trade. “That’s not his personality,” Wallace said, according to the Boston Herald. “I think a lot of people are trying to push him to that edge, but knowing Kris, that’s not his personality. He’s not going to demand a trade. He’s not going to blow up and go all off in the media. The thing he’s going to do is keep working hard every day and continue to get better as a player and wait for his opportunity.”
Knicks Won’t Trade Carmelo Anthony
Even with some serious struggling to open the 2013/14 season and their star player calling them the “laughingstock” of the NBA, the Knicks have zero intention of trading Carmelo Anthony, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Aside from the fact that owner Jim Dolan personally sealed the deal to bring Anthony to New York, the front office realizes it won’t be able to get fair value in return for one of the most talented players in the league.
Even with the Knicks’ losing this season, they still have a major chip in negotiations this summer as they can give Melo roughly $33MM more than any other club over the course of a five-year deal. Anthony, as Jonathan Nehring of Hoops Rumors touched on last night, has a history of going with the green.
Besides, rebuilding isn’t Dolan’s style. The Knicks have never made rebuilding trades and Windhorst reasons that they’re not going to start with the biggest star they’ve had since Patrick Ewing.
Carmelo’s Future Is Predictable
All eyes appear to be on Carmelo Anthony of late as he grows to be one of the hottest commodities this upcoming offseason.
While Carmelo is under contract with the Knicks through next season, next year’s salary is an early termination option which Carmelo has already expressed he plans to exercise this summer. In February, the Knicks could negotiate to extend Carmelo’s contract but Carmelo asked the Knicks on the first day of training camp to not discuss an extension. In November, Carmelo backed down from his previous statements and said he hopes to retire with the Knicks. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith contradicted that statement this week reporting Anthony had already decided to leave New York. Carmelo adamantly denied that report.
Contradicting reports leave Anthony’s future uncertain but ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst says Carmelo’s past actions show he is in New York to stay. Windhorst points out that Carmelo has approached his NBA career with the mindset to look out for himself first and capture as much money as he can during his short career.
In 2006, Anthony refused to gamble $20MM in guaranteed money and took a five-year max salary deal instead of the three year extension LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh took. Before that contract expired, Carmelo demanded a trade to the team he wanted to play for the following year as a free agent. Being traded to the Knicks allowed Anthony to sign a more favorable extension than he would have received in free agency. And again, at the beginning of this season, Carmelo said he will exercise his early termination option to become a free agent. Another move that will bring Anthony more money.
This favors the Knicks as they will be able to re-sign Carmelo for an extra year and $30MM more than any other team in the league. If Anthony continues to make his decisions based on money – New York is where he will retire.
That is, unless he demands to be traded this season or to be signed and traded next offseason. Sam Smith of Bulls.com thinks Knicks fans shouldn’t worry about these options.
Smith says the Knicks are very unlikely to trade him this season because they know how much Carmelo values the extra year and $30MM. Carmelo will be 34 at the end of his next contract so he and the Knicks realize this is likely his last chance to capture a max deal. The Knicks think this motivation will force Carmelo to re-sign with them this offseason.
The Knicks are also unlikely to complete a sign-and-trade since Carmelo’s bargaining power appears weak. Carmelo can’t threaten to sign with another team in free agency for less money when his track record shows otherwise and another contract beyond this one doesn’t appear imminent. Windhorst also points out that the Knicks dug quite a deep hole to obtain Anthony and no fair value will be available for the Knicks to get in return via trade.
New York Links: Carmelo, Shumpert, Kidd
Knicks fans have had little to celebrate this year, but they can point to last night’s blowout of the crosstown Nets for intra-city bragging rights. They may also glean some hope from today’s report that Carmelo Anthony believes he can convince Rajon Rondo to come to New York, since recruitment of Rondo, who isn’t a free agent until 2015, would seem to signal that Anthony wants to stick around New York for the long term. Here’s more on New York’s teams:
- Newsday’s Al Iannazzone speculates that the Knicks could trade Anthony if they believe he’ll leave in free agency, but I’d be shocked if New York counted itself out of this summer’s Anthony sweepstakes before it even began.
- The Knicks will have a tough time contending even if Anthony re-signs, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com, who believes a parting of ways would be best for both player and team.
- The struggles of the Nets and Knicks suggest the provisions in the collective bargaining agreement designed to protect small-market teams are working, fellow SI.com scribe Ian Thomsen observes. The failure of Brooklyn’s aging stars may dissuade other teams from copying the Nets’ approach, Thomsen adds.
