New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets’ Outlook With Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant Remains “Murky”

June 24th, 2022 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on Thursday afternoon that Kevin Durant was weighing his future in Brooklyn, potentially opening the door for Kyrie Irving to leave the Nets this offseason, Shams Charania of The Athletic further addressed the situation during Thursday night’s draft.

“Kevin Durant, I’m told, is seriously mulling his future options with the franchise and there’s an expectation that that now opens up an opportunity for Kyrie Irving to now proceed to find a new home,” Charania said (video link via Stadium). “… Whether that’s an opt-in and trade, a sign-and-trade, an opt-out and sign as a free agent, Kyrie Irving, it appears, is going to find a new home. Kevin Durant has four years left on his contract with the Nets. His future right now is very much up in the air.”

Although Charania’s wording makes it sound as if Irving is more likely to depart Brooklyn than to return, Brian Lewis of The New York Post says Kyrie and the Nets are still believed to be seeking an agreement that will keep him with the team. According to Lewis, some people around the NBA believe the recent leaks are part of an “artfully crafted and well-coordinated bluff” from Irving’s camp.

Irving’s decision on his $36.9MM player option isn’t due until next Wednesday, so the two sides still have several days to try to find common ground. Kyrie is said to be looking for a long-term contract, while the Nets prefer a shorter-term deal. Team owner Joe Tsai has “fully supported” management’s stance against making a long-term commitment to Irving, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reported on Thursday that Irving has a list of at least six preferred destinations if he leaves the Nets, reiterated on ESPN’s Get Up on Friday (video link) that the Lakers appear to have the “most interest” in the seven-time All-Star.

However, given the Lakers’ lack of trade assets, Irving’s only real path to the team might be to opt out and sign for the $6.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception. Given that he and the Nets reached an impasse over how long his deal would be, it seems unlikely that he’d settle for a one-year deal and a $30MM pay cut.

According to Wojnarowski, a few of the other teams on Irving’s reported wish list – including the Mavericks, Clippers, and Sixers – are unlikely to have legitimate interest. The Knicks created some additional cap flexibility with their moves in Thursday’s draft, but are prioritizing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson over Irving, says Wojnarowski.

Still, despite an apparent lack of logical landing spots for Kyrie, Wojnarowski (video link) describes the Nets’ situation as “perilous” due to the ripple effect it could have on Irving’s good friend Durant. According to Woj, Durant isn’t a lock to request a trade if Irving leaves, but he’d want the Nets to show him that they could still build a championship-caliber roster around him.

“KD wanting to remain with the Nets is not necessarily contingent on if Kyrie Irving walks,” Wojnarowski said during a TV appearance, according to Lewis. “That, if he walks, he wants to see what the roster could still look like, how it could be reshaped, how it can still be a championship contender. (Durant is) starting that new four-year max deal. This isn’t the transfer portal. You don’t get to say where you’d like to go. So if he decided and wanted and asked for a trade — which I’m told he’s not told the Nets he’s going to do or is ready to do — he’s probably not going to have a lot of say in where he goes.

“So that has to be part of (Durant’s) thinking if he does ask out of Brooklyn,” Woj continued. “But right now, I still think there’s a pathway for the Nets, for Kyrie Irving, for Kevin Durant to find a way forward together. But it’s murky, and it’s uncertain. The future of this Nets organization very well is going to be determined here in the next several days to a week.”

Central Notes: Ayton, Duren, Agbaji, Pacers, Bulls

June 24th, 2022 at 9:18am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons‘ draft haul Thursday night makes it less likely that they’ll pursue Suns center Deandre Ayton in free agency, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Ayton was believed to be Detroit’s main target after opening up roughly $43MM in cap space by agreeing to trade Jerami Grant to the Trail Blazers. Thursday’s deals knock that number down to about $30MM, which sources tell Edwards the team plans to use to sign multiple players rather than handing out one large contract.

The Pistons landed their center of the future by acquiring Jalen Duren of Memphis, who “blew away” the organization during the pre-draft process, according to Edwards’ sources. Multiple teams called Detroit in hopes of making a deal for No. 5 pick Jaden Ivey, but the Pistons were more interested in landing another first-round selection. One of those calls came from the Knicks, who needed to offload salary in hopes of making a run at free agent guard Jalen Brunson. Detroit was able to use some of its cap room to take on Kemba Walker‘s contract, valued at $9.17MM next season, and received Duren, whom New York acquired from the Hornets in a previous deal.

