Jeff Hornacek has proven that he is not afraid to take chances on lesser known players with talent, as his usage of Willy Hernangomez, who was a second round pick, or undrafted free agent like Mindaugas Kuzminskas suggests, Steve Popper of USA TODAY Sports writes. The Knicks are 8-8 under Hornacek, who is in his first season with the team. Popper credits Hornacek for being able to see the talent in Hernangomez and Kuzminskas early on despite other options.
Here’s more on New York:
- Carmelo Anthony, who re-signed with the Knicks in 2014 after experiencing free agency, said he was surprised that Russell Westbrook decided to forego free agency a full year before being eligible and re-sign with the Thunder, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. “Yeah I was, to be honest with you, yeah, for him to do it that soon. But that’s Russ,” Anthony said. “Russ don’t give a damn about nothing. It’s all about what he want to do and when he want to do it, how he want to do it. I think he wants to show people he was loyal to OKC.”
- Westbrook’s new deal with the Thunder meant that Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, who is in the final year of his contract, moved up one spot in the rankings of the 2017 summer free agent point guards, Bondy notes in the same piece. Rose, who is averaging 15.9 points and 5.0 assists per game this season, is also set to be competing against Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo in that class.
I’d believe the Knicks would pursue CP3 and let Rose walk at the end of the season.
Your weekly reminder that Joakim Noah is trash and the Knicks would have been better served giving the roster spot and the $72 mil to an actual turtle.