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Knicks Notes: Draft, Lottery, Jackson, Oakley

May 16th, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Joshua Fischman

With the NBA draft lottery a mere hours away, the Knicks organization will soon learn where it will draft next month. The Knicks stands a 5.3% chance of grabbing the first overall selection and, at worst, will pick 10th overall. The team has trained its focus on wings and guards, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.

The Knicks delegation made up of Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, assistant GM Allan Houston, and head coach Jeff Hornacek interviewed Markelle Fultz, De’Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson, and Frank Jackson, at the combine, per Zagoria. Fox beamed about his desire to play for the Knicks in another piece Zagoria wrote for FanRagSports.com.

“I don’t know too much about the triangle,” Fox said. “Everyone says it’s hard to learn but if I go in there I’ll have to learn quickly. And Porzingis, he’s amazing, watching the NBA this year. I really paid attention to the NBA this year knowing I’m about to go into this business; I had to stop watching it as a casual fan and start thinking of it as a business aspect. He’s great and if I get to play with him, I feel like we can do something special.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Phil Jackson is furious about the coverage he and the team are getting by the New York media, but it is Jackson who must take accountability for his failures for the Knicks culture to improve, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. In particular, Jackson should question the effect of his treatment of star players on the team, argues Isola. Jackson claims that NBA commissioner Adam Silver agreed that media coverage has become problematic when the pair recently met, but Isola is skeptical.
Jackson has tempered his expectations for the lottery and the draft, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Jackson knows that there are no guarantees and is approaching the draft in a holistic manner: “We don’t expect a whole lot. Even our franchise, the New York Knicks, deigned to draft guys back in the ’90s, went with all veterans, gave up a lot of their picks. There’s that feeling too. As this talent pool is narrowed, it really is important to have both draftable players, tradeable players and free agents. We want to look at all these options before we get into it.”
Lonzo Ball and Fultz top the list of Knicks possible targets, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. That’s no surprise, as those are considered the top two prospects in the draft by nearly every expert.
Charles Oakley is still facing charges stemming from his infamous February expulsion from Madison Square Garden and says that James Dolan should have been fined or suspended, writes Ted Berg of USA Today Sports. Oakley made his comments on the For the Win podcast.

Knicks Notes: Chemistry, Rose, Oakley

April 13th, 2017 at 10:08pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many factors contributed to the Knicks’ disappointing season, though team chemistry belongs near the top of the list, Ian Begley of ESPN.com notes. Earlier in the season, Rose went missing for a game and he addressed his teammates on the following night, apologizing for putting them in a bad spot. Begley hears from a source that after Rose concluded, no one said a word and the scribe believes it’s a testament to the team’s lack of cohesiveness.

Here’s more from New York:

Prior to Derrick Rose‘s latest injury, the Knicks were still considering him as an option had they missed out on bigger free agent targets, such as Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague, Begley writes in the same piece. Coach Jeff Hornacek recently said the team won’t close the door on a Rose return.
Rose would be happy to get another shot with the Knicks, but he’s excited to hit free agency for the first time in his career, Lonnae O’Neal of The Undefeated passes along. “I would love to stay here,” Rose said of New York. “I love my teammates, I love the coaches, I love the front office. But this will be the first time that I will hit free agency, so I want to take advantage of everything and just see what the free agency system is all about.”
Charles Oakley has been arraigned in court on charges stemming from his ejection from Madison Square Garden earlier this season, ESPN.com relays. Oakley has maintained his innocence and declared that he’ll fight the charges.
Carmelo Anthony is reportedly leaning toward waiving his no-trade clause this summer. Unless he and Phil Jackson can reconcile, New York will look to deal him.