Detroit now has an exciting young core with Ivey and Duren joining Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey, along with enough cap room to be a significant player in free agency. The Pistons are still expected to be big spenders when the process begins next week, sources tell Edwards.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers passed on several younger talents to take four-year college player Ochai Agbaji, notes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. After reaching the play-in tournament this season, Cleveland was focused on finding someone who could contribute right away, and there’s hope that the Kansas sharpshooter will add another dimension to the offense. The Cavs were extremely interested in French star Ousmane Dieng, Fedor adds, and would have considered him at No. 14 if the Thunder hadn’t traded up to grab him with the 11th pick.
The Pacers had numerous trade opportunities Thursday night, but nothing worth pulling the trigger on, according to James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. “We’re always gonna be aggressive, but there’s always certain price points,” general manager Chad Buchanan said. “Sometimes you have to walk away from deals if it’s not right for your team.”
Finding a rim protector will be one of the Bulls‘ priorities for the summer, tweets Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. The Bulls will explore their options through free agency and trades, according to general manager Marc Eversley, who suggested the team wants a player who can complement current center Nikola Vucevic.

Knicks, Jean Montero Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

June 24th, 2022 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and undrafted free agent guard Jean Montero have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 contract, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

An Exhibit 10 deal is a one-year, minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster. Although it’s not guaranteed, a player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Montero, who will turn 19 in July, began his professional career with Gran Canaria in Spain and played for the new Overtime Elite program in 2021/22. The Dominican combo guard is considered a talented scorer and has also exhibited creativity as a passer, according to Givony, who writes in his scouting report that the youngster’s inconsistent defense is a concern.

Montero was the No. 4 prospect on ESPN’s list of players who went undrafted on Thursday night.

Jalen Duren, Kemba Walker To Pistons In Three-Team Trade

June 23rd, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Luke Adams

10:55pm: The Knicks have officially announced their part of the trade with the Hornets, indicating that this deal will actually be split into two separate transactions. The Knicks and Pistons can’t complete their half of the trade until Detroit opens up cap room in July.

9:47pm: Zach Lowe of ESPN confirms (via Twitter) that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder is headed to the Knicks in the deal. That means the trade, as reported so far, looks like this:

Pistons acquiring Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker.
Knicks acquiring Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected; from Pistons).
Hornets acquiring Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, the Jazz’s 2023 second-round pick, either the Mavericks’ or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (all from Knicks).

9:29pm: According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), the Hornets are receiving the Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, Utah’s 2023 second-round pick, either Dallas’ or Miami’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick.

All of those second-rounders belonged to New York, while the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder (top-14 protected) was held by the Thunder — it’s presumably one of the picks headed to the Knicks in the Ousmane Dieng trade.

Boone’s report suggests that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder will go from Detroit to New York rather than to Charlotte, but we’ll await further confirmation to be sure.

8:26pm: The Hornets will trade Memphis center Jalen Duren to the Pistons after selecting him 13th overall in tonight’s draft, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

According to Fischer (Twitter link), it’ll be a three-team trade that also involves the Knicks. Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that New York is sending Kemba Walker to Detroit as part of the trade.

However, it seems unlikely that Walker will remain with the Pistons for long, as sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the two sides are expected to discuss a buyout of the final year of his contract, which is worth $9.17MM next season.

James L. Edwards III of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that a deal was close, while Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that Charlotte is acquiring the 2025 Milwaukee first-round pick (top-four protected) that Detroit is receiving from Portland in the Jerami Grant trade.

Meanwhile, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets are acquiring four second-round picks in the deal. The details on those second-rounders have yet to be reported, but it seems likely that most, if not all, of them are coming from the Knicks as part of the price for dumping Walker’s contract.

Duren averaged 12.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 29 games (25.3 MPG) during his first and only college season, earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors and making the All-AAC First Team. He won’t turn 19 until November after graduating from high school a year early, making him one of the youngest players in the draft class.

Thunder Acquire No. 11 From Knicks, Select Ousmane Dieng

June 23rd, 2022 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:33pm: Commissioner Adam Silver officially announced the trade between the Thunder and Knicks on the NBA’s draft broadcast.

According to Silver, New York is receiving three conditional future first-round picks in the deal. Shams Charania of The Athletic provides more details, tweeting that New York is acquiring the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder (top-14 protected), the Pistons’ 2023 first-rounder (top-18 protected), and the Wizards’ 2023 first-rounder (top-14 protected).

