- Marc Berman of The New York Post argues that Tom Thibodeau shouldn’t be the fall guy for a disappointing Knicks season, observing that the front office made multiple roster moves Thibodeau wasn’t gung-ho about, including adding Kemba Walker and letting Reggie Bullock walk in free agency. Thibodeau also reportedly wasn’t exactly pushing for last month’s Cam Reddish trade. “They haven’t collaborated with him like they did last year,” a coaching source tells Berman.
- Sean Deveney of Heavy.com spoke to one rival general manager who thinks Mitchell Robinson‘s next contract will be in the range of the full mid-level exception, projecting a three-year, $33MM deal. The Knicks center, who is currently extension-eligible, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
A source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that DeMar DeRozan would have signed with the Knicks instead of the Bulls last summer if New York had matched Chicago’s contract offer. The Bulls inked DeRozan to a three-year, $81.9MM deal via sign-and-trade.
DeRozan’s top choice was the Lakers, but the team never made him a formal offer, the source tells Berman. Nor did the Knicks.
GM Scott Perry was interested in DeRozan, but president Leon Rose and executive VP William Wesley were sold on Evan Fournier. Perry believed that signing DeRozan could have led to Damian Lillard down the line, as the two stars are close friends, Berman relays. Obviously, the Knicks ultimately acquired Fournier.
Here’s more from New York:
- The return of Derrick Rose could provide a needed boost to the struggling Knicks, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. “When you look at Derrick when he’s on the floor and you look at the plus-minus of the players, he impacts it in a very positive way,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And he’s always been that way. Because he gives you the transition game, he gives you the pick-and-roll game, he can play on the ball, he can play off the ball, so it adds a lot to our team.”
- In Zach Lowe’s latest ’10 things’ column for ESPN (Insider link), he writes that New York’s starting unit has been a disaster all season, and has been outscored by 14 points per 100 possessions, one of the worst marks in the league. He points to Kemba Walker, Fournier, and Julius Randle as the weak links on defense, with Randle’s regression from last season being especially disappointing. Lowe says to “expect everything to be on the table for the Knicks in the summer.”
- In a separate article for The New York Post, Berman explores what the hiring of Gersson Rosas means for the Knicks’ front office. Rosas has multiple ties to the organization, Berman notes, as he shares the same agent as Thibodeau from Creative Artists Agency. Rose was a longtime agent at CAA prior to becoming the Knicks’ president. Rosas and Thibodeau also worked together for several years in Houston.
As we relayed this morning, the Knicks suffered a crushing 111-106 loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday, in which New York blew a 28-point lead, intensifying scrutiny on head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks are just 3-13 over their last 16 games and currently hold a 25-34 record, 12th in the East.
“A byproduct of losing is everyone wants to place blame. And I understand that,” Thibodeau said after the game. “We all have jobs to do. (The season) has not gone as well as it has. It didn’t go great last year until the end, right? Lock into what we have to do. Don’t get caught up in getting distracted. And focus on how we can do better. That’s where I want the focus to lie.”
Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv that, in conversations with owner James