Knicks Notes: Brunson, Towns, Thibodeau, Hart

June 7th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the most valuable trade assets the Knicks possess as they try to finish the job of building a championship roster, according to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Winfield ranks the potential value of everything New York has to work with this summer, starting with Brunson and going down to Boston’s top-45 protected second-round pick in 2028. Team president Leon Rose has limited draft capital remaining after last year’s trades for Towns and Mikal Bridges, so most of the coveted assets would be players.

It seems unthinkable that the Knicks would part with Brunson, their captain, especially after he accepted a team-friendly extension that could keep him under contract through the 2028/29 season. They may be more willing to move on from Towns, whose contract becomes more burdensome until he reaches a $61MM player option in 2027/28. Towns’ defensive shortcomings can make it challenging to have him and Brunson on the floor together, which Indiana exploited in the conference finals.

Bridges, New York’s 2032 first-round pick and OG Anunoby round out Winfield’s top five. The Knicks face a looming decision on Bridges, who is entering the final year of his contract and will be eligible for an offseason extension potentially worth $156MM over four years. Anunoby, the second-highest-paid player on the team, is signed for three more seasons and holds a $48.4MM player option for 2028/29.

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The team’s next head coach will be walking into an extremely high-pressure situation, as reaching the conference finals wasn’t enough to save Tom Thibodeau‘s job, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. He points out that the Knicks have been mentioned as serious suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant, so the new coach will have to adjust his preferred style if one of those stars is in New York. Popper cautions that the team may have to aim smaller and states that avoiding the second apron figures to be an offseason priority. The Knicks are currently $8MM under that threshold, but can expand that by $3.5MM by declining their team option on P.J. Tucker. They could save another $2MM by also declining their option on Ariel Hukporti, but he may be too valuable at that price to let go.
Thibodeau deserved another season as head coach to hone the Brunson-Towns combination and figure out ways to improve the defense, contends Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn argues that Thibodeau took the fall for management’s mistakes, including giving up five first-round picks for Bridges and parting with two valuable pieces from last year’s team to bring in Towns.
Josh Hart, who played for Jay Wright at Villanova, fully supports Wright’s decision to not pursue the Knicks’ coaching vacancy. “Man Thank You. Stay retired!” Hart tweeted.

Latest On Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal

June 6th, 2025 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the Suns have made multiple calls to the Rockets about Kevin Durant since the end of the season and have “gradually lowered” their asking price for the star forward during those discussions. However, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links) strongly disputes those claims, referring to them as “beyond untrue.”

According to Gambadoro, the Suns haven’t spoken to the Rockets since February and had put a potential Durant trade on the back-burner while they hired a new general manager and head coach. Now that those tasks have been crossed off their offseason to-do list, they’ll begin having conversations with potential trade partners about Durant, Gambadoro adds.

During a TV appearance on Thursday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania reiterated – as he reported during the season – that there was some mutual interest between Durant and the Knicks prior to February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, New York made an offer for Durant at that time.

A deal involving Devin Booker‘s former Kentucky teammate Karl-Anthony Towns would probably be the simplest way for the Knicks to acquire Durant, since Towns and KD will have very similar cap figures next season. But Gambadoro said during Thursday’s Burns & Gambo show (Twitter video link) that he has heard the Suns don’t have interest in Towns and would prefer a return centered around OG Anunoby or Mikal Bridges if they were to make a trade with the Knicks.

Charania cited sources this week who said that Durant is expected to draw serious interest from approximately four to six teams this summer.

Charania has previously identified New York, Golden State, Minnesota, Houston, San Antonio, and Miami as clubs who expressed some level of interest prior to the trade deadline, though it’s not clear whether all of those teams would renew their interest during the offseason. During the Burns & Gambo clip linked above, Gambadoro also pointed to the Clippers as a team to watch for Durant.

Of course, Durant won’t be the Suns’ only big-name trade candidate to monitor in the coming weeks. Bradley Beal is also expected to be on the trade block, but will be far more difficult to move due to his salary (nearly $111MM over the next two years) relative to his production, as well as the fact that his contract contains a no-trade clause.

According to Gambadoro (Twitter links), the Suns don’t want to bring back Beal, but he may be prove to be unmovable this summer, as he was prior to the trade deadline. If that’s the case, the club is expected to explore the possibility of a buyout, but there’s no guarantee that the veteran guard would go for that idea.

