Kristaps Porzingis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Kuzminskas, Noah, O’Quinn, Porzingis

November 11th, 2017 at 7:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is among several Knicks waiting for the team’s next move once Joakim Noah‘s suspension ends, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Noah is serving the last of his 20 games tonight, which means a roster change should happen soon. The Knicks have 15 other players under contract, so an opening will have to be created before Noah can be activated.

Kuzminskas, who was inactive for tonight’s contest, told reporters he is anxious to see what the team decides to do. He is making $3,025,035 in the final year of his contract, which may be a lot for the Knicks to absorb when Ramon Sessions, Jarrett Jack and Michael Beasley are all signed for the veterans’ minimum of $1,471,382. However, Kuzminskas has barely played this season, getting into one game for just two minutes of action. That follows a promising rookie year in which he averaged 6.8 points in 68 games.

There’s more news out of New York:

Noah isn’t sure how he will fit into the team’s logjam at center, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Enes Kanter has taken over the starting job since being acquired in a trade with the Thunder, and Kyle O’Quinn has emerged as the primary backup. Willy Hernangomez has appeared in just six games, and playing time figures to get even tighter with four centers available. “All I can do is just be as ready as possible,’’ Noah said. “I feel like I’ve put myself in that position, grinding hard. Whatever my role is I’ll accept it. It’s tough, you know? We have a lot of very good players at our position.”
The front office has been making calls to measure O’Quinn’s trade value, Berman writes in the same story. He has been impressive with 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in a reserve role, and the Bucks may be interested after parting with Greg Monroe this week to obtain Eric Bledsoe.
Kristaps Porzingis isn’t just playing better this season, he’s enjoying it more, Berman notes in a separate story. Last year’s turmoil, which included Porzingis skipping his post-season exit interview then being shopped for potential trades, disappeared with the firing of team president Phil Jackson. “Yes, it was a tough year,’’ Porzingis said Friday on WFAN. “We won a lot of games in the beginning because of our talent. I could tell right away it wasn’t going to keep that up for the whole season. It started to go downhill, it wasn’t fun anymore. It was not a very enjoyable season.’’

Kristaps Porzingis May Require Offseason Surgery

November 8th, 2017 at 11:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kristaps Porzingis may require offseason surgery on his right elbow due to on-going bursitis, which is an inflammation condition. The big man has had the issue for years and might need to have his elbow drained or potentially undergo another sort of surgical procedure on it as soon as this summer, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

“When I hit it again it just swells up and it’s sensitive and I can’t stretch my arm,’’ Porzingis said of his ballooning elbow. “It bothers me a little bit, but not that bad. It’s always, I have to get the swelling down and then I’ll be fine again. But I think once the season’s over. I might have to do something about it. I just can’t keep going like this every year.”

Porzingis was absent from Wednesday’s loss to the Magic, but he believes he’ll be back on Saturday against the Kings. In addition to the elbow injury, he’s also dealing with an ankle ailment.

“Sometimes it’s smart when something’s hurting to maybe sit out one game and not later lose four games,’’ Porzingis said. “But in this case, I got to the point with the ankle I needed to give it a rest. Hopefully I’ll be ready next game.”

The injury appears to be the only thing slowing down the 22-year-old this season. In 10 games played this season, Porzingis is averaging 30.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% from the field.

Knicks Rumors: Jack, Porzingis, McDermott

November 6th, 2017 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks starting point guard Jarrett Jack feels pressure to remain productive because he doesn’t have a guaranteed contract, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports. New York has won five of its last six, coinciding with Jack replacing Ramon Sessions in the lineup. Jack’s $2.33MM contract doesn’t become guaranteed until January 10th, so he can’t become complacent, as he told Bondy. “It keeps you on your toes, forces you to stay sharp – knowing you can’t take any day or any situation for granted,” Jack said. “I know a lot of the owners would love to have it that way in the collective bargaining agreement.” The Knicks will have to make a roster move when Joakim Noah‘s PED suspension ends on November 13th in order to retain Jack in the short run. Trading Kyle O’Quinn or Willy Hernangomez is a possibility, according to Bondy. They could also eat a guaranteed contract, with Sessions, Michael Beasley and Mindaugas Kuzminskas as the likely candidates in that scenario, Bondy adds.

