Knicks second-rounder Thanasis Antetokounmpo remains a work in progress as a basketball player, but the team is extremely high on his potential, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. As for when Antetokounmpo will be ready to dazzle the fans at Madison Square Garden, assistant GM Allan Houston said, “I don’t think you can put a time frame on a guy like that because you have to just take it as a daily process. I think because he’ll be with us this year [in the D-League], it’s the right approach for him personally. So he won’t get frustrated or impatient if it didn’t happen right away.”
Here’s more from the east:
- Houston also added that the team sees Antetokounmpo’s eventual NBA position as a shooting guard, notes Zagoria. “When we saw him in the draft process we saw his just relentless energy,” Houston said. “I think his size [helps] because he’ll be able to guard multiple positions, especially in this league, and I think hopefully if he develops into an NBA player we want to see him be able to be comfortable on the perimeter with guard skills. He shot the ball better toward the end of the year in the D League so we think he can improve there as well. But I think it’s just his impact on the game is high. He finds a way to leave an imprint and I think in this system if he can continue to grow and we develop him into playing in different places on the floor and not be limited to just the wing or maybe a forward position, I think we’re going to keep him equipped and ready to make that jump.”
- Free agent guard Ray Allen is visiting Chicago, but his agent Jim Tanner insists the trip has nothing to do with a possible Bulls signing, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Chicago does happen to have an open roster spot, and would be a desirable destination for Allen, as the team is expected to contend for a title this season.
- The Nets were reportedly up for sale last month, but majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov had told commissioner Adam Silver recently that he intends to maintain his controlling interest in the franchise, Mitch Abramson of The New York Daily News tweets.