If Beal can’t be traded or bought out, the Suns would have to keep him and try to rebuild his value, per Gambadoro (Twitter link), who notes that head coaching candidates during Phoenix’s interview process were asked how they’d use the three-time All-Star.

Knicks Notes: Hart, Tucker, Towns, Bridges, Thibodeau

June 1st, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks just completed their most successful season in over two decades, but that doesn’t guarantee the core of the team will stay together, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. After winning 51 games and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, the season ended in disappointment Saturday night with a 17-point loss at Indiana in Game 6.

New York was favored heading into the series and appeared to be good position to reach its first NBA Finals since 1999 after dispatching the Celtics in the second round and seeing the top-seeded Cavaliers lose to Indiana. However, the Knicks let a big lead slip away in the opener against the Pacers and weren’t able to recover from a 2-0 series deficit.

Reflecting on the season, Josh Hart told reporters that changes often follow when teams fall short of their goals.

“You’re always going to hear me say, ‘Run it back,’” Hart said. “I think you heard me say the same thing last year with the guys we had. I’d like to do it. I feel like this team is good enough to make the next step. But it’s a business. And when you don’t get to where you feel like you could’ve or should’ve, changes are made.”

With Hart, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride all under contract for next season, the Knicks have the option to attempt another run at the Finals with the same group intact. But they were in a similar position a year ago and opted for two major offseason trades that brought in Bridges and Towns.

“This is my eighth year. This is my fourth organization. I’ve had six or seven coaches,” Hart said. “It’s tough, we’re going to have to see. Don’t think you can ever be too comfortable. I’ll open [the X app] one day and I’m somewhere else. That’s what’s disappointing the most, knowing there’s a good chance this team might not be back in totality.”

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The path to the conference finals wasn’t smooth, as players held several team meetings to help them refocus after losses, league sources tell James L. Edwards and Fred Katz of The Athletic. They note that the team had to deal with disputes on the bench, criticism that coach Tom Thibodeau was leaning too heavily on his starters, and player comments regarding “sacrifice,” “egos” and “agendas.” A players-only meeting following the Game 5 loss at Boston was called by P.J. Tucker, whom the authors say was signed as a free agent to help bring order to the team. The front office believed there was a need for better locker room leadership, so the 40-year-old Tucker, who only appeared in three regular season games, was added in April instead of someone who could provide more help on the court.
Teammates and coaches were frustrated throughout the season by Towns’ poor defensive habits, Edwards and Katz add. Sources tell them that Towns would often fail to execute the correct coverage without explaining why, leading some players to believe he “didn’t grasp the importance of the matter.”
Bridges will become eligible for a four-year, $156MM extension this summer, which will be the next step in seeing if management plans a long-term commitment to the current roster. Edwards and Katz report that Bridges’ fit wasn’t as smooth as expected, as he “shied away from physicality,” missed too many jump shots and didn’t provide the consistent defensive presence that he displayed earlier in his career. He also talked to the press in March about the starters playing too many minutes, which the authors state is a taboo subject to discuss publicly on Thibodeau teams.
Thibodeau’s job appears to be safe, as he has strong support from team president Leon Rose and Brunson, according to Edwards and Katz, although they point out that owner James Dolan has the final decision. Brunson bristled at speculation about his coach’s future after Saturday’s game, relays Jared Schwartz of The New York Post, responding, “Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy. Yes. Come on.”

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Siakam, Mathurin, Nesmith

May 29th, 2025 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

After blaming himself for the Pacers‘ second-half offensive issues in Game 3, Tyrese Haliburton responded with his best game of the postseason in Game 4 on Tuesday. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, Haliburton became the first player since the NBA began tracking turnovers in 1977 to rack up at least 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds (he had 32, 15, and 12) in a playoff game without committing a turnover.

“I just want to be able to prove that I can respond when my back’s against the wall, when our team’s back is against the wall,” Haliburton said after the victory, which gave Indiana a 3-1 series lead. “This is a big win for us because if we go back down there 2-2, it’s a little different momentum-wise.”

With the Pacers just one win away from earning a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, Haliburton is in the process of establishing himself as a legitimate NBA superstar.

