- Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is “ecstatic” about the arrival of Jalen Brunson this season, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Thibodeau believes he can turn Brunson from a B-minus player to a B-plus one, a source tells Berman, which would largely start on the defensive end. Brunson signed a four-year, $104MM deal to join the Knicks this offseason.
The Knicks and Jazz recently renewed trade talks regarding Donovan Mitchell, but New York remains cautious about parting with a huge number of future assets to acquire the All-Star guard, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Multiple sources tell Berman that the Knicks recoiled from the original demands by Utah team president Danny Ainge, who asked for seven first-round picks in addition to young players on controllable contracts. Talks remained dormant for a while, but the teams have re-engaged each other.
According to Berman, New York’s front office believes adding Mitchell would improve the team by about 10 wins, taking it to the 47-victory level. The concern is that there would be no way to improve beyond that if the franchise gives up a significant number of its draft assets.
“Getting from 47 wins to 57 wins, that’s harder than 37 to 47,’’ a coaching source told Berman.
Berman notes that the Knicks traded this year’s first-round pick to clear cap room to add free agent guard Jalen Brunson, and the team could be in danger of losing another selection if the NBA determines that tampering occurred in the Brunson signing.
Coach Tom Thibodeau is strongly interested in adding Mitchell, Berman adds, but he’s staying out of the spotlight while the process plays out. Berman cites a belief around the league that Thibodeau would prefer to part with RJ Barrett in a Mitchell trade rather than give up second-year guard Quentin Grimes, who’s a better defender and long-distance shooter. Berman hears that Ainge is “hot to acquire” Grimes for Utah’s rebuilding project, and Berman’s source says Grimes wouldn’t be opposed to leaving instead of having no chance to start behind a Brunson-Mitchell backcourt.
Barrett, who averaged 20.0 PPG last season, is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 17.
Obi Toppin averaged 17.1 minutes per game in his second season with the Knicks and it’s unlikely his playing time will increase, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. With Julius Randle at power forward and the duo of Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein at center, along with the presence of Jericho Sims, Toppin won’t have a big role unless there’s an injury or trade, Katz opines.
- Knicks guard Derrick Rose should be “good to go” by training camp, Katz reports in the same piece. Rose underwent two surgical procedures on his ankle last season, limiting him to 26 games. He’s expected to be Jalen Brunson‘s primary backup.
The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.
EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.
The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.
It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.
Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Jusuf Nurkic (Trail Blazers)
- Croatia
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz)
- Dario Saric (Suns)
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
- Czech Republic
- Vit Krejci (Thunder)
- Finland
- Lauri Markkanen (Cavaliers)
- France
- Evan Fournier (Knicks)
- Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
- Theo Maledon (Thunder)
- Georgia
- Goga Bitadze (Pacers)
- Sandro Mamukelashvili (Bucks)
- Germany
- Daniel Theis (Pacers)
- Franz Wagner (Magic)
- Greece
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Tyler Dorsey (Mavericks)
- Israel
- Deni Avdija (Wizards)
- Italy
- Simone Fontecchio (Jazz)
- Danilo Gallinari (Celtics)
- Lithuania
- Domantas Sabonis (Kings)
- Jonas Valanciunas (Pelicans)
- Montenegro
- Marko Simonovic (Bulls)
- Serbia
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Slovenia
- Vlatko Cancar (Nuggets)
- Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Goran Dragic (Bulls)
- Spain
- Usman Garuba (Rockets)
- Juancho Hernangomez (Raptors)
- Willy Hernangomez (Pelicans)
- Turkey
- Furkan Korkmaz (Sixers)
- Cedi Osman (Cavaliers)
- Alperen Sengun (Rockets)
- Ukraine
- Alex Len (Kings)
- Svi Mykhailiuk (Raptors)
There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.
A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.
Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.
Appearing on CNBC on Monday (video link), financial analyst Jonathan Boyar said that there’s a belief Knicks owner James Dolan will explore selling his sports franchises after Madison Square Garden Entertainment finishes building the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. The new Vegas venue is scheduled to open in 2023.
However, an MSG executive responded to that report with a quick and succinct denial, according to Knicks reporter Tommy Beer (Twitter link).
“We have no plans to sell either of the teams,” the executive said of the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:
- OG Anunoby and Malachi Flynn are among the Raptors facing the most pressure in 2022/23, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen outlines, if Anunoby can stay healthy and continues to develop on offense, he could become an All-Star caliber player, but he still has to stay on the court and show he deserves that bigger role. Flynn, meanwhile, is entering the third year of his rookie contract and may not be part of Toronto’s future plans if he doesn’t establish himself as a reliable backup this season.
- Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines some lingering offseason questions facing the Sixers, including whether the team will get seriously involved in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes and how the NBA’s investigation into the team’s free agency moves might play out.
- Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a look at whether or not there will be regular minutes available in the Celtics‘ rotation for Payton Pritchard and/or Sam Hauser following the team’s offseason acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon. While Weiss believes both players are capable of contributing in Boston, he suggests they’ll have to earn their playing time.
