Knicks Rumors

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Etienne, Harper, Draft

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was hired in 2020, wanted Rick Brunson on his staff from the beginning, one source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. However, some members of upper management had concerns about the circumstances of Brunson’s departure from Minnesota, Berman’s source said. The former Timberwolves assistant resigned after being accused of improper conduct toward women, though he and his lawyer denied any wrongdoing.

Although Brunson is now set to join Thibodeau’s staff in New York, it doesn’t sound like he intends to put the full-court press on his son Jalen Brunson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, to join him. According to Berman, Rick recently told a confidant that he just wants his son to sign the best deal he can, one representative of his market value.

Marc Stein reported today on Substack that there’s “no grave concern bubbling” in Dallas about the Knicks’ hiring of Rick Brunson, and Berman essentially says the same thing in his story. According to Berman, a source who recently spoke to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he’d be “shocked” if Dallas doesn’t re-sign Jalen Brunson.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Knicks Hiring Rick Brunson As Assistant Coach

Rick Brunson is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach with the Knicks, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Brunson was formerly an assistant under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota, and has deep ties to the Knicks’ head coach, as Begley notes.

Brunson is the father of Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, whom the Knicks have reportedly expressed interest in. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the Mavs have repeatedly expressed optimism about re-signing him.

The elder Brunson played nine seasons in the NBA (from 1997-2006), and holds a total of seven seasons worth of experience as an assistant coach, with a couple of other stops in Denver and Charlotte. Brunson was also one of Leon Rose‘s first clients when he was an agent — Rose is now the president of the Knicks.

In 2018, Brunson resigned as an assistant for the Timberwolves after allegations of improper conduct toward women, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

We work to maintain high standards of conduct and expect our staff to lead by example. We did not believe Mr. Brunson’s conduct was consistent with those standards,” the team said, as part of a larger statement. Brunson and his lawyer denied any wrongdoing.

The 49-year-old has served as the head coach of Camden High School for the past three years, winning a New Jersey state championship in 2022. He’s known as a player development guru and will likely work regularly with the young players on New York’s roster.

D’Angelo Russell May Be Option In Knicks’ Point Guard Search

If the Knicks can’t get their preferred choices at point guard, the TimberwolvesD’Angelo Russell could become an option this summer, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

New York has a strong connection to Russell in Gersson Rosas, who was recently named senior basketball advisor after spending time with the organization as a consultant. Fischer notes that when Rosas was president of basketball operations in Minnesota, he traded Andrew Wiggins and a lottery pick to the Warriors for Russell in 2020 after missing out on him in free agency.

Russell, who has a $31.4MM expiring contract next season, took some heat after a disappointing performance in the Wolves’ brief playoff run. The emergence of other backcourt options in Minnesota might make him expendable as the team looks to the future.

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell remains the Knicks’ dream choice, but getting him appears unlikely even if Utah decides to shake up its roster, Fischer writes. He cites “healthy skepticism” around the league that New York can make the best offer for Mitchell, noting that Miami could potentially put together a deal centered around Tyler Herro and multiple first-round picks.

The Knicks have also been linked to Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, who is headed toward free agency, but Fischer hears there’s a “growing sense” around the league that Brunson will remain in Dallas. Fischer expects Brunson’s new contract to top $20MM per season and says John Collins‘ five-year, $125MM extension could be a good comparison.

New York can only offer four years to Brunson and would need to clear out significant cap space first. Sources tell Fischer that the Knicks unsuccessfully tried to move Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel ahead of the trade deadline to begin opening cap room. Fischer cites league executives who believe New York would have to include either the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft or Immanuel Quickley in any deal to unload salary.

Fischer adds that one factor working in the Knicks’ favor in their pursuit of Brunson is that they can offer him the chance to be the undisputed leader of the offense, which he won’t have in Dallas playing alongside Luka Doncic. Fischer notes that if Brunson signs with the Pistons, who are also reported to be interested, he would be in the same situation with Cade Cunningham.

Sources also tell Fischer that New York won’t be among the teams pursuing Cavaliers free agent guard Collin Sexton. Cleveland is interested in keeping him, but it could be difficult considering the team’s salary commitment to other players. Fischer hears that the Pacers, Pistons and Wizards will all be in the market for Sexton.

Examining Knicks' Battle For New York With Nets

  • Steve Popper of Newsday explores whether the Knicks or the Nets are in a better spot going forward. The Knicks entered 2021/22 coming off a successful campaign with a young core, but their season became rife with injuries and chemistry issues. The Nets had championship expectations, but Kyrie Irving‘s part-time availability, James Harden‘s trade request and Joe Harris‘ season-ending injury harmed their hopes.