In other news concerning the Knicks:

Kristaps Porzingis admits that former team president Phil Jackson’s comments about his readiness to be a franchise player motivates him, as he told ESPN’s Ian Begley and other media members. Jackson said in his postseason press conference last spring that Porzingis wasn’t ready for that role or to be the featured player on offense. Porzingis is currently the league’s second-leading scorer at 30.2 PPG. “The challenge is never too big for me,” Porzingis said. “I always accept the challenge and that’s why I knew coming into this season [if Carmelo Anthony] was not going to be here, then I’m going to have to be that guy and that’s why I was just [spending] 24 hours in the gym. I was preparing for this, preparing myself physically, and I’m just happy that I’m capable of playing at this level right now.”
Doug McDermott anticipated he would fit into coach Jeff Hornacek’s up-tempo offense when the team acquired him from the Thunder in the Anthony trade, Alex Squadron of the New York Post writes. McDermott has settled into his role as an offensive sparkplug, averaging 7.0 PPG and 1.6 APG in 20.0 MPG while shooting 49% from the field. “I’m just accepting it right now, coming off the bench,” McDermott told Squadron. “Playing that 20 minutes per game. Just coming in, being aggressive. They want me to be aggressive scoring the ball.”

Knicks Notes: Noah, Porzingis, Kanter

November 5th, 2017 at 5:59pm CST by Austin Kent

It seems inevitable that the Knicks will need to make a move before November 13, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. On that day, Joakim Noah will return from the 20-game suspension he’s been serving since last season.

Not only does the addition of Noah give the Knicks a logjam in their frontcourt, it pushes them to 16 players. While Jarrett Jack remains the lone player on a non-guaranteed deal, the veteran has been a welcome presence on the overachieving club, suggesting that they may need to get creative if they hope to continue winning ball games. New York has won five of its last six contests after dropping the first three games of the season.

With Noah back, the Knicks could cut an individual on a guaranteed deal – a dissatisfied Mindaugas Kuzminskas perhaps – or, if they prefer not to eat a contract, trade a player for a draft pick or look to execute a two-for-one deal with a willing participant.

There’s more out of New York:

Bad news for Knicks fans in Turkey, for the second year in a row, the country has blocked Turkish residents from watching Enes Kanter‘s NBA games. Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Thunder were blacked out last season, due to the center’s criticisms of the government there.
Former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, now enjoying a successful stint with the Rockets, thinks highly of Kristaps Porzingis and wouldn’t mind part of his game rubbing off on Houston project Zhou Qi. “I think he’s unbelievable. I really do,” D’Antoni told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “He is really good. I told [Qi], ‘Go get your tapes on him. That’s who you need to be right there.’ He shoots threes, runs the floor, long, thin. Everything, that guy’s got it.“
Expectations are high for 22-year-old Kristaps Porzingis, as former Knicks center Tyson Chandler believes that the 7’3″ forward can one day be the best player in the league. Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that Porzingis himself believes it, too.

Atlantic Notes: Morris, Porzingis, Holmes

November 3rd, 2017 at 4:35pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics will get Marcus Morris back tonight, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston tweets. The 28-year-old forward will make his debut with the franchise after coming over from the Pistons in a trade last summer.

Expect Morris to come off the bench in his Celtics debut with a minute restriction of around 20, Blakely adds in a second tweet.

Last season Morris averaged 14.0 points in 32.5 minutes per game for the Pistons. This year he’ll look to provide toughness and veteran leadership to a Celtics team eager to prove that they’re deep enough across the board to win the Eastern Conference.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Leave it to former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni to understand what current coach Jeff Hornacek is going through as the man on the sidelines under the New York media spotlight. “He’s been around the game forever,” D’Antoni told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “But you do have to get through the noise. Whether you listen to it or not, I don’t know. Hopefully he doesn’t. The way the team is playing right now, it looks good . . . Just don’t respond and don’t listen to it and if you don’t, you can live a very happy life.“
The Sixers have plenty of big men but that doesn’t mean head coach Brett Brown isn’t still excited about the return of Richaun Holmes, who has missed the first two weeks of the season with a wrist injury. The center will return to action tonight, Keith Pompey of The Inquirer writes. “His breakaway-like rim-to-rim speed in early offense is A-plus,” Brown said. “There is sort of tenacity and toughness. He wears his heart on his sleeve that I think adds to what we are trying to do anyways. But there’s just a bounce to Richaun Holmes that makes him different.“
The emergence of Kristaps Porzingis has brought a familiar but rare buzz back to Madison Square Garden. Barbara Barker of Newsday wrote about the excitement that surrounds the Knicks now, for the first time since Linsanity in 2012.