Atlantic Notes: Brown, Simmons, Fultz, Oakley

April 9th, 2017 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Aside from the mercurial debut by Joel Embiid, the most important thing to happen for the Sixers this season has been the development of young players, Derek Bodner writes on his website. Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell have all seen significant playing time and should be important components of the team going forward. Bodner adds that coach Brett Brown is living up to the reputation that he had as a player development specialist when former GM Sam Hinkie hired him in 2013.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Brown is dismissing rumors that rookie Ben Simmons has grown two inches during the season, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. That story apparently started with a comment made by World B. Free on a Cavaliers broadcast last month. “I can feel comfortable saying no, he has not grown to 7 feet,” Brown said. “I wish he had.” The first pick in last year’s draft, Simmons missed the entire season after breaking a bone in his right foot during training camp.
University of Washington guard Markelle Fultz, a possible top pick in this year’s draft, is visiting Madison Square Garden today to watch the Knicks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. New York, which occupies the sixth spot in our latest Reverse Standings, is hoping for some lottery luck to have a chance at Fultz.
Former Knicks star Charles Oakley will appear in court Tuesday for charges stemming from his February run-in with team owner James Dolan that resulted in his ejection from the arena. Oakley, who is charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of criminal trespass, told Dan Gelston of The Associated Press that he has no regrets about the incident. “I would have done everything just the same way,” Oakley said. “I didn’t do nothing. I was only in the arena five minutes. I didn’t know you could get in that much trouble in five minutes. I’d take my chances and do the same thing again.”

Charles Oakley To Join BIG3 As A Player/Coach

February 17th, 2017 at 4:05pm CST by Milo Taibi

Charles Oakley is the latest addition to the BIG3 basketball league, joining the “KILLER 3s” team as a player/coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The KILLER 3s will be comprised of Oakley, Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson, and two other players.

Ice Cube, the BIG3’s co-founder, and Oakley each expressed their satisfaction with the signing. “The players and coaches are our central focus at the BIG3,” Ice Cube said in a statement relayed by Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. “Charles Oakley is an NBA legend, who deserves and has earned respect, and will get just that in our league.”

“I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this league,” Oakley added. “Everyone seems to realize we are about to make history together as players. What an exciting opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best ever.”

Oakley, 53, most recently played in the NBA with Houston in 2003/4, scoring nine points over seven games.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Raptors, Oakley, Lin

February 16th, 2017 at 10:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers center Joel Embiid claims he’s “more surprised than everybody else” how well this season has gone after he was sidelined two seasons by foot injuries. During the interview with ESPN Radio, Embiid admits he entertained thoughts of retiring during those lost seasons. “I was such in a dark place, I wanted to quit basketball,” Embiid said. “I just wanted to go back home and just leave everything behind.” Embiid pines for the Rookie of the Year award, saying it would be validation for the sacrifices he made to get back on the court. He’s hopeful of returning soon after the All-Star break after missing the last 11 games with what he describes as a left knee bone bruise, though he reportedly has a partial meniscus tear.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

The Raptors do not want to part with young assets now that they’ve made a big move by acquiring power forward Serge Ibaka, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Toronto would prefer to hold onto Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira, Pascal Siakam, Norm Powell and Fred VanVleet, Smith continues. They could still package Jared Sullinger‘s expiring contract, a 2017 first-rounder and one of their backup point guards to make another move, Smith adds.
Charles Oakley doubts his issues with Knicks owner James Dolan will ever be resolved, Newsday’s Jim Baumbach relays via a Sports Illustrated interview. Despite a meeting with commissioner Adam Silver and Dolan earlier this week, Oakley is still fuming over his forcible removal from Madison Square Garden and arrest on February 8th. “My life is going to change a lot because it’s just like getting a DUI sometime or going to jail for murder,” he told SI. “It’s something on my record. If you Google my name, it’s going to come up. And that hurts.”
Nets point guard Jeremy Lin is expected to return to action immediately after the All-Star break, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Lin practiced on Tuesday without any setbacks, according to NetsDaily.com. Lin’s season has been wrecked by hamstring woes. Signed to a three-year, $36MM contract last summer to be the team’s No. 1 point guard, Lin has appeared in just 12 games.

