Knicks Notes: Draft Picks, Ntilikina, Dotson, Dolan
The Knicks will miss out on a valuable pick in this year’s draft because of a trade former team president Phil Jackson made nearly five years ago, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York would own the 31st pick, which is coveted because it offers a chance at a potential first-round talent without a guaranteed salary, if Jackson hadn’t traded it to the Sixers.
The Knicks wanted to unload Travis Outlaw‘s salary after training camp in 2014. Philadelphia was willing to offer Arnett Moultrie in a deal that trimmed roughly $4MM off New York’s luxury tax bill, but the Knicks had to throw in a future second-rounder. Both players were waived shortly after the trade was completed.
The 31st pick now belongs to the Nets, who acquired it last season as part of the price for taking Jahlil Okafor from the Sixers. Berman states that the Knicks would like to trade back into the early part of the second round and speculates that they might be willing to part with Frank Ntilikina to get there.
There’s more from New York:
- Knicks management views the two first-rounders the team received from the Mavericks in the Kristaps Porzingis deal as trade chips, Berman adds. If Dallas moves into the top five in this year’s lottery, the picks would convey no earlier than 2022 and 2024, with the later one having top-10 protection. If the Mavs stay at No. 9, this year’s selection will go to Atlanta, and New York will be on track to get Dallas’ picks in 2021 and 2023.
- The development of a few young players kept this season from being a total loss, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. In addition to the rookie trio of Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier, GM Scott Perry singled out Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh and Damyean Dotson during a news conference this week. “We have a guy like Damyean Dotson,” Perry told reporters. “Lance Thomas said in his exit, ‘Hey, he’s going to be a leader on your team. When he talks the guys on the team all listen to him.’”
- With a high lottery pick guaranteed and enough cap room to offer two max contracts, the future appears bright in New York, but owner James Dolan’s poor reputation around the league could be the biggest obstacle toward rebuilding, according to David Waldstein and Kelly Whiteside of The New York Times.
Five Key Stories: 4/13/19 – 4/20/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The Warriors are still the favorite to capture a third straight title, but their playoff road got more difficult with the loss of DeMarcus Cousins. The standout center suffered a torn quad while diving for a ball in Game 2 of Golden State’s playoff series with the Clippers. Injury issues will hang over Cousins in free agency for a second straight summer.
Zion Williamson, projected to be the top pick in this year’s draft, officially declared himself eligible. Williamson had an outstanding freshman season at Duke, averaging 22.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.8 BPG and 2.1 SPG in 33 games. He moved into the top spot in most mock drafts early in the season and managed to stay there.
The Pelicans landed one of the top available executives when former Cavaliers GM David Griffin agreed to become their new executive VP of basketball operations. Griffin’s top job this summer will be to work out a trade for star center Anthony Davis, who requested a deal prior to this year’s deadline.
The Grizzlies continued their front office overhaul by hiring Rich Cho as VP of basketball strategy and Glen Grunwald as a senior advisor. Since the season ended, Memphis has demoted GM Chris Wallace and hired Jason Wexler as head of basketball operations and Zach Kleiman as VP of basketball operations.
The Kings finalized a deal to make Luke Walton their new head coach. Walton was unemployed for less than a day after being fired by the Lakers. GM Vlade Divac reportedly wanted to hire Walton three years ago.
Here are 10 more headlines from the past week:
- The Lakers made progress in their coaching search, meeting with both Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams. Heat assistant Juwan Howard will also get an interview.
- Howard is also a candidate for the Cavaliers‘ head coaching job. Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool are also expected to receive interviews.
- ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups is among the candidates for a front office position with the Timberwolves. Billups previously interviewed for management jobs with the Cavaliers and Hawks.
- Former All-Star center Dwight Howard opted in for the final year of his contract with the Wizards. He will receive a little more than $5.6MM next season.
- Hornets center Bismack Biyombo also picked up his player option for 2019/20. Biyombo will make $17MM in the final season of a four-year, $68MM deal.
- Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. had surgery on his left tibia to relieve a stress injury. The team expects him to be fully ready in time for training camp.
- Thunder swingman Hamidou Diallo had an arthroscopic procedure on his right elbow to ease the soreness. He was inactive for Game 2 of OKC’s playoff series with the Trail Blazers.