- Iman Shumpert‘s resurgent play could make the Knicks less inclined to trade him, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
- The Nets made Jason Kidd aware of all the consequences of demoting former lead assistant coach Lawrence Frank, including the negative perception it would entail for the franchise, a source tells ESPNNewYork.com columnist Ian O’Connor. The result is that the pressure is squarely on Kidd now, O’Connor writes.
- There’s plenty of blame on both sides of the Kidd/Frank saga, opines Dave D’Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- P.J. Carlesimo, the coach of last year’s Nets, is optimistic this year’s Brooklyn team can turn it around, as he tells D’Alessandro.
Carmelo Anthony Recruiting Rajon Rondo?
Rajon Rondo can’t become a free agent until the summer of 2015 and remains sidelined after an ACL tear, but his high school coach claims the recruitment process has already begun. Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith tells USA Today’s Jason Jordan that Carmelo Anthony is trying to woo Rondo to New York. Anthony also played under Smith at Oak Hill, but the Knicks star seems intent on opting out of his contract this summer, making his interest in recruiting a class of 2015 free agent to New York a potential sign that he wants to re-sign with the Knicks.
New York reportedly tried to trade for Rondo earlier this season in a deal involving Iman Shumpert, only to meet with refusal from Celtics GM Danny Ainge, who denies that any talk of a Rondo swap took place. It could be that the high school coach is making reference to these talks rather than free agency, insinuating that Anthony is lobbying the Knicks front office to pursue trading for Rondo and that the two stars have had their own private discussions about it. That’s just my speculation, of course.
Rondo is set to become one of the most sought-after free agents in 2015, assuming he returns to form after the injury and doesn’t sign an extension with the Celtics. The Knicks are set up to shed most of their bloated payroll after the 2014/15 season, making a Rondo signing a possibility.
Eastern Links: Rose, Sanders, Anderson
Derrick Rose was asked to comment on the idea that the Bulls should look to move on without him after his latest injury, and he had this to say: “What do you mean?…You can be a fool if you want to…I know I’m going to be alright…I know I am (going to be the same player). A better player…If anything, this should even me out. When I think about it, the injury, I just turned and this happened, kind of like a freak accident. I put all I had into coming back and if this was to happen 10 more times I’d be able to deal with it” (Sam Smith of Bulls.com).
Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Earlier today, we made note that Rose wouldn’t rule out a return to the court if he managed to get healthy in time for the postseason. On the other hand, head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t seem willing to entertain the thought of looking that far ahead: “To me, he’s out for the season…If something changes along the way…We want him to be completely healthy before he moves forward…We can’t worry about whether he may come back. Right now, it’s been determined that he’s out for the season, so that’s the way we’re going to approach it” (Sean Highkin of USA Today).
- In responding to one of his Twitter followers, Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld said that the notion of dealing Larry Sanders for a lottery pick next year would not even be a consideration (Twitter link).
- Keith Pompey of Philly.com talks about how James Anderson has excelled in his reserve role as of late after beginning the season as a starter for the 76ers.
- We’ve relayed quite a bit from the Knicks and Nets this evening, and five ESPN writers decided to chime in on why both teams have been playing poorly, who has the hotter seat between Mike Woodson and Jason Kidd, which team will be worse in April, and which has a rougher future ahead.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry voiced his support for Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, telling FOX Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico: “(Brown’s) a relentless worker and a quality, high character person. He is a good teacher and holds players accountable. His will and passion for defense will always give any team a strong chance to be successful. This will have such a strong impact for a team establishing a foundation for years to come.”
- There may have been a chorus of boos for Kidd tonight at the Barclays Center during the pre-game introductions, but the Nets coach gets a vote of confidence from his former teammate J.R. Smith: “Criticism is going to come…He’s a first-year coach and he’s a great basketball mind. Just unfortunately, he’s going through it early. Some coaches have success early, some struggle early. He just happens to be struggling right now…I think he’s the best fit for that job and he knows how to get out of it. He’s got a great core of vets, so he’ll be fine” (Roderick Boone of Newsday).
- The Celtics sit atop the Atlantic Division, but the team isn’t letting their early success get to their head and remains focused on continuing to work hard (Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com).
New York Notes: Knicks, Nets, JVG, Carmelo
We’re less than an hour before tip-off between the Atlantic Division’s cellar dwelling Knicks and Nets, and despite both teams’ struggles to start the season, one of the two will be able to avoid sinking further for now with a win tonight. Here’s some of the latest out of Manhattan and Brooklyn:
- SB Nation’s Tom Ziller goes into detail about what’s ailing the Knicks and Nets, how both teams should fare over the course of the season, and what may be in store if things continue to go poorly.