Knicks Notes: Oakley, Roster, Carmelo

February 15th, 2017 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been an eventful week for Charles Oakley, who was arrested at a Knicks game last Wednesday, and was subsequently banned from attending future games at Madison Square Garden. According to an ESPN report, the Knicks have since lifted Oakley’s ban, but the former All-Star is in no rush to attend another game as James Dolan‘s guest. Instead, he’d like an apology from the organization.

“It’s not about being at the Garden,” Oakley said. “It’s about the fans. … I love the fans in New York. They’ve been supportive. One of the things I told the commissioner, I want to have a press conference and I want him to apologize to me and the fans.”

Per ESPN’s report, along with Oakley’s comments to Dan Le Batard and Jeff Goodman, Dolan has apologized privately, and Oakley’s camp and the Knicks have discussed the possibility of having a “Charles Oakley Day” at MSG. However, that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, since Oakley isn’t quite ready to forgive and forget, as he told Le Batard: “Some things hurt. Some things just don’t walk away. A dog who broke his leg isn’t just going to walk away.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

While the Knicks have been at the center of several trade rumors this season, head coach Jeff Hornacek is heading into the All-Star break expecting to start the second half without any real roster changes, per Mike Vorkunov of The New York Times. “I think this is going to be our team,” Hornacek said. “We have had good stretches, bad stretches; we are trying to build something here before we go into the break, so I anticipate we have the same team.”
Asked again today about his no-trade clause, Carmelo Anthony said he hasn’t thought about it lately, since management hasn’t talked to him about any potential deals (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
The Knicks are stuck in the NBA’s version of no-man’s land, and aren’t working toward a clear destination, writes Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. According to Beer, New York doesn’t necessarily have to make major changes this month, but will have to decide this summer whether to remain in win-now mode or to take a step backward and commit to a rebuild.
Earlier today, we passed along a Forbes report which indicated that the Knicks remain the NBA’s most valuable franchise. Forbes placed a valuation of $3.3 billion on the team.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Hernangomez, Noah, Oakley, Dolan

February 13th, 2017 at 6:31pm CST by Milo Taibi

Bobby Marks of The Vertical covered the Knicks in his trade deadline preview series. The Knicks, Marks writes, are a big market team dealing with adversity (to put it lightly). Marks explains the ways in which the Knicks have limited assets on paper; both Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings are on expiring contracts, and Courtney Lee will gain trade value over the summer, due to a weak shooting guard free agent class. Joakim Noah‘s expensive, long-term deal won’t attract suitors, and the team’s younger assets- Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez– aren’t thought to be available.

Trading Carmelo Anthony will be a “serious challenge” for the Knicks front office, who need to decide whether Anthony’s value would grow over the offseason. Marks put together a hypothetical trade that would work financially for all parties, in which Anthony would be dealt to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and Wesley Johnson. Of course, any deal involving Anthony would require the nine-time All-Star waiving his no-trade clause.

Knicks Ban Charles Oakley, Won’t Opt Out Of Phil Jackson’s Contract

February 10th, 2017 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the incident at Madison Square Garden earlier this week, the Knicks have banned Charles Oakley from attending games at the arena, team owner James Dolan said today. Michael Kay first reported word of the ban (Twitter link), with Dolan confirming it in an appearance on Kay’s show this afternoon.

According to Dolan, it won’t necessarily be a “lifetime ban” for Oakley (Twitter link via Marc Berman of The New York Post). However, while the Knicks owner is concerned about fan backlash, he says his priority is maintaining a safe environment, adding that Oakley was abusive and vulgar and came to the Garden on Wednesday with an agenda (Twitter links via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).

Since Wednesday’s incident, the Knicks have issued multiple statements explaining why Oakley was ejected from the stadium and arrested. The team also shot down Oakley’s account, in which the former NBA big man insisted that he wasn’t the instigator in the situation. The Knicks continued the PR assault on Oakley today, publicly releasing more than a dozen first-hand statements from MSG staff on the incident (Twitter links via Ryan Field of WABC).