“His ability to play both on and off the ball is so unique,” one Western Conference executive told Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “It allows him to be Steph Curry-esque.”

While opposing point guard Jalen Brunson is putting up better individual scoring numbers than Haliburton in the Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton is being lauded for his ability to take care of the ball and set up his teammates for scoring opportunities, as Bontemps writes.

“(Haliburton is) throwing it ahead, playing out of dribble handoffs, running pick-and-rolls, so he gets everyone involved,” a Western Conference scout told ESPN. “So (Aaron) Nesmith is throwing himself into defense because he knows he’s going to get touches and shots.

“I didn’t think (Haliburton) had this jump in him. He’s shown so much more just because he makes his teammates better. Those guys have all been put in positions to succeed. All these guys are the best versions of themselves now because they have been instilled with confidence and optimized.”

Here’s more on the Pacers ahead of Thursday’s Game 5:

Various sources who spoke to Bontemps expressed admiration for the Pacers’ ability to repeat – and potentially outdo – last spring’s playoff success. One scout admitted he was surprised by Indiana’s deep postseason run, but acknowledged they’re “so solid everywhere” and “don’t have any weaknesses,” while an assistant coach pointed out that Indiana is in good position to run it back with this roster in 2025/26. “Assuming they bring back (free agent center) Myles (Turner), they’re such a complete team,” that assistant told ESPN. “And they have size and physicality at every position. And it’s sustainable because of the deals they have everyone signed to.”
As good as Haliburton has been in the Eastern Finals, it’s forward Pascal Siakam who is leading the Pacers in scoring through four games vs. New York. As Peter Botte of The New York Post writes, Siakam is getting the best of former teammate and good friend OG Anunoby en route to his big scoring nights.
After a quiet start to the series, Bennedict Mathurin showed in Game 4 that he’s capable of making an outsized impact in a limited role, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Mathurin, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, poured in 20 points in just 12:29 of action on Tuesday.
Playing through a sprained ankle in Game 4, Nesmith continued to have a major hand in the club’s success, scoring 16 points and playing solid defense against Brunson. As Nate Duncan tweets, the Knicks star shot just 3-of-13 from the floor with Nesmith as his primary defender, doing almost all of his damage against other Pacers.
Nesmith is once again listed as questionable to play in Game 5, but his comments after Game 4’s win suggest he’s highly likely to suit up on Thursday. “I was like, I don’t care how I feel. I’m playing,” he said, per David Aldridge of The Athletic. “This is what we all live for. This is (what) we’ve been preparing for all year long, our entire lifetimes. These moments, I can’t miss these moments.”

Knicks Notes: Towns, Robinson, Hartenstein, Wright, Anunoby

May 27th, 2025 at 4:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Karl-Anthony Towns rescued the Knicks from the abyss with 20 fourth-quarter points against the Pacers. What will the Knicks get from their top big man the remainder of the Eastern Conference Finals?

The Athletic’s Fred Katz explores that subject as the teams head into Game 4 this evening. He speculates that the Pacers, who have mainly used Myles Turner as the primary defender on Towns, might try a smaller defender in that matchup. Katz notes that the Pistons and Celtics used perimeter players to get under Towns’ skin and force him to take some ill-advised shots.

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Mitchell Robinson was inserted into the starting lineup in Game 3. Despite his free throw issues, Robinson has been a major factor in the postseason after missing a good chunk of the regular season while recovering from ankle surgery. “He’s been very, very impactful for them since he’s been back,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per Chris Herring of ESPN. “He gives them a lot of versatility, and his ability to switch onto smaller players is special for a guy his size. He’s a major factor, and a guy we’ve been talking about a lot.”
Isaiah Hartenstein believes his departure in free agency to the Thunder last season actually benefited the Knicks and Timberwolves as well. “It’s funny when you see all three teams, I think for everyone it was a win-win,” Hartenstein told SNY’s Ian Begley. Hartenstein’s departure and Robinson’s injury convinced the Knicks to roll the dice and trade for Towns. Julius Randle has been inconsistent in the conference finals but excelled during the first two rounds of the playoffs for Minnesota.
Coach Tom Thibodeau made a bold substitution in Game 3, deploying little-used guard Delon Wright for his first rotation minutes of the postseason. Though he only had one basket and one assist, Wright played a pivotal defensive role as the Knicks whittled a 13-point deficit down to three before being subbed out. “Just a true professional,” forward Mikal Bridges said, per Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “Works hard every single day and got his name called and he’s ready for the moment.”
Normally reticent, OG Anunoby displayed his passion and even did a little trash talking in Game 3. They’ll need more fire from Anunoby the remainder of the series, Schwartz opines in a separate story.