It appears the Denver pick will be re-routed to Charlotte in a salary-dump deal involving Kemba Walker.

8:13pm: The Knicks selected French forward Ousmane Dieng with the No. 11 pick in tonight’s draft, but he won’t play for them.

New York is trading Dieng to the Thunder, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Oklahoma City is sending the Knicks multiple first-round picks in the deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

That gave the Thunder back-to-back picks, since they also owned the No. 12 selection via the Clippers. That pick isn’t part of the trade with the Knicks, Wojnarowski tweets. OKC used that pick on wing Jalen Williams from Santa Clara.

Dieng, who played last season with the New Zealand Breakers, is considered the top international prospect in the draft and will give OKC another lengthy big man to pair up with No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren.

New York tried in vain to move up and acquire guard Jaden Ivey and ultimately decided to move down in the draft. By trading out of the first round, the Knicks reduce their salary cap obligations for this year, giving them more elbow room to dump salary if needed for another trade, perhaps as soon as a few days from now, cap expert Nate Duncan tweets.

Knicks Looking To Trade For Ivey, Pistons Balking

June 23rd, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons selected Jaden Ivey with the No. 5 pick, forming a potentially dynamic backcourt with last year’s top pick, Cade Cunningham.

However, the Knicks didn’t give up on their pursuit of Ivey easily. They are trying to make a deal with Detroit to acquire the jet-quick point guard out of Purdue, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer (Twitter link) and SNY TV’s Ian Begley (Twitter link).

Steve Popper of Newsday tweets that the Pistons may have some interest if Memphis center Jalen Duren is still available at New York’s pick at No. 11. However, New York instead chose French center Ousmane Dieng, the top international prospect, and are moving him to the Thunder in a trade, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The Knicks are acquiring multiple picks in that deal and are making one last serious push to trade for Ivey with those additional assets, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III tweets.

New York is desperately seeking a lead guard to get back into the postseason after coming up empty this past season.

Reportedly Offered Fournier To Boston

June 23rd, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks offered to trade Evan Fournier to the Celtics to create cap space in order to sign Jalen Brunson, but Boston has no interest in the deal, according to Gambadoro (Twitter links). The Celtics have a large trade exception that was ironically created by signing-and-trading Fournier to New York, so the Knicks theoretically wouldn’t have needed a player in return, but he’d still count against Boston’s cap, which would push the team deep into the luxury tax.

Draft Rumors: Pistons, Mathurin, Duren, Eason, J. Smith, More

June 23rd, 2022 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

People around the NBA have been “gossiping” about an incredible workout Bennedict Mathurin had with the Pistons, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who says there’s chatter that members of Detroit’s front office are “infatuated” with the Arizona guard.

Jaden Ivey and Keegan Murray have long been considered the favorites to join Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero in the top five, but perhaps the Pistons will upend that expectation by targeting Mathurin. For what it’s worth, however, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) still believes Murray is the favorite over Mathurin at No. 5 if Ivey is off the board.

Within his latest mock draft, Givony also reports that Pistons general manager Troy Weaver is one of Jalen Duren‘s biggest fans in the NBA. While Duren likely won’t be under serious consideration at No. 5, the Pistons could consider trading back into the first round if he slips at all, according to Givony, who points to the Hornets (No. 13 and No. 15) as a possible trade partner for Detroit in a deal involving Gordon Hayward.

Elsewhere in his mock draft, O’Connor writes that the Nuggets (No. 21 and No. 30) and Grizzlies (No. 22 and No. 29) have both made attempts to package their picks in an effort to move up in the first round.

O’Connor suggests Denver’s picks probably aren’t enough to move into the middle of the first round unless the team is willing to include a young player or another future pick. However, he writes that the Grizzlies have been exploring picks as high as the Knicks‘ selection at No. 11. In order to get that high, Memphis would presumably have to take on some unwanted salary or include another asset beyond the team’s two 2022 first-rounders.

