11:50am: The Knicks have officially confirmed Jennings’ release and Randle’s new deal, tweeting a photo of the rookie guard signing his contract.
7:23am: The Knicks are set to cut ties with veteran guard Brandon Jennings, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). After waiving Jennings, the club will use its open roster spot to sign free agent guard Chasson Randle, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).
Randle, who went undrafted in 2015, appeared headed toward a roster spot with the Knicks in October, but was waived after suffering an orbital bone fracture. Randle subsequently joined New York’s D-League squad as an affiliate player, and a solid showing in Westchester earned him an audition with the Sixers, which in turn led to two 10-day contracts and a rest-of-season deal. However, he lost his roster spot last week when the club needed to clear a spot to complete its Nerlens Noel trade with Dallas.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Randle will ink a multiyear deal with the Knicks that features a partial guarantee for the 2017/18 season.
As for Jennings, the former 10th overall pick signed a one-year, $5MM contract with the Knicks last summer, and has averaged 8.6 PPG and 4.9 APG in 58 games for the club, with a .380/.340/.756 shooting line. Per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (via Twitter), Jennings recently informed the Knicks that he’d like to join a playoff team, so the Knicks will release him to potentially give him that opportunity.
If Jennings clears waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any team, but as Bobby Marks of The Vertical observes (via Twitter), that $5MM contract could be appealing to teams below the salary floor, since there’s only about $1.2MM left to pay on it. We identified the teams below the floor over the weekend, including the Jazz ($4.23MM below) and Wolves ($3.24MM below).
Man, i will definitely miss Jennings energy and hustle…
The Knicks need Melo to carry them on offense, it’s the only way they can reach the 8th seed. Give Melo the ball and when he is on the bench let Rose take over.
Why would the Knicks want to make the playoffs?
To win
Well said, Dionus. I get so tired of teams trying to work the system. Just play ball and do your best. Fans pay to watch these games. It’s not a lotta fun to watch a team who wants to lose. I know we are stuck with this approach, but it sucks for the fans and I think it hurts the product as a whole. Remember back when you tried to win every game you could.
I wish every team in the lottery had an equal shot to land the number 1 pick. I think it would be good for the league.
Well every team does not have an equal shot so if we do not tank we will keep positioning ourselves to get a mid draft pick that amounts to nothing. We need another high profile player and if you want to try and win out a season and compete against the CAVS HAHA make that comparison in your head please.
I wonder how many present day Cavs fans rooted for Mark Price, Brad Daugherty or Craig Ehlo.
Well, close to zero…
The Cavs are really deep now with Williams,Bogut,Jefferson, Frye,Korver, and Shumpert.
The don’t have BOOGERT
Does every team have an equal shot? I thought I remember them making the odds more even (so the team with the worst record doesn’t necessarily have an overwhelming chance to win it) but I don’t remember each team having the same odds.
When it began, it was even odds. Lol, except for the frozen envelope for the Knicks.
Oh okay cool, thanks.
yeah bud that would be ideal. my thoughts on why they don’t do that is say the pelicans don’t make the playoffs and now win the lottery, so cousins, AD, jrue and now a top pick to the team who just missed the playoffs. it would keep a lot of bad teams bad much longer. Maybe it’s worth it, I’d be willing to roll your plan out a few years and see haha
So they can get swept by LeBron and get a bad pick makes sense
Or so they could show some backbone and not roll over and die. Pride in one’s self seems to be a vanishing phenomenon. It’s like nobody wants to even try unless they are virtually guaranteed victory. That’s just a shame.
To win what? A first round exit? They need to tank the rest of the way and get a good pick
Owners own for the money, not fandom.
A playoff game is worth at least $2m for each game that goes right to the home team. And that doesn’t include money for teams that own their own TV station.
That’s why having a playoff contender is important.
Exactly. For reference, look at the prime example: The Bulls.
An owner, CEO, President, and GM who couldn’t give two S h i t s about the fans, building a true winning team, or the players.
Mazel, mazel, goyim. Keep filling them seats for a subpar team, you “loyal” morons.
^odd comment
Good. He doesn’t fit into the triangle offense, and the triangle is the Knicks’ ticket to The Finals.
The Finals? When in 2022? Ain’t happening soon with Phil driving the car.
I was being sarcastic! And I’m surprised you even call it a car. The current Knicks trajectory looks more like a Segway to me. Maybe one of those power carts at walmart.
If you think back to the Phil Jackson led Lakers teams, he does kind of fit the Derek Fisher role as a good outside shooter. Granted Fisher was probably better defensively and gave more effort on a night to night basis, but purely from an offensive standpoint, Jennings did make sense.
Wizards, Hawks, Thunder for Jennings?
Wizards would be best fit. They’re one scoring guard away from being a serious contender in the east
He didn’t fit the half court iso game the Knicks play (or, at least, the two guys that always have the ball play). But he’s a talented player. He’ll latch on with somebody decent. Maybe Atlanta.
Signed jennings instead of keeping langston galloway, who would be a good fit for what they need, and under a great contract through next season. Lol
THIS is the tanking that needs to stop. Just losing or rebuilding is not what I consider tanking. However, flat out releasing a player that still has value is shameful. As far as the player goes, everyone wants to be on a playoff contender, but not everyone shouldn’t get to. That cheapens the whole process.
Jennings hasn’t been anything since he tore his achillies, and although he has talent, he was never all that good anyway. Best thing about him is who Milwaukee got for him in the trade