Knicks Notes: Starters, Towns, Robinson, Hart

May 24th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Earnest Marshall

The Knicks fell into an 0-2 deficit at home against the Pacers and now face an uphill battle to make the NBA Finals. In the view of James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, the main reason for New York’s struggles is the fact the starting lineup is a minus-29 through two games and isn’t meshing well overall.

This isn’t a new issue, as the starters were outscored by 21 points in their first two playoff series combined and were a net negative between Jan. 1 and the end of the regular season. The individual talent level of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns is significant, but it isn’t working on the court, Edwards writes.

“Obviously, we can finger-point and say this is wrong, that’s wrong,” Brunson said. “It’s this person’s fault, that person’s fault. But collectively, we have to get it together. That’s really it.”

Given the time crunch the Knicks are facing, making a starting lineup change sooner rather than later could be in the club’s best interest. New York has played its best when three or four starters are playing alongside one or both of Miles McBride or Mitchell Robinson.

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The Knicks ended up sitting Towns for a near-seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, with Robinson taking his place during that time. Robinson finished the game as a +6 in 29 minutes while Towns was a -20 in 28 minutes. “Just, we got in a hole, and then the group that was in there gave us a chance,” coach Tom Thibodeau said about the decision to sit Towns for that stretch, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “So we were just riding [that lineup]. We’re searching for a win.“
Hart lobbied for Robinson to play more in Game 3 and beyond, per the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. “We have to figure out ways — I think he played [29] minutes — figure out ways if he can play more,” Hart said. “We’re great with him on [the floor]. We all got to be willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team.” Robinson has totaled 17 rebounds and four blocks in the first two games of the series.
Hart and Anunoby were among the Knicks’ worst performers in Game 2, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines in a subscriber-only story. Bondy said neither player had a particularly strong impact offensively or defensively, outside of a couple three-pointers from Anunoby. Hart spoke about his outing after the game. “Yeah, it was tough to find ways to [be me], ways to help the team,” he said, per the New York Post’s Peter Botte. “Obviously, that quick foul trouble kind of puts you in a position to not being as aggressive. So that was a tough one. Just one of those games. Shots will be there some games, some they won’t.”

Knicks Notes: Starting Five, Communication, Brunson, More

May 23rd, 2025 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

After suffering one of the worst late-game collapses in NBA playoff history on Wednesday, the Knicks weren’t willing to simply flush that game without taking a closer look at how they let that Pacers comeback happen, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Head coach Tom Thibodeau and multiple Knicks players spoke on Thursday about the need to learn from Wednesday’s mistakes.

“It was just (those) last five minutes, learning from it, just owning up to it and knowing what we have to do better,” Mikal Bridges said. “Obviously, we want that game back. But it’s a seven-game series, so come out, be better, but hopefully finish the next game.”

As devastating as the Game 1 loss was, Bridges described the team’s vibes on Thursday as “good” and said the energy level was “pretty high.” Thibodeau, meanwhile, expressed confidence in his club’s ability to not let the momentum the Pacers gained with their dramatic overtime win carry over to Game 2.

“I think that’s the playoffs, that’s the challenge,” Thibodeau said. “You always have to reset. There’s gonna be a lot of emotional highs and lows and you’ve gotta be able to take a punch and you’ve gotta be able to bounce back. So that’s all we’re thinking about is how we move forward, be ready for the next challenge, and then what did you learn from it?”