Porzingis’ Brother: Knicks Need To Keep KP Happy

November 2nd, 2017 at 9:20pm CST by Jeff Kasler

The brother of big man Kristaps Porzingis has suggested that the talented Latvian eventually re-signing with the Knicks is not at all a foregone conclusion, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Janis Porzingis, who serves as an agent and mentor for his younger brother, said that the Knicks’ ability to offer the most money and long-term security is of little consequence. He also stated that Kristaps’ decision to skip last season’s exit interview was a calculated one.

“(Skipping the exit interview) wasn’t an emotional decision,” Janis told Latvian publication Sports Avize, as translated by Eurohoops.net. “It wasn’t a spontaneous action. We had been thinking about it for a long time and it was considered an honest, well-thought decision we came up with together.”

Janis went on to lob grenades in the direction of former Knick and current Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony, taking issue with the fact that Melo was seemingly complacent with the Knicks’ lack of direction. And lest the team take solace in the notion that jettisoning Anthony would secure Porzingis’ loyalty, his brother flatly implies that the franchise needs Kristaps more than he needs the Knicks.

“From their point of view, Kristaps is the focal point at the moment so you cannot upset him much or otherwise, at the end of the season, he will say, ‘It’s not so cool here,'” the older Porzingis brother said. “The second question is: Who is the New York audience coming to watch now? To a large extent, it’s Kristaps. So the organization has to take that into account.”

Things could continue to get dicey next summer, with Porzingis eligible for a five-year maximum extension valued somewhere around $150MM. It seems likely the team will offer such an extension, but whether or not it is signed by Porzingis appears far less certain. If his goal is to reach unrestricted free agency as soon as possible, Porzingis could sign his qualifying offer when he becomes an RFA in 2019, then hit the open market as a UFA in 2020.

Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Ntilikina, Jack

October 29th, 2017 at 2:09pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Knicks have their first win of the season in the books after crushing the Nets at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Now, the real challenge begins for the team’s franchise linchpin, Kristaps Porzingis, as the Knicks face the powerhouse Cavaliers. Marc Berman of the New York Post opines that a strong showing against an elite team — despite Cleveland losing three of its last four games — is imperative for Porzingis.

Porzingis averaged just 11.3 PPG in four games against the Cavaliers last season. Thus far this season, Porzingis has post 30+ points in three of the Knicks’ first four games. The Latvian forward realizes that a strong performance against the defending Eastern Conference champions would be a great step forward.

“Cleveland is Cleveland,’’ Porzingis said. “They’re have a lot — LeBron — and it’s always tough to play against them. Especially me, I haven’t had great games or we as a team against Cleveland. Hopefully, we can play the same way defensively against them and have a possibility of winning.’’

There’s more news surrounding the Knicks:

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek is concerned about pushing rookie guard Frank Ntilikina too hard after his early season struggles, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Ntilikina, 19, looked great in his MSG debut against Brooklyn on Friday, but an ankle injury forced him to miss several games to open the season. “If he earns that starting spot, fine. But we have to keep an eye on him, with the little bumps and bruises that he has had, to not throw him to the wolves,” Hornacek said.
Veteran Jarrett Jack stepped in for fellow veteran Ramon Sessions to start against the Nets. Jack had an efficient performance, posting eight points, five assists, and seven rebounds the night before his 33rd birthday. As Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, Jack could step into the role of starter with Sessions being cut once Joakim Noah‘s suspension ends.

Knicks Notes: Ntilikina, Bledsoe, Kanter

October 24th, 2017 at 6:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Frank Ntilikina, who remains out of the lineup with a sprained ankle hears his name in the Eric Bledsoe trade rumors, but it’s not something he’s worried about, as Al Iannazzone of News Day relays. The No. 8 overall pick said it was “nice” that the Suns have interest in him, but his focus remains on getting healthy.