Diop Named Knicks' G League Coach

  • DeSagana Diop is the new head coach of the G League’s Westchester Knicks, Marc Stein tweets. Diop was represented by Knicks president Leon Rose when Rose was a player agent. Diop has assistant coaching experience with the Jazz and, most recently, the Rockets.

2022 NBA Offseason Preview: New York Knicks

The Knicks were one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2020/21 NBA season, outperforming expectations by finishing 10 games above .500 and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Instead of building on that progress in ’21/22, however, the team took a step backward, falling eight games below .500 and missing the playoffs and the play-in tournament entirely.

There were a variety of reasons for the Knicks’ letdown of a season. Regression affected certain players, including Julius Randle, who came back to earth after earning a spot on the All-NBA Second Team and a Most Improved Player award a year ago. Injuries were an issue, with point guard Derrick Rose limited to just 26 appearances. And New York’s offseason personnel changes didn’t pay dividends. Kemba Walker, in particular, was a bust — knee issues continued to diminish his effectiveness, and his offensive production was no longer good enough to make up for his subpar defense.

The Knicks built a reputation as a hard-nosed defensive team under Tom Thibodeau in 2020/21, placing fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, but didn’t look like that same club in the first half of last season. The good news? New York had the NBA’s best defensive rating after the 2022 All-Star break. The team will try to carry over that success to the fall, though it’s safe to assume next season’s roster will look a little different than the one that finished 2021/22.


The Knicks’ Offseason Plan:

The Knicks’ offseason intentions are difficult to ascertain, and not just because president of basketball operations Leon Rose has zero interest in ever speaking to the media. The team doesn’t project to have any cap room, but it also has very few long-term veteran contracts on its books and has an excess of future draft picks, so there’s some flexibility to make significant changes this summer if the front office wants to take that path.

Rose, Walker, Alec Burks, and Nerlens Noel will earn a combined $43MM in 2022/23, but all four are on either expiring contracts or de facto expiring deals that include a 2023/24 team option, making them intriguing trade chips, either in the offseason or at next year’s trade deadline.

Even the team’s two most expensive veterans, who are on longer-term deals, are potential trade candidates. Randle and Evan Fournier will be more difficult to move since they’re pricier and aren’t coming off their best seasons, which will make it challenging to agree on fair value. But it’s safe to assume the Knicks would listen on either one if they receive inquiries from potential trade partners.

While no player on the Knicks’ roster should be considered a mortal lock to return, RJ Barrett is pretty close. The former No. 3 overall pick struggled to maintain his level of scoring efficiency in 2021/22 as his usage rate continued to increase, but he has shown enough upside to be viewed as a long-term cornerstone in New York.

Barrett will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason and it will be interesting to see how the Knicks approach those negotiations. If the 21-year-old isn’t willing to sign for anything less than the maximum salary, the club is probably better off waiting another year to further assess whether he’s worthy of that kind of financial commitment.

Besides Barrett, the Knicks will probably be inclined to hang onto most of the rest of their 24-and-under group, including Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, and Cam Reddish. Perhaps one or two of them could be used to sweeten a trade package for an impact player, but if that sort of deal isn’t available, the team will want to continue evaluating its youngsters to determine which ones are keepers.

Reddish, like Barrett, is extension-eligible this offseason, but the Knicks haven’t seen enough from him yet to guarantee him anything long-term.

As the Knicks consider potential trades or free agent signings, adding a starting point guard remains a top priority. Jalen Brunson has been repeatedly linked to New York for months, and his connections to the franchise (via Rose and his father Rick Brunson) have been well documented, but it won’t be easy to pry him away from the Mavericks, who have repeatedly conveyed a desire to keep him.

Since they won’t have any cap room, the Knicks would either have to shed a couple contracts via trade to create the cap room necessary to make a serious offer for Brunson, or negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with a Dallas team that won’t be eager to help them out.

Neither one of those scenarios is out of the question, especially since Brunson will be unrestricted — if he wants to go to New York, he can make it happen. But the Knicks may be wary about giving up assets (in a sign-and-trade or in salary-dump trades) in order to give an undersized point guard upwards of $20-25MM per year. They weren’t interested in seriously pursuing a similar player (Fred VanVleet) at a similar rate a year ago when they had cap room available, so we’ll see if they make a real push for Brunson or look elsewhere for point guard help.

Trades may be the focus of the offseason for the Knicks, since 13 of their 15 standard-roster players remain under contracts, but there’s one key free agent to watch: big man Mitchell Robinson.

Like Brunson, Robinson signed a four-year contract as a second-round pick and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, having never had to deal with restricted free agency. That will reduce the Knicks’ leverage and allow Robinson to sign outright with a new team without giving his current team a chance to match. It wouldn’t surprise me if he departs, given that he didn’t always seem thrilled about his role in New York — that could open the door for a new team to sell the young center on its vision for him.


