Knicks Sign Earl Barron
The Knicks didn't waste much time replacing Rasheed Wallace on their roster, announcing in a press release that they have signed Earl Barron. The club announced earlier today that Wallace has retired.
Barron, like Quentin Richardson, who was inked to a deal yesterday by the club, is a former Knick. New York is one of seven teams Barron has played for during his seven-year NBA career. Most recently, the seven-footer appeared in 11 games for the Wizards earlier this season, averaging 2.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG with the team before he was released.
With many of the Knicks' injured bigs, including Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby, and Kenyon Martin, expected back for the postseason, Barron is unlikely to receive significant minutes. However, he'll provide some frontcourt depth in case any of the Knicks' regulars are sidelined again.
Rasheed Wallace Retires
Rasheed Wallace has retired as an NBA player, the Knicks announced today (Twitter link). For Wallace, it's his second retirement. He initially ended his playing career after the 2009/10 season, but returned this year with the Knicks before being sidelined by injuries.
"Rasheed has given this team everything he had," coach Mike Woodson said in a statement (Twitter links). "He is a winner, true professional and leader on and off the court. Due to his injury, he will not be available to play for us during the playoffs."
Although he appeared in just 21 games with the Knicks this season, Wallace played in 1109 contests for six teams in his NBA career, averaging 14.4 PPG and 6.7 RPG in those games, good for more than 16,000 career points. According to Basketball-Reference, the 38-year-old big man earned in the neighborhood of $157MM over the course of his NBA career.
With Wallace no longer in the mix for the Knicks in the postseason, expect the team to release him and use the roster spot to sign another player before tonight's game, says Howard Beck of the New York Times (via Twitter). The team has already replaced one injured big man (Kurt Thomas) with late-season signee Quentin Richardson.
Knicks Sign Quentin Richardson
The Knicks have officially signed Quentin Richardson for the remainder of the season, the team announced today (Twitter link). Since the club released Solomon Jones yesterday, there is an open roster spot, meaning no corresponding move will be required to clear room for Richardson.
When the Knicks waived Jones, I speculated that perhaps James Singleton's CBA clearance issues had been resolved, since Singleton was the player the team initially wanted to sign. It doesn't appear that was the case, but Richardson, like Singleton, isn't a big man, so it seems the team is comfortable with its frontcourt depth heading into the postseason.
Richardson, who spent four seasons with the Knicks earlier in his career, is still being paid by the Magic, who released him prior to the start of the season. The 33-year-old spent two fairly unsuccessful seasons in Orlando, averaging just 4.5 PPG and an 8.4 PER in 105 contests for the Magic in 2010/11 and '11/12.
Because he hasn't signed with an NBA team since October, Richardson remains playoff-eligible, though I can't imagine him playing much of a role for the Knicks in the postseason.
Knicks Waive Solomon Jones
Just three days after officially signing him, the Knicks have waived Solomon Jones, the team announced today (Twitter link). The move opens up a roster spot for the Knicks, as they are now carrying 14 players.
Jones, 28, appeared in two games for the Knicks, playing 26 total minutes. He was fairly ineffective in his limited time, racking up as many fouls and turnovers as rebounds (three each). He also didn't score a single point in either contest.
Despite the fact that a few Knicks big men could be on their way back to the lineup soon, I would guess that the team will add another player to the roster before the regular season ends on Wednesday. James Singleton could be one option — he initially reached an agreement with the club last week before it fell through due to complications relating to his letter of clearance from China. If those issues get cleared up, he would be eligible to sign with the Knicks and play in the postseason.
Odds & Ends: Mavs, Collins, Jackson, Jordan
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban takes the blame for his team's subpar season, saying he failed to construct an adequate roster and promising he'll be more attentive this summer, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "I'm not making any predictions," the owner said. "All I'm saying is we're not going to do a traditional rebuild. That's (why) we got all this cap room, so we wouldn't. We're going to be opportunistic."
Cuban also made headlines this evening for his desire to keep Vince Carter for years to come, but there are plenty of other newsmakers tonight:
- Contradicting a report from earlier this week, John Finger of CSNPhilly.com writes that Sixers management wants to keep Doug Collins for as long as he has a desire to coach.