Here’s more on the Knicks, who will be looking to even up the Eastern Conference Finals at one game apiece on Friday:

In a separate story for the New York Post, Braziller takes a closer look at the unflattering postseason data on the Knicks’ starting lineup. The five-man group – made up of Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns – was outscored by 16 points on Wednesday and has a -8.0 net rating in 292 playoff minutes. Asked on Thursday about a possible lineup tweak, Tom Thibodeau said “everything is always on the table” but didn’t sound like a man preparing to make a change, per Braziller. “You also need players that are effective with the bench unit and then what starters are you gonna play with the bench unit,” Thibodeau said. “So I think it’s twofold.”
The Knicks, who have spoken multiple times in the postseason about the way in which communication breakdowns have caused problems for them, echoed that message after Game 1, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I think we let off a little bit, and then we stopped talking to each other. Just a little miscommunication,” Bridges said on Thursday. “They got some threes and obviously (Aaron) Nesmith made a lot of shots. But we made it easy — didn’t make it harder. He stayed hot and we miscommunicated and he made a couple more, some rhythm ones.” Asked on Thursday about an animated late-game argument between Anunoby and Towns about a miscommunication, Brunson downplayed the moment, describing it as “just guys talking.”
Brunson averaged about two fouls per game during the regular season but has seen that average jump to 3.5 per game in the postseason. He fouled out of Game 5 vs. Boston and picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter on Wednesday vs. Indiana, Schwartz writes for The Post. “It’s just me being smart and understanding, offensively and defensively, what I have to do better,” Brunson said of addressing that issue. “It is what it is, you just gotta be smart.”
Not playing at the level they’re capable of for a full 48 minutes has been a recurring problem for the Knicks throughout the regular season and playoffs for the Knicks, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who writes that the club will once again have to prove that it’s made for this moment.

Knicks Notes: Game 1, Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Lineup

May 22nd, 2025 at 7:22pm CST by Rory Maher

New York fans were stunned to silence following the Knicks‘ late-game collapse in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. It was a historic loss: the Knicks were up 14 points with 2:51 remaining, and NBA playoff teams were 977-0 in those situations since 1997. They also led by nine with a minute left — no postseason team had lost a game in that position since 1998 (1,414-0). Now there’s a one on both of those tallies.

“We didn’t do what we needed to do; otherwise, we’d be in here talking about a whole different ballgame,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said after Wednesday’s game. “There’s a lot of things we did good, to put ourselves in the position to win. It’s just about … and I’ve said this multiple times, executing and discipline for 48 minutes.

“We played 46 good minutes. Those last two minutes is where we lost the game. That’s on all of us.”

As Chris Herring of ESPN.com writes, the Pacers and Knicks had both completed multiple double-digit playoff comebacks on their way to the conference final matchup. But Game 1 — which New York lost in overtime after a series of miscues — had the Knicks in the unenviable position of blowing the lead.

“Defensively, we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality weren’t there,” wing Josh Hart said. “Offensively, we were playing slower, and more stagnant. It looked like we were playing not to lose.”

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While Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson finished with a game-high 43 points, he also committed seven turnovers, including three late in the game, notes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “Obviously, it’s not a good feeling, but there is a lot of basketball left to be played,” Brunson said, per Edwards. “We can’t sulk. We just got to get better.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne takes a look at what New York’s collapse means for the series — and for the team’s title chances. Brunson said he thought the momentum of Game 1 shifted with 4:45 remaining in the fourth quarter when he stumbled trying to get around a screen, leaving Aaron Nesmith open for a three-pointer. Nesmith went 6-of-6 on triples in the final 4:45 of regulation, including three in the final minute. “Once he hits one, you’ve got to be on high alert,” Brunson said. “I’ve got to do a better job of finding him. I think he had like one or two with me in the vicinity.”
Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link) hands out grades for Game 1, with Brunson receiving a B-plus and Towns, who finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds but missed a key free throw late in regulation, getting a B-minus. Mikal Bridges, who had 16 points on 16 shots and was a game-worst minus-15 in the three-point loss while being the primary defender on Tyrese Haliburton (31 points, 11 assists), got a D from Bondy.
Towns and OG Anunoby appeared to get in a heated sideline argument with 34 seconds left in regulation, as Jaclyn Hendricks of The New York Post relays. Nesmith had just converted his fifth three-pointer of the quarter leading up to the incident.
Could the Knicks alter their starting or closing lineup for Game 2? Head coach Tom Thibodeau said “everything is always on the table” when asked about that possibility on Thursday, according to Begley, who points out (via Twitter) that the starting unit of Brunson, Bridges, Josh Hart, Anunoby and Towns has a poor net rating in the playoffs.

NBA Announces 2024/25 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links).

The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

There were no unanimous First Team selections this year, but Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley came close, having been named to the First Team on 99 ballots (Twitter link). He was selected to the Second Team on the 100th ballot, for a total of 199 points.