- Blake Griffin missed the first two games of the Pistons‘ playoff series because of swelling and pain in his left knee. He will find out if surgery will be necessary once Detroit’s postseason run is over.
- Kevin Durant said again this week that he doesn’t plan to focus on a free agency decision until the playoffs are over. He will be eligible for a five-year, $221MM deal with the Warriors or four years and $164MM from anyone else.
- Sixers backup center Amir Johnson was fined for looking at his cell phone on the sidelines during the playoff opener with the Nets. Using a cell phone on the bench is a violation of the NBA’s Operations Manual.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Cuban, Cho, Spurs
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni plans to begin the playoffs with a nine-man rotation, but it could evolve depending on matchups, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. While Gerald Green was sidelined with an adductor injury, the second unit consisted primarily of Iman Shumpert, Danuel House and Austin Rivers. However, Green saw extended action in the season finale, while Shumpert never entered the game.
“I guess,” D’Antoni said when asked about a nine-man rotation, “but that could be 10 halfway through the second quarter. I don’t know. In my mind we’re going to go a certain way and then read the game a little bit. Hopefully everybody’s ready to go. I want everybody to be ready and everybody will be called upon at some point. Hopefully, it’s a long playoff. Every game will have a different challenge. Everybody’s got to be ready. I don’t think anything will always be set in stone.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Mark Cuban will try to re-sign most of the Mavericks‘ free agents this summer, according to The Dallas Morning News. Cuban discussed his plans in a radio interview this week in which he compared the current roster to the teams Dirk Nowitzki had earlier in his career. “I see the same type of future for this team with Luka [Doncic] and KP [Kristaps Porzingis] and bringing back our other guys,” Cuban said. “We’ll extend Dwight Powell and keep him around for another three years. We think we’ve got a great core – and probably bring back Maxi [Kleber] and DoDo [Dorian Finney-Smith]. I think we can add a free agent, we’ll keep our guys for the most part, we’ll see what happens in the draft, see what’s available to us and go from there. If Luka and KP are the workers I think they are or know they are, then the future’s really good. It’s really bright.”
- Former Hornets GM Rich Cho could be in line for a “major post” in the Grizzlies‘ rebuilt front office, NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence tweets. Cho has been out of the league since being let go by Charlotte in February of 2018.
- Michael C. Wright of ESPN takes a look at the Spurs‘ player development system that has helped the organization make playoff trips for more than two decades.
Five Key Stories: 1/19/19 – 1/26/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The Pacers were hit with a devastating loss Wednesday when star guard Victor Oladipo suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee. The injury will require surgery that will keep Oladipo out of action for the rest of the season and perhaps longer. Indiana was third in the East at the time of the injury and has until the February 7 trade deadline to try to remake the team before the playoffs.
The Rockets finally found a taker for Carmelo Anthony, but the deal won’t revive his NBA career. Houston sent Anthony to Chicago in exchange for some cash and a swap of draft-and-stash players, but the Bulls don’t plan to use him. They will either trade Anthony somewhere else before the deadline or waive him so he can search for another opportunity.
The Mavericks’ standoff with Dennis Smith Jr. appears to be over, at least for now. Smith returned to the team after missing more than two weeks and was re-inserted into the rotation. There had been rumors that Dallas was seeking to trade Smith, but those seem to have quieted.
There are fresh rumors that LeBron James wants to see Luke Walton replaced as Lakers’ head coach. Talk of a possible coaching change emerged early in the season as L.A. got off to a slow start, but seemed to subside as the team became more successful. With James missing more than a month because of injury, the Lakers have dropped into ninth place in the West.
The Knicks have made Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee available for trades. Both veteran guards have contracts that run beyond this season, and New York wants to maximize cap space for free agency. Enes Kanter expressed a desire to be traded after receiving a DNP in Wednesday’s loss.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the past week:
- The Grizzlies are willing to part with long-time stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol as they look toward the future.
- Memphis added some roster depth by signing Bruno Caboclo to a 10-day contract.
- Corey Brewer signed a second 10-day deal with the Sixers, who will have to decide whether to keep for the rest of the season once this one expires.