The Knicks and Jazz have been back in touch about Donovan Mitchell within the past week, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic, who report that the two teams have had a “fresh trade conversation” about what a deal sending Mitchell to New York might look like.
As Charania and Jones explain, the Knicks and Jazz had serious discussions during the Las Vegas Summer League in mid-July about a Mitchell trade, but those talks reached an impasse and had been dormant for a few weeks.
Although the Knicks have made their interest in Mitchell “abundantly clear” throughout the summer, there’s still no serious traction toward a deal, per The Athletic’s duo. Sources tell Charania and Jones that the Hornets and Wizards remain among the teams in pursuit of Mitchell. Charania reported in late July that those two Southeast teams had recently engaged with New York.
Previous reports have indicated that the Jazz are seeking a return for Mitchell that’s similar to – or greater than – the haul they received from Minnesota in exchange for Rudy Gobert. Although the Knicks have a surplus of first-round picks from previous trades, it’s unclear whether they – or any other suitors – are prepared to meet Utah’s asking price.
According to Charania and Jones, the Jazz have conveyed that they’re comfortable keeping the All-Star guard on the roster this season, since he still has three years remaining on his contract (plus a fourth-year player option). For his part, Mitchell hasn’t made any sort of trade demand and is believed to be fine with with either staying in Utah or being dealt elsewhere, sources tell The Athletic.
We’re still six weeks away from the start of training camps and nine weeks away from opening night, so the Jazz have plenty of time to consider their options before the 2022/23 season tips off.
The Knicks will host the Sixers at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day this year, as shared by Sixers superstar James Harden (Twitter link). Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein confirmed the tweet with his own social media post.
In addition, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Celtics will host the Bucks. Boston beat Milwaukee in seven games during the second round of the playoffs last season.
New York hosting teams on Christmas has become a regular occurrence, but with the team missing the playoffs last year, it was fair to wonder if it would happen again in 2022. Philadelphia playing Miami also would’ve made sense, as the Sixers signed P.J. Tucker in free agency and the teams met in the postseason.
With these two games confirmed, the NBA’s planned Christmas Day schedule is now known, though the league has yet to confirm it. The other reported matchups are Grizzlies-Warriors, Lakers-Mavericks and Suns-Nuggets.
Who’s the best backcourt partner for Jalen Brunson on the current Knicks roster? According to analytics expert Joseph Gill in an interview with SNY TV’s Ian Begley, Quentin Grimes is the best fit alongside the high-priced free agent acquisition. Grimes is a legitimate threat to space the floor and he doesn’t turn the ball over very often. That makes him a better pairing with Brunson’s skill set than Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley, in Gill’s estimation.
While the addition of Jalen Brunson and the return of Derrick Rose will likely move Immanuel Quickley off the ball in 2022/23, the Knicks guard is making it a priority to improve his play-making abilities this offseason, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
“We put a big emphasis on his passing, we’ve worked a lot on his passing out of the pick-and-roll,” Andrew Morant, Quickley’s trainer, told Braziller. “Early pockets, late pockets and finding the corner shooters as he comes out of the pick-and-roll.”
Quickley’s name has come up in trade rumors linking Donovan Mitchell to New York, and it’s very possible that if the Knicks make a play for the Jazz star, Quickley will end up in Utah. However, Morant said he and the former Kentucky standout aren’t paying attention to that trade speculation as they attempt to hone Quickley’s skills this summer.
“I think he’s an asset to the Knicks in terms of if they want to win games, and he [could] be an asset to a lot of teams,” Morant told The Post. “I don’t know what the Knicks are thinking, what they want to do with him or what the situation is. What him and I try to do is be prepared for any situation and any opportunity that comes his way.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Responding to a report that suggested there may be some mutual interest between Kevin Durant and the Sixers, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com evaluates whether or not Philadelphia could put together a competitive trade package for the Nets star. While Neubeck suggests an offer centered around Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle wouldn’t be “laughable,” he believes other suitors could comfortably top it, given the 76ers’ limited draft assets.
- Damien Cox of The Toronto Star considers whether or not the Raptors should be seriously pursuing Durant, given the way the Nets forward’s recent demands have defied the “traditional owner-management-coach-player hierarchy” and the effect that could have on the culture the team has built in Toronto.
- The Celtics, who have spoken to the Nets about Durant, have made center Robert Williams unavailable in trade talks, sources tell Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
- A few New York fans got to see Jalen Brunson play his first game alongside some of his new Knicks teammates Monday, per Matthew Neschis of The New York Post. Brunson received a standing ovation during introductions as he teamed up with Julius Randle and Obi Toppin in the Nike Pro City playoffs, a summer league in the Bronx. “You have a lot of kids [here] who can’t afford the opportunity to go to a Knicks game,” league director Bernard Bowen said, “so for those guys to come and play in that atmosphere where it’s free for the kids, it’s a blessing.”