Salary Cap Situation

Note: Our salary cap figures are based on the league’s latest projection ($122MM) for 2022/23.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

  • None

Two-Way Free Agents

  • None

Draft Picks

  • No. 11 overall pick ($4,508,640)
  • No. 42 overall pick (no cap hold)
  • Total: $4,508,640

Extension-Eligible Players

Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2022/23 season begins.

  • RJ Barrett (rookie scale)
  • Cam Reddish (rookie scale)

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

The Knicks currently project to operate over the cap. Their guaranteed salary and the cap hold for their first-round pick total approximately $118MM, so the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions would push team salary well past the projected $122MM cap.

The Knicks remain far below the projected luxury tax line ($149MM), so they should have the flexibility to re-sign Robinson and use the full mid-level exception, if they so choose. Theoretically, New York could even clear a little cap space by moving a mid-sized salary or two, but to take that route, the team would probably need to have a specific free target in mind and be very confident about its chances to secure that target.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $10,349,000 1
  • Bi-annual exception: $4,050,000 1
  • Trade exception: $1,175,818

Footnotes

  1. These are projected values. If the Knicks decide to go under the cap and use cap room, they’ll forfeit these exceptions (and their trade exception) and instead gain access to the room exception ($5,329,000).

Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

Knicks Met With Jaden Ivey At Combine

  • The Knicks are doing their homework on Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, having used one of their allotted 20 interviews on him at last week’s draft combine, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. While Berman suggests the meeting is a sign that New York has at least explored the idea of trading up from No. 11, he acknowledges that it’s not unusual for the Knicks to do their due diligence on players projected to be drafted outside of their range, if only to gather information for the future.

Atlantic Notes: Smart, Nets Front Office, Raptors, Barrett

Celtics starting point guard Marcus Smart, already the Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Defensive First Teamer, has added another end-of-season honor to his résumé.

The league has given Smart the 2021/22 NBA Hustle Award, per a press statement. The award is given to players who contribute to their teams in ways that transcend traditional box score statistics, including deflections, screen assists, box-outs, loose balls recovered, drawn charges, and contested shots.

Smart previously won the award for the 2018/19 NBA season. With the hardware this year, he becomes the first-ever two-time recipient of the honor, which debuted during the 2016/17 season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • With Nets assistant coach Ama’re Stoudemire moving on and David Vanterpool and Adam Harrington also expected to join the exodus, head coach Steve Nash‘s bench could look quite different next season, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Former Hornets head coach James Borrego could be a target as a seasoned assistant for next season. Lewis adds that Brooklyn may make some changes to its front office personnel as well, mentioning that consultant Steve Clifford could also be looking to depart.
  • Raptors All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet may be open to signing an extension with Toronto, but his decision could ultimately be dictated by the free agent market this season, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic in a new mailbag. Koreen also projects the Raptors’ starting lineup heading into next year, identifies the team’s biggest offseason need, and more.
  • Knicks small forward RJ Barrett, who missed New York’s final game of the year with a knee sprain, appears to be recovered and ready to play for Team Canada in this summer’s World Cup qualifiers, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Knicks Notes: Davis, Brunson, Brogdon, Barrett

If the Knicks decide to address their backcourt needs through the draft, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis could be an attractive option with the 11th pick, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York had representatives at his Pro Day on Saturday and interviewed him at last week’s draft combine.

“It went really well,’’ Davis said. “It was nice to see familiar face [in coach Tom Thibodeau] and somebody who’s been part of the game for a while. It was amazing to talk to him after seeing what he’s done with a lot of teams. He’s a very recognized coach in the league. I heard from people he likes guys like [me]. So hopefully I can fit in with them and they’ll be invested in me enough to draft me.’’

Davis is a strong defender – which likely appeals to Thibodeau – and a reliable mid-range shooter, but he only connected at 30.6% from beyond the arc this season with the Badgers. Berman sees the Spurs, who hold the ninth pick, as the greatest threat to take Davis before the Knicks are on the clock.

There’s more from New York:

  • The Knicks’ reported interest in Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson is legitimate, Fred Katz of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Brunson could be the top point guard on the free agent market this summer, and his father, Rick, has strong connections with both Thibodeau and team president Leon Rose. However, Katz theorizes that the Mavs’ run to the Western Conference Finals could make them more eager to re-sign Brunson, who could command more than $20MM per year in a new contract.
  • Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News sees the Knicks as one of at least eight teams with interest in Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and examines the offers that each could make. For New York, he suggests a package of Alec Burks, Kemba Walker and a future protected first-round pick. Winfield would add Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish and another first-rounder if Indiana is also willing to part with center Myles Turner.
  • RJ Barrett has reached an agreement to play for the Canadian National Team, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. It’s a three-year commitment that will run through the Summer Olympics in 2024, and it will begin with the next round of World Cup qualifiers in July.