- Gary Payton II, son of the Hall of Fame guard, agreed to a 10-day contract with the Wizards, bringing Washington back up to the minimum roster count of 14.
- Kenneth Faried agreed to a buyout with the Nets and joined the Rockets, giving Houston some frontcourt depth while Clint Capela recovers from a thumb injury. To make room for Faried, the Rockets waived James Nunnally before his 10-day contract expired.
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie opted for surgery to fix damaged ligaments in his right thumb. He is expected to miss three to six weeks.
- Lakers guard Lonzo Ball will be out four to six weeks after spraining his left ankle.
- Darius Garland, a potential lottery pick in this year’s draft, withdrew from Vanderbilt after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
- A pair of Disabled Player Exceptions were granted this week. The Grizzlies received one for an injury to Dillon Brooks, and the Wizards‘ request was approved in the wake of John Wall‘s injury.
- Starters were announced for this year’s All-Star Game. As the top vote-getters in each conference, James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will draft the rosters for each team.
International Notes: Kilpatrick, M. Williams, China, Pitino
Sean Kilpatrick received an offer to play for Panathinaikos is Greece, but turned it down as he waits for another NBA opportunity, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. The news was first reported by George Zakkas of SDNA.
Saturday marked the first day that NBA teams could offer 10-day contracts, and Kilpatrick, who has gone that route with four organizations, is hoping it will be his way back into the league. He played for four teams last season, starting the year with the Nets before being waived in December. He signed a two-way deal with the Bucks later that month and was converted to a regular NBA contract before being waived in March. He signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Clippers, then finished the season with the Bulls before they waived him over the summer.
The 29-year-old averaged 6.3 points per game last season, including 15.4 PPG in nine games with Chicago.
There’s more international news to pass along:
- Matt Williams, who started last season as a two-way player with the Heat, has reached an agreement with GS Kymis in Greece, Lupo notes in a separate story. Williams began this season with KTP Basket in Finland. He got into just three games with Miami before being waived in December of 2017.
- The Lakers and Nets will play a pair of preseason games in China, according to an ESPN report. The contests are set for October 10 in Shanghai and October 12 in Shenzhen. It will be the third appearance in China for LeBron James and possibly the fourth for Lance Stephenson, who will set a record if he remains on the roster.
- In the wake of Steve Alford’s firing at UCLA, a group of boosters is targeting Panathinaikos coach Rick Pitino, writes Adam Zagoria for Forbes. Pitino made his debut with the Greek team late last month and is under contract for the rest of the season, so the move couldn’t take effect until the 2019/20 season. A source tells Zagoria that Pitino is “very interested” in taking over the Bruins. Approval from the UC Board of Regents is seen as the main obstacle in light of Pitino’s dismissal from Louisville amid his alleged role in an NCAA scandal. Murray Bartow is serving as interim coach at UCLA.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/4/18
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
- The Jazz have recalled Grayson Allen and Georges Niang from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed. It was each player’s only G League assignment of the season.
- Jevon Carter and Ivan Rabb had an eventful day. The Grizzlies assigned the pair to their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle for morning shootaround, per the team’s Twitter feed. The two were then recalled for the Grizzlies’ mid-day practice before being re-assigned to the Hustle to play in their night game.
- The Pelicans have assigned Frank Jackson to the G League, according to a team press release. New Orleans doesn’t yet have its own affiliate, so Jackson will play for the Texas Legends, pursuant to the flexible assignment system.
- The Pacers have recalled Alize Johnson from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, per the team’s website. Johnson has been with the G League affiliate since November 7.
- The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
Knicks Notes: Ntilikina, Knox, Robinson, Vonleh
Frank Ntilikina is the latest victim of coach David Fizdale’s changing rotation, never leaving the bench in Saturday night’s win over the Bucks, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. The Knicks were down a guard after Trey Burke sprained his right knee in the first minute of the game, but Fizdale never turned to Ntilikina, making it the first DNP-CD of his brief NBA career.
“It’s not frustration,” Ntilikina said after the game. “I think it’s motivation because as a competitor, you want to be out there on the court to help your team. My job and my mindset is to keep working harder to be able to get back on the court.”