Here’s more on the 2022 NBA draft, which is now just hours away:

Executives around the league keep connecting LSU forward Tari Eason to the Rockets at No. 17, according to O’Connor. Meanwhile, Zach Harper of The Athletic has heard from sources that the Celtics are also high on Eason and could try to trade into the first round using a young rotation player to draft him. An earlier report indicated Boston was open to discussing Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard, and Harper adds Aaron Nesmith to that list.
Auburn’s Jabari Smith tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he’ll be surprised if he’s not drafted first overall tonight. Virtually every major sportsbook made Paolo Banchero the favorite to go No. 1 late last night, but those odds have since swung back in the other direction. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report speculates (via Twitter) that the Banchero buzz may have been related to contact he and his camp had with the Magic on Wednesday after a Monday visit was canceled, but Fischer — like ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — reiterates that Smith remains the favorite to be the No. 1 pick.
Ian Begley of SNY.tv (video link) views Duke’s AJ Griffin as the most likely pick for the Knicks if they remain at No. 11.
The Raptors, who moved down from No. 20 to No. 33 in the draft as a result of their Thaddeus Young trade in February, don’t view the gap between those two selections as significant, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen observes, there’s less of a consensus on prospects further down draft boards than there is at the very top, so several of the players drafted between Nos. 20 and 32 may not be at or near the top of Toronto’s board.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Considering Options For Future

June 23rd, 2022 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant is monitoring Brooklyn’s situation and “considering options with his future,” sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Charania’s report is vague, it suggests Durant may not be completely satisfied with his current situation despite being under contract for the next four years.

The Nets’ negotiations with Kyrie Irving figure to be a crucial factor in Durant’s deliberations, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailed earlier this week. Irving and the Nets were said on Monday to be at an impasse in their contract talks, and Kyrie and KD are close, so their futures may be connected — if one leaves Brooklyn, the other would likely be more inclined to follow suit.

According to Charania, Durant’s deliberations open a path for Irving to look more seriously at finding a new home via opt-in and trade.

Meanwhile, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Irving has a list of teams he would like Brooklyn to consider in sign-and-trade scenarios if he and the Nets don’t reach a new agreement, including the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, and Sixers. Those are teams Irving is interested in, though not all of them would necessarily reciprocate that interest and make him a top priority, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Irving has a $36.9MM player option that he must make a decision on by next Wednesday. Picking up that option would mean he either returns to Brooklyn or relies on the Nets to trade him. Declining it would make him an unrestricted free agent, in which case he could either re-sign with the Nets or join a new team, possibly via sign-and-trade.

Teams that will be over the tax apron (projected to be approximately $155MM) for the 2022/23 season would be ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Of the teams on Irving’s wish list, the Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are all on track to be well above the apron, while the Heat and Sixers also aren’t locks to stay below it. That would complicate sign-and-trade scenarios, so Irving’s best route to changing teams without taking a massive pay cut would be with an opt-in-and-trade.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), Irving’s current contract includes a 15% trade bonus, so if he were to exercise his player option and be traded without waiving that bonus, his salary for 2022/23 would increase to over $42MM, with the Nets responsible for paying the extra $5.5MM.

Irving is seeking a lucrative long-term contract this offseason, while the Nets have reportedly been pushing for a shorter-term deal. If the two sides can find common ground, Irving and Durant both seem like good bets to remain in Brooklyn, but the fact that both stars are now said to be considering their options isn’t great news for a Nets team that already had to trade away one superstar earlier this year when James Harden asked out.

Knicks Notes: Brogdon, Sharpe, Barrett, Draft

June 23rd, 2022 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

While Indiana and New York have had conversations about Malcolm Brogdon, some Pacers officials came away from those talks under the impression that the Knicks are exploring a lot of point guard options and Brogdon isn’t necessarily at the top of their wish list, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

That doesn’t mean that the Knicks won’t ultimately make a deal for Brogdon, but most recent reports – including those from Begley – have suggested that Jalen Brunson is New York’s preferred target at point guard this summer.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Jaden Ivey isn’t the only player on the Knicks’ radar in possible trade-up scenarios, according to Begley, who writes in a separate SNY.tv story that Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe also “fans in high places” within the organization. Sharpe appears likely to come off the board in the top 10, though that’s not a lock.
Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that the Knicks’ cap situation for the 2023 offseason will be impacted by where the NBA’s estimated average salary for 2022/23 ends up, since RJ Barrett‘s cap hold will depend on whether his ’22/23 salary ($10.9MM) is deemed to be below or above the league average. If his salary falls below the league average, his cap hold in 2023 would be $32.7MM; if it’s above the league average, his cap hold next year would be $27.25MM. The issue would be moot if Barrett signs an extension this offseason, since his cap hold for 2023/24 would be replaced by the first-year salary in his new deal.
In another story for The Athletic, Katz and draft guru Sam Vecenie explore how Thursday night might play out for the Knicks, who control the 11th and 42nd overall picks.
Zach Braziller of The New York Post also takes a look at the myriad options the Knicks will have available to them on draft night.