- To those who doubt that Knicks owner James Dolan would be willing to work with Jeff Van Gundy again after the latter’s abrupt in-season exit over a decade ago, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reminds us that in April 2008, Van Gundy had been considered for the the head coaching job by then-team executive Donnie Walsh. Isola also states that Dolan approved of the team’s interest in Van Gundy back then as well, although the former head coach would later tell Walsh that he wasn’t interested (Twitter links).
- Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld ponders what the current trade market for Carmelo Anthony is, and, considering that the Knicks star has the option to become an unrestricted free agent after this season and/or won’t necessarily have to commit long-term elsewhere if traded, argues that the team will have no other choice but to explore low-ball offers at this point.
- Following last season’s team exit interview, Mike Woodson was under the impression that Jason Kidd would be returning for another season with the Knicks, and was caught off-guard by the 40-year-old point guard’s retirement: “Absolutely I thought he was coming back…I did. I was surprised. Jason spent a long time in this league. He has the right to retire and move on. Obviously he had something else going and wound up here as a head coach. We would’ve loved to have him back. It wasn’t the case” (Marc Berman of the New York Post via Sulia).
Carmelo Denies Already Deciding On His Future
Everyone is wondering what Carmelo Anthony will do when he hits the open market in the summer of 2014, and that apparently includes Anthony himself. In response to boisterous ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith reporting that sources have told him the Knicks star has decided to skip town, Anthony issued a flat denial, tweets Rod Boone of Newsday.
Anthony went on to say that he doesn’t talk to those close to him about his future plans (link). “Anybody in my crew, anybody on my team, family, nobody.” He also asserted that if a story doesn’t come from him then it’s “not true” (link).
Anthony, who is coming up on his three-year anniversary of being traded to New York, has been vocal about his frustration over the club’s putrid start. For those who believe LeBron James is staying put in Miami, Anthony appears to be the top prize in a loaded free agent class this summer.
New York Notes: Carmelo, Prokhorov, Dolan
If you had December 5th circled on your calendar to make sure you didn’t miss the Knicks and Nets squaring off in Brooklyn…feel free to make some alternate plans instead. With the Knicks at 3-13 and the Nets not looking much better at 5-13, there are serious doubts about whether NYC’s teams will recover this season. The latest from the Big Apple..
- Knicks owner James Dolan was largely motivated to trade for Carmelo Anthony in 2011 so that he didn’t wind up in Brooklyn. “There was definitely a fear that Carmelo would wind up with the Nets if the Knicks didn’t get him,” a former Knicks employee told Harvey Araton of the New York Times. “Dolan was annoyed by the billboard [of Prokhorov and then minority owner Jay-Z near MSG] — you couldn’t blame him for that — and he was determined to make sure he got Carmelo.”
- Araton checked in with Prokhorov via email for his story and the Nets owner indicated that he’s not ready to panic. “We’re only a month into the season! Give it a little time. And have a little faith,” Prokhorov wrote.
- The Russian owner also took the opportunity to send a jab in Dolan’s direction. After the pow-wow earlier this year featuring the two owners and commissioner David Stern, Dolan quipped that he got a “free lunch” out of the meeting. Asked what he got out of it, Prokhorov wrote in his email, “As logic would dictate, the check.”
- At least one person is optimistic that the Nets and Knicks will rebound in 2013/14. “I believe New York and Brooklyn are too talented of teams to continue on the track that they’re on,” said Celtics GM Danny Ainge, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Ainge’s Celtics currently occupy the top spot in the Atlantic Division, but they’re also three games from last place.
Odds & Ends: Mozgov, Hawks, Garnett, Draft
Timofey Mozgov might be the hottest player in the NBA right now and that can be largely attributed to assistant coach Melvin Hunt, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. “All the Russian I know can’t be repeated,” Hunt explained, “because when he gets frustrated and says them, I know they’re bad words.” More from around the Association..
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t expect Dennis Schröder to stay in the D-League for long. “My guess is he’ll be back sooner but we’ll see how it’s going down there and how it’s going up there,” Budenholzer said, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Atlanta assigned the rookie guard earlier today.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News attempts to fix the Eastern Conference for all the teams not named the Heat or Pacers. The list, unsurprisingly, starts with the Nets and the struggles of offseason addition Kevin Garnett.
- A few league executives and scouts indicated to Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter) that Glenn Robinson III‘s stock is falling. The Michigan standout is currently slotted to go No. 17 on DraftExpress’ mock draft.
- The Nets and Knicks better hope that they can turn things around this season because they can’t hope to build through the draft, notes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Both NYC teams have mortgaged their futures in an effort to contend in the present.