Ntilikina has started 14 games this season, but has seen his playing time reduced while suffering through a shooting slump. Fizdale has remained supportive and issued a reminder that other players have found themselves in the same situation.
“As you could see with these guys, none of them are ever in the dungeon,” Fizdale said. “He was the example of my postgame speech because if you watch our bench tonight, he was the most energetic, the first one up, the first one rooting guys on, the one making sure people knew what they were supposed to do coming out of timeouts. And that’s not easy when you’re getting a DNP. But as you know and as they know, I will come back to him in no time. [Damyean Dotson] is a perfect testament of that.”
There’s more this morning from New York:
- Kevin Knox responded to league-wide questions about his ability with a career-best performance Saturday, notes Kevin Kernan of The New York Post. Knox scored 26 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, as New York knocked off one of the league’s best teams. “Fiz is always going to have confidence in me,” the rookie forward said. “He just wants me to keep playing hard. He talked to me about that the other day. It shows how much confidence in me to keep me out there the whole game.”
- Fizdale is willing to endure the growing pains for Knox and Mitchell Robinson and won’t consider a trip to the G League for either one, Popper relays in a separate story. “I’ve got a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old trying to figure out the NBA, the league that’s full of the absolute best players in the world, the best coaches in the world, doing it in the absolute toughest market in America,” Fizdale said. “Give them a break. These guys are learning on the fly.”
- In an interview with Steve Serby of The New York Post, Noah Vonleh explains why he chose the Knicks in free agency.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/15/18
Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Bucks have recalled Sterling Brown from the Wisconsin Herd, the team announced (Twitter link). Brown scored 23 points and made five threes in the Herd’s loss to the Mad Ants on Wednesday.
- The Sixers reassigned Jonah Bolden to the Delaware Blue Coats, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bolden has played six games with Philadelphia this season.
- The Pistons assigned and then later recalled Henry Ellenson, Khyri Thomas and Bruce Brown, announcing the news in a pair of press releases.
- The Celtics assigned Guerschon Yabusele and Brad Wanamaker to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced (Twitter link). The Red Claws played the Raptors 905 on Thursday, with the Celtics set to play the Raptors on Friday.
- The Wizards have assigned Thomas Bryant to the Capital City Go-Go, announcing the news on their website. Bryant will travel with the Go-Go for their game against the Wisconsin Herd on Friday.
- The Grizzlies recalled then assigned Jevon Carter to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate, announcing the news on Twitter.
- The Magic have recalled Isaiah Briscoe and Melvin Frazier Jr. from the Lakeland Magic, the team tweets. Orlando hosts the Lakers on Sunday.
Timberwolves Owner Glen Taylor Talks Butler Trade
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is more hands-on than many of his fellow NBA team owners, which was on display throughout the team’s recent saga with Jimmy Butler.
Reports early in the process indicated that some teams were contacting Taylor directly to discuss potential trades for Butler, since Minnesota’s management team of Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden seemed less inclined to make a move. When Butler was finally dealt over the weekend, a report suggested that the team owners on both sides were “heavily involved” in negotiations.
With that in mind, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune each spoke to Taylor about the deal the Wolves ultimately made, getting the owner’s thoughts on the package Minnesota received from the Sixers and the drama leading up to that trade agreement.
Here are a few of the highlights from Taylor, via Krawcznyski’s interview unless otherwise noted:
On Tom Thibodeau’s future with the Timberwolves:
“Like most coaches, he’ll be measured on the success of the team. Not one game, but what we can do overall, or just the improvement. If we can see improvement every day, that would be a very positive thing. Those are his expectations and that would be mine too. … Now it’s the (looking toward the) future. We’re looking forward. He’s supposed to be a coach with veteran knowledge. Hopefully he can bring that experience to this group of players and we win a lot more than we lose.”
On how Thibodeau’s close relationship with Butler affected the situation:
“It was hard for the coach to see an end to this relationship. I think he felt responsible that he should work hard to try to get Jimmy to change his mind, to stay with us, to meet the goals that we all agreed upon and that was to have a successful year this year and he would coach it, Jimmy would help in the leadership needs of the team and get us deep in the playoffs. I don’t fault the coach at all for having those desires and hopes.