At Hoops Rumors, we typically focus on stories that relate to trades, free agency, and other forms of roster moves and player movement. So what does this story have to do with that? Well, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets, the Knicks are becoming a “toxic” destination for free agents based on this incident and Phil Jackson‘s behavior toward Carmelo Anthony. According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), the Knicks have “enraged” people around the league in the last 48 hours with their handling of the Oakley situation.

Dolan may have intended to explain his side of the story with today’s radio appearance, but he only made matters worse when he told Kay that Oakley has anger problems and that he “may have a problem with alcohol, we don’t know” (Twitter link via Bontemps). With Dolan making unfounded claims about a former Knicks star and Jackson repeatedly criticizing a current Knicks star, it’s hard to imagine many players around the NBA viewing the team as an appealing franchise to join.

The Knicks owner also said today that he won’t meddle in basketball decisions and that he doesn’t intend to exercise the club’s 2017 opt-out on Jackson’s contract (Twitter link via Bontemps). So barring a surprise, the duo doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Knicks Notes: Carmelo, Jackson, Oakley

February 9th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A Wednesday report from The Vertical suggested that Phil Jackson‘s apparent efforts to push Carmelo Anthony out of New York have only strengthened the forward’s resolve to stay with the Knicks, and Marc Berman of The New York Post has heard something similar. According to Berman’s source, Anthony has told confidants that he may try to wait out Jackson, who isn’t necessarily assured of a long-term stay with the team. While Anthony has no desire to leave New York, Jackson has an opt-out clause on his contract later this year.

“He still feels it’s his team and still loves it here,” Berman’s source said of Anthony.

It’s been a busy and eventful week in New York, so let’s round up a few more Knicks-related notes:

One veteran NBA executive tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that if the Knicks want Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, the best approach may be to start trading other veterans on the team, since Carmelo has said he’s more committed to his teammates than the front office. That same executive also wondered why the team is devaluing Anthony by making the standoff between the two sides so public.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated identifies five potential landing spots for Anthony if he decides to waive his NTC. In addition to usual suspects like the Clippers and Celtics, Spears names the Wizards, Raptors, and Hawks. However, Spears hears from a source that Atlanta doesn’t appear interested in making a major move before the deadline.
After being arrested at the Knicks game on Wednesday night, former NBA forward Charles Oakley told his side of the story, claiming in an interview that he was simply trying to watch the game when he was told he’d have to leave (link via Justin Terranova of The New York Post). After Oakley denied the team’s assertion that he was the instigator in the situation, the Knicks issued a second statement on the matter (via Twitter), calling Oakley’s account “pure fiction.”
“There are dozens of security staff, employees, and NYPD that witnessed Oakley’s abusive behavior,” the Knicks said in their statement this afternoon. Even if that’s accurate, it’s not a great look for the club to continue attacking one of its most beloved former players, and it may further discourage free agents from joining the franchise, as Reggie Miller tweets. We noted on Thursday that agents believe Jackson’s behavior will sour future free agents on the idea of joining the Knicks.
In the wake of this week’s incidents, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes that the Knicks’ circus continues to find new ways to surprise and amaze.

Charles Oakley Arrested At Knicks Game

February 8th, 2017 at 9:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

9:57 PM: Oakley has been charged with three counts of assault for striking MSG’s security guards and criminal trespassing, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter links). A police source tells Begley that the incident began with Oakley making comments toward Dolan and eventually Dolan told security to escort him out of the arena.

8:41 PM: Former NBA player Charles Oakley was removed from Madison Square Garden tonight as a result of a physical altercation, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (series of Twitter links). Oakley was apparently trying to get through a crowd on his way to owner James Dolan when the incident occurred. Security quickly surrounded the former big man and Phil Jackson tried to intervene to get him to calm down. Oakley blames Dolan for the whole situation. “Dolan did this,” Oakley shouted.

The Knicks PR released a statement shortly after the incident via Twitter.

“Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department. He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon.”

Oakley previously had a relationship with the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, as Scott Cacciola of the New York Times detailed earlier this season. The relationship soured over the years, but Oakley has previously said that he attempted to mend the relationship but found no success.