- Collins will still receive his $4.5MM salary for next season if the Sixers fire him, but he won't get the money if he quits, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Stephen Jackson's discontent, which was apparently at the root of his release from the Spurs, didn't stem from the lack of a contract extension, but simply a desire for more playing time, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News.
- Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan is nearing a deal to become the next head coach at Rutgers, tweets Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington.com. Jordan is willing to take the job even if it means he'd have to leave the Lakers right away, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
- Mike Woodson has interest in Kurt Thomas rejoining the Knicks as an assistant coach next season, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal notes via Twitter.
- North Carolina announced sophomore swingman P.J. Hairston is returning to school, tweets Andy Katz of ESPN.com. Hairston is No. 40 on Chad Ford's list of prospects for ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has Hairston at No. 14 on his 2014 mock draft.
- Before he gets into the latest edition of his mock draft, Chris Mannix of SI.com discusses Louisville's Russ Smith, whom coach Rick Pitino now says is "50-50" to go pro after it seemed earlier that he would enter the draft. At least one scout who spoke to Mannix thinks Smith would go undrafted in June.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Knicks Sign Solomon Jones
5:25pm: The Knicks have announced the signing, tweets Howard Beck of The New York Times.
5:03pm: Jones' deal covers next season as well, and becomes guaranteed for 2013/14 if he's not waived by a certain date, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link).
1:40pm: The Knicks are signing Jones rather than Singleton because Singleton didn't receive FIBA clearance due to a procedural delay with his Chinese team, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
11:12am: The Knicks will sign big man Solomon Jones to a contract for the remainder of the season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Jones, who played in China this year, received his FIBA letter of clearance today, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
Unless the Knicks intend to waive a second player in addition to Kurt Thomas, the signing of Jones may indicate that the team's agreement with James Singleton fell apart, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets. Jones, a 6'10" big man, would give New York a little more size than Singleton, a 6'8" forward, in what has become an injury-depleted frontcourt.
Jones, 28, played for the same CBA team as Josh Akognon, who is currently on a 10-day contract with the Mavericks. In 19 games for the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters, Jones averaged a double-double, recording 15.8 PPG and 10.4 RPG. The former second-round pick, who has appeared in 268 contests in parts of six NBA seasons, played for the Clippers and Hornets in 2011/12 and was in camp with the Suns in the fall.
Knicks Release Kurt Thomas
1:25pm: The Knicks have officially waived Thomas, according to the team's PR Twitter account.
FRIDAY, 11:40am: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has reported that the Knicks will waive Thomas to clear a spot to sign Solomon Jones. While Wojnarowski doesn't explicitly mention Singleton in his report, the implication seems to be that the Knicks' agreemeent with Singleton fell through, leading them to turn to Jones instead.
If the Knicks were to waive another player in addition to Thomas, they could clear room for both Singleton and Jones. It's possible that there were complications with Singleton's letter of clearance from China, though that's just my speculation.
WEDNESDAY, 6:38pm: The Knicks will waive Thomas, Isola tweets. Thomas, 40, will have surgery on his foot next week. Thomas has been the league's oldest player this season, a distinction that will fall to Grant Hill of the Clippers, who is one day younger.
5:52pm: The Knicks will sign free agent power forward James Singleton, a source confirms to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Frank Isola of the New York Daily News first tweeted the news that a deal was close. Kurt Thomas, in the last season of a two-year contract for the minimum salary, will likely be waived to create room on the roster, according to Isola.
Singleton signed in November with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese league after turning down a minimum-salary offer last summer from the Wizards, with whom he played 12 games last season. The 6'8", 31-year-old Singleton averaged 15.2 points and 11.1 rebounds as a part-time starter in 21 games for Xinjiang this season, down slightly from the 17.8 PPG and 11.9 RPG he produced while playing in China during 2011/12. He's seen much more limited playing time with the Clippers, Mavs and Wizards in parts of five NBA seasons, notching 8.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG with Washington last year.
Begley reported earlier today that the Knicks were looking at free agent big men in the wake of Kenyon Martin's injury last night. The Knicks have been especially hard hit with ailments to their front line, Thomas included. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot last month, and played with the injury in a game against the Jazz before shutting it down with hopes of returning for the playoffs. That game, Thomas' last appearance, was the first win in New York's current 13-game winning streak, Isola points out (Twitter link).
