New Knicks guard Austin Rivers drew interest from multiple suitors in free agency, including many who are closer to championship contention than New York. However, Rivers said this week that he jumped at the opportunity to play in the “mecca of basketball” and to try to build “something special” with his new club.
“It’s easy to go somewhere where everything already is set up and they’ve been to the playoffs four, five years in a row,” Rivers said, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I’ve been on those teams. Those are great experiences. But I want to take those experiences and lessons and help this team and this organization as many ways as possible. That era of people not wanting to come here, our job is to change that. We have to make that attractive. And we will.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s two teams based in New York:
- The presence of former Jazz executive Walt Perrin and former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant in New York helped convince Alec Burks to sign with the Knicks in free agency, as Berman details in a separate New York Post story.
- Chris Chiozza‘s new one-year contract with the Nets is a non-guaranteed training camp contract, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. Brooklyn has 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot on a partially guaranteed deal, so Chiozza will have an uphill battle to earn a regular season roster spot.
- Jarrett Allen is entering a contract year and has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout the year, creating some uncertainty about his future with the Nets. The fourth-year center is trying to shut out that speculation and focus on what he can control, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “At the end of the day, I just try to put it aside,” Allen said. “I know it’s big decisions, deciding where I’m playing or deciding whatever happens at the end of the day. It’s all basketball at the end of the day, whether I’m happy about what happens or not happy. It’s all basketball and I’m here to play it.”
- Newly re-signed Nets guard Tyler Johnson said there were “definitely other teams and other opportunities” for him in free agency, but that he has appreciated GM Sean Marks‘ transparency and wants to compete for a title in Brooklyn. Chris Milholen of NetsDaily has the story.
5 best free agents left for Knicks next summer
Giannis
Kawhi
George
Oladipo
Jrue Holiday
60% Oladipo
30% George
10% Holiday
3% Giannis
<1% Kawhi
Odds that none of the above sign with the Knicks? 83%
All contract extensions killed the Knicks chance to sign stars
Tatum
Mitchell
Fox
LeBron
You can’t be this uninformed lol.
Knicks had zero chance at Lebron, lol. There’s a reason he’s never signed with him despite multiple opportunities. That reason starts with a D and ends with an OLAN.
That’s a tough road for Brooklyn having any hope of winning a title. They might get ahead of Philly, but beating out both Boston and Toronto for the Atlantic Division title is a tall order.
Toronto ????? You know Kawhi is gone right. Nets will fight for the East. As is I like their team but it will take a yr to go far. Thing is they think they can win now. So they might and probably do make a big trade. KD and Kyrie have been talking about another star here. Since they signed their contracts.
Best case scenario for nets: irving finally grows up, kd stays healthy, levert becomes their thitd star, their bigs mesh well, they make it to the top since they are over-talented. Worst case: the moody irving shows up, kd fails to regain shape, levert and dwinwiddie grow tired of being third or fourth banana, 45-37, early exit, next year everyone is traded.
Rivers, Burks, Noel are all solid rotation guys. All still young too. Knicks are finally doing the rebuild the right way. Thibs is a real coach who can help all the young talent here. We had a great draft. We have 5 picks in next yrs Deep draft. There is a trade coming even by TD. Cause Randle don’t need to be here with Toppin here. This yr is about establishing the players who are part of the future. And to get the real talent to take control of team (RJ, Robinson, Toppin). We lucked out with Toppin. So it’s time to use that to our advantage (ROY). Play for .500 or better. It’s all about getting better every yr now, every game. Gonna be fun watching a young team grow. Every fan base should experience that.
All I care this year for the knocks is to play the young players. Hopefully Frank will get a chance.