The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals:

First Team

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (199 points)
Dyson Daniels, Hawks (191)
Luguentz Dort, Thunder (180)
Draymond Green, Warriors (179)
Amen Thompson, Rockets (171)

Second Team

Ivica Zubac, Clippers (114)
Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies (107)
Jalen Williams, Thunder (79)
Toumani Camara, Trail Blazers (74)
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (65)

The NBA adjusted the voting rules in 2023 to allow All-Defensive ballots to be positionless. Up until that point, each team consisted of two guards, two forwards, and a center.

Despite the lack of positional requirements, this year’s teams are reasonably well balanced — while Mobley, Green, Zubac, Jackson, and Gobert all serve as defensive anchors for their respective clubs, Mobley, Green, and Jackson spend much of their time on the court playing forward rather than center.

It’s the ninth time that Green has made an All-Defensive team and the eighth time that Gobert has earned the honor. Jackson and Mobley have each been recognized multiple times too — it’s the third time Jackson has made the cut and the second time for Mobley. However, Daniels, Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Williams, and Camara have never been named All-Defensive players before this season.

Among the other players who received votes, Knicks forward OG Anunoby came closest to cracking the top 10, having been named to the First Team on two ballots and the Second Team on 45 ballots for a total of 49 points. An additional 13 players received at least one vote, but none of them had more than 18 total points.

That group of players who missed the cut includes Heat big man Bam Adebayo, whose streak of five straight All-Defensive seasons has come to an end.

Players were required to meet the criteria of the 65-game rule in order to qualify for All-Defensive consideration. The full voting results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Dort has earned a $500K bonus for making the First Team this season. In addition to increasing his earnings for this season, that will bump Dort’s cap hit for 2025/26 from $17,722,222 to $18,222,222, since the bonus will now be considered likely to be earned next season.

Conversely, after missing out on All-Defensive spots this season, Derrick White and Jaden McDaniels will see their cap hits for next season reduced by $250K and $431K, respectively, Marks adds (Twitter link). Those bonuses, which had been considered likely after the duo earned All-Defensive nods in 2024, won’t be earned this season, which means the Celtics and Timberwolves will each receive a tax variance credit and both bonuses will be considered unlikely for 2025/26.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Knueppel, Raptors, Sixers, Porzingis

May 22nd, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets control a league-high five picks (all in the top 36) in the 2025 NBA draft, and general manager Sean Marks has an extensive history of making trades during or right around the draft. Those factors point toward Brooklyn being a team to watch on the trade market next month, says Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link).

According to Lewis, Marks has made a trade within two days of the draft in eight of the last nine years, and the “feeling in league circles” is that he’ll do so again this spring.

Assuming the Nets stay at No. 8, could Kon Knueppel be the choice in that spot? As Lewis writes in another subscriber-only story, Brooklyn is being connected to the Duke sharpshooter by many mock drafters, and some scouts view him as a strong value pick at that spot if he’s still available.

“Is he a really good player, and are you excited to have him on your squad? Yeah,” former Sixers scout Mike VandeGarde told Lewis. “But is he Luke Kennard? Is he Kyle Korver? Is he Gradey Dick? … Knueppel to me isn’t the best player on a playoff team, but I really like his game. And if I’m at eight, I’m looking at him.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

With Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell playing important roles for Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals and OG Anunoby logging big minutes for New York, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca revisits the Raptors‘ decision to trade away Siakam and Anunoby during the 2023/24 season, while Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer considers whether the Sixers should regret letting McConnell get away in 2019.
Exploring potential options for the Sixers‘ No. 3 overall pick, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice enlists a series of fellow NBA reporters to help him evaluate hypothetical trades. Aaronson offers up proposals involving the Rockets, Hawks, Nets, Bulls, and Wizards and goes back and forth with writers who cover those teams to figure out if there’s a viable deal to be made.
After Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in his end-of-season media session that big man Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with post-viral syndrome, Tess DeMeyer of The Athletic takes a closer look at what exactly that means. As DeMeyer explains, post-viral syndrome can make person feel drained and weak for days or months after experiencing a viral illness, and even someone in peak health can have a hard time moving past the symptoms. Stevens expressed optimism on Monday that Porzingis will be back to 100% by the start of next season.