The Knicks spoke to the Suns about Bledsoe after Phoenix made it clear that it was shopping the point guard. GM Ryan McDonough apparently wants Ntilikina and Willy Hernangomez for the Kentucky product, but Iannazzone hears that neither player is on the table at the moment in a Bledsoe talks. While whispers of Ntilikina being off-limits are circulating, the team hasn’t told the French point guard that he won’t be dealt.

“Not really. No,” Ntilikina said. “I’m focused on basketball and on how I can make my ankle be better and my game be better so I can be back on the court.”

There’s more the New York:

The Knicks have “gone out of their way” to include Ntilikina and Hernagomez when discussing their cornerstone players Iannazzone notes (same piece). The scribe can’t envision the team dealing either player away for Bledsoe unless Phoenix is willing to take on long-term money, like the contracts of Joakim Noah or Courtney Lee.
New York will have to address its surplus of centers at some point in the future, Iannazzone adds. Hernangomez is currently out of the rotation as he watched Kyle O’Quinn and Enes Kanter gobble up the minutes at the five. Joakim Noah will only be suspended nine more games after tonight’s tilt against the Nets and Kristaps Porzingis could use additional minutes at the center position.
Kanter, who arrived in New York via the Carmelo Anthony deal, has played well in his first two games with the club, scoring a total of 27 points in 46 minutes. The big man has also developed on-court chemistry with Porzingiz. However, Fred Kerber of the New York Post wonders if Kanter’s presence is hurting the team long-term, as the franchise may be better served to give Hernangomez more opportunities.

Hawks’ Bembry Out 4-6 Weeks With Wrist Fracture

October 24th, 2017 at 3:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

OCTOBER 24: Bembry has undergone surgery on his fractured wrist and is expected to miss the next four to six weeks, the Hawks announced today in a press release.

OCTOBER 21: Hawks small forward DeAndre’ Bembry suffered a fracture in his right wrist during the team’s opener and will be out indefinitely, according to Michael Cunningham of The Journal-Constitution.

The injury was confirmed by an MRI conducted Friday. Team doctors will further evaluate Bembry on Monday to get an idea of how long he will be sidelined.

Bembry recently recovered from a strained right triceps he suffered during training camp. He was out of action for about three weeks before returning for Atlanta’s final three preseason games.

The wrist injury happened when Bembry was bracing a fall during Wednesday’s game in Dallas. He played through the pain, but the wrist continued to bother him Thursday and Friday.

“I knew it was something, but I didn’t think it would be that serious,” he said. “I would definitely say I’m somewhat of a tough guy. I probably tried to act like it wasn’t nothing even though it was something. I just tried to push through it.”

Bembry, who played 18 minutes against the Mavericks, is expected to have an expanded role after getting into just 38 games as a rookie last season.

Atlantic Notes: Hernangomez, Okafor, Irving

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:13pm CST by Austin Kent

Count Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis among those clamoring to see more minutes allotted for second-year center Willy Hernangomez. The 23-year-old has been called a building block by the team, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, but has received just four minutes of action and a DNP-CD through two games this season.

Porzingis acknowledged the logjam in New York’s frontcourt but believes that Hernangomez is a talented player worthy of a spot in the Knicks’ rotation.

“He deserves it. But we have a lot of big guys on the floor and I understand everybody’s fighting for those minutes. And not everybody is going to get what they deserve,” Porzingis, who leads the club with 36.5 minutes per game, said.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

A slimmed down Jahlil Okafor made his season debut for the Sixers on Saturday and Brian Seltzer of the team’s official site writes that the big man performed admirably. A 20-pound lighter Okafor posted 10 points and nine boards in his first game of the year. “He shows why he was the third player chosen [in 2015],” head coach Brett Brown said. “[Because] he really can score.”
The league has fined Celtics guard Kyrie Irving $25K for using inappropriate language with a fan, the league announced in an official press release Sunday.
It’ll take a while for Raptors rookie OG Anunoby to acclimate to an NBA schedule, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes. Fortunately, a handful of teammates have weighed in with some helpful (and foreboding) advice.