“But of course as you saw, that strung out the timetable because a lot of effort on his part was put into trying to work with Jimmy. It’s probably from my viewpoint as being a step away from it, I felt that this was probably not going to work out.”
On how Butler handled the situation:
“I certainly wished that he would follow what I would call his behavior of being a leader on the team and doing positive things in the locker room, doing positive things out on the floor. I know in a number of cases he did do that, and I appreciate that. But my expectations of Jimmy were quite high. When we had these disruptions, rightly or wrongly, it appeared to have affected the team in a negative way.”
On whether Butler’s trade request was impacting the Wolves’ play (via Hine):
“It just appeared that they weren’t working together as a team or as a unit the way that they should’ve. I can’t exactly answer why. The only thing that was different that we had was Jimmy’s position of leaving the team. Maybe that was affecting guys more than they even knew themselves.”
On the trade package the Wolves received:
“I think in this case we were able to do two things that are very important. No. 1, we brought in some guys that could help us immediately, and I think that’s important. Secondly, we don’t have to look at it as just this year. I think because of their age and because of their contracts we can look at them as some fellows that can help us into the future. And that to me is very important.”
Five Key Stories: 11/4/18 – 11/10/18
In case you missed any of this past week’s biggest stories from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Listed below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days.
The Sixers acquired Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster trade with the Timberwolves. In a ground-shaking move to make the Eastern Conference Finals this season and beyond, Philadelphia added another All-Star level talent to team up with the dynamic duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The Sixers also acquired Justin Patton in the deal while giving up two starters — Robert Covington and Dario Saric — along with Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick. The Sixers now look like the Celtics’ biggest threat in the conference and put themselves in position to sign the impending free agent to a long-term contract. Meanwhile, Minnesota rids itself of the Butler drama and gets two solid players in return.
The Sixers lost rookie guard Zhaire Smith for the remainder of the season. Complications due to an allergic reaction have sidelined Smith indefinitely. He underwent surgery during the summer to repair a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and was originally scheduled to return sometime next month. Smith suffered the allergic reaction while recovering from the surgery. Philadelphia first-round picks have been snakebit in recent years. Simmons and Embiid had their first season delayed by injuries and Markelle Fultz‘s rookie season was marred by a shoulder injury and shooting issues.
The Lakers signed veteran center Tyson Chandler after he reached a buyout with the Suns and cleared waivers. The Lakers were seeking a solid backup to JaVale McGee and added another veteran free agent in Chandler, whose playing time diminished with the Suns after they drafted Deandre Ayton. Chandler, 36, played 23 minutes and grabbed eight rebounds in his first game with his latest team.
The Cavaliers worked out a new contract with coach Larry Drew. Drew wanted some security after replacing Tyronn Lue and the front office obliged. Drew will coach the team for the remainder of the season and will receive a buyout if the organization decides to go in another direction next season.
Lakers president Magic Johnson declared that he has no plans to fire head coach Luke Walton. After word leaked that Johnson had admonished his head coach over a variety of issues, the Hall of Famer made a point of saying he wasn’t looking to make a coaching change. Expectations have naturally risen since LeBron James decided to join the franchise and Walton will remain on shaky ground, regardless of Johnson’s vote of confidence, as long as the team struggles to develop into a playoff contender.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- The Celtics downplayed a report that backup point guard Terry Rozier is unhappy with his role.
- The NBA and players’ union reached an agreement to televise the All-Star draft.
- The Thunder received a scare when Russell Westbrook had to exit Monday’s game against New Orleans with an injury. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing more than a left ankle sprain.
- After getting off to a slow start, the Rockets brought assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik out of retirement to improve the team’s defense.
- The chances of Kawhi Leonard playing for the Lakers may be diminishing, according to a report.
- Lamar Odom said he plans to join the BIG3 League next season.
- Elite prospect Jalen Lecque, who is in his fifth year of high school, announced he might enter the 2019 draft.
- The Cavaliers signed guard Andrew Harrison to a two-way contract.
- Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis and coach David Fizdale tried to clear up confusion over whether Porzingis is able to run yet in his recovery from knee injury.
- Warriors star guard Stephen Curry suffered an adductor strain that will keep him out of at least one game.