Knicks Eyeing Free Agent Bigs
With the postseason approaching and frontcourt players like Kurt Thomas, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby, and Amare Stoudemire out of action, the Knicks had resolved to take a wait-and-see approach with their injured bigs. However, after Kenyon Martin left last night's game with an ankle injury, the Knicks have changed course and intensified their search for a big man, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Head coach Mike Woodson had said previously that if guys like Thomas and Wallace still aren't close to returning at the end of the regular season, the Knicks would consider adding a free agent. While neither of those players has a timetable for his return yet, New York had been getting by with Martin playing increased minutes. Now that Martin's return date is questionable, the Knicks figure to play more small-ball and rely more heavily on Chris Copeland and/or Steve Novak as they weigh their options.
As our list of current free agents shows, there aren't a ton of attractive veterans on the market, though our list doesn't include players in the D-League. Nate Taylor of the New York Times took a look at a few D-League options for the Knicks back in March.
According to Begley, no signing is imminent for the Knicks. The team would have to finalize a move within the next week in order for a new addition to be eligible for the postseason. Someone on the current roster would have to be released as well, since the Knicks are currently carrying the maximum 15 players.
Odds & Ends: Mack, Suns, Favors, Smith, Dirk
While there are no games on the NBA docket tonight, there are still plenty of news items to pass along. Here are some odds and ends from around the league:
- Shelvin Mack has finally found a home in Atlanta, writes NBA.com's Jon Cooper. Mack, who re-signed with the Hawks after the expiration of his second 10-day contract on March 26, has received a bump in minutes of late and has responded with a handful of solid performances.
- Along with their own first round pick, which figures to be high, the Suns will also have another selection in round one – either the Lakers pick if they miss the playoffs or the Heat's pick if L.A. sneaks in. Jay Dieffenbach of AzCentral takes a look at the top, middle and back of the past four NBA draft's to give Suns fans an idea of what they should expect.
- Jazz big man Derrick Favors has made the most of the increased playing time that has resulted from Enes Kanter's season-ending injury, writes Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Luhm, Favors is also completely settled in as a member of the Jazz after being dealt to Utah two years ago as a teenager.
- Here is a transcript of a J.R. Smith interview on ESPN Radio New York, courtesy of SportsRadioInterviews.com, within which Smith details the keys to his breakout season with the Knicks. Smith is the owner of a $2.93MM player option this offseason. If declined, he will become a free agent coming off a career year.
- In HoopsWorld's NBA PM column, Bill Ingram writes that it won't be a surprise if Dirk Nowitzki's patience runs out should the Mavericks strike out once again this offseason. Nowitzki has repeatedly professed his loyalty to the Dallas organization, despite the dismantling of the 2010-11 title team and the disappointment of what was supposed to be a huge summer in 2012. The Mavs are again ideally positioned to make an impact this summer, but it remains to be seen what players make it to free agency.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, J.R. Smith, Nets, Collins
Depth at guard and the resurgence of Jeff Green have helped the Celtics remain relevant in the wake of Rajon Rondo's injury, as HoopsWorld's Stephen Brotherston details. Brotherston ponders the chances of a Heat-Celtics clash in the first round, and believes the Celtics would relish another playoff series with Miami. I'm inclined to believe Doc Rivers, who told reporters yesterday, including Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, that he's not trying to match up with the Heat."Listen, I’m not that dumb," Rivers said. "I’m not the brightest guy but come on. Really, you would love to avoid anyone (like Miami)."
While we wait to find out Boston's first-round opponent, there's plenty of other news from the C's and their Atlantic Division rivals:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to a pair of agents, an NBA executive and a longtime scout who agree that there's uncertainty surrounding this summer's market price for Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith. The soon-to-be free agent's inconsistent play and reputation as a frequent partier could hold down his value, but a strong postseason performance could help him, Zwerling writes.
- The playoffs will determine the fate of Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who believes the team won't hesitate to go after marquee names like Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.
- The Sixers have already picked up their team option on coach Doug Collins for next season, and all indications are that the decision on whether he'll return will be left to the coach himself, Stein reports in the same piece.
- Petraglia wonders whether midseason pickup Shavlik Randolph — a veteran of four total playoff minutes — could be a postseason factor for the Celtics.
- Celtics guard Jordan Crawford clearly has little love lost for his former team. The ex-Wizard twice said, "I don't recall playing for Washington," to reporters Saturday. Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe provides detail.