Jason Smith said he inked only a one-year deal with the Knicks last summer because that’s all the team offered, and the center made it clear he wants to re-sign with the team in the offseason, as Marc Berman of the New York Post observes.
“I love New York,’’ Smith said. “I like the triangle offense. I wouldn’t have a problem coming back to New York. I think it’s a great market, great basketball organization. [Team president] Phil [Jackson]’s got the team moving in the right direction. It’s tough to say that now because he’s trying to change the culture.’’
The Knicks will have Smith’s Non-Bird rights in the offseason, so they can give him a deal with a salary of no more than $3,933,600 unless they use the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception or open cap room. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Derek Fisher said he’s spoken with Brian Shaw since the Nuggets fired Shaw last week, as Berman notes in the same piece. Shaw has ties to Jackson and speculation has linked the ex-Denver coach to an assistant’s job with New York.
- Gigi Datome was buried on the bench in Detroit, but the Celtics are giving their deadline-day acquisition significant minutes while Avery Bradley heals from a minor injury, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines. The C’s can match offers for Datome, who hits free agency this summer, if they tender a nearly $2.188MM qualifying offer.
- The Sixers will take a different approach with waiver claim Glenn Robinson III, who won’t see the floor much at first, coach Brett Brown said, according to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. That won’t give the team much of a chance to evaluate him before his contract is up at season’s end, but Brown indicated that the team had been keeping an eye on him for a while before acquiring him. Robinson’s qualifying offer will be slightly more than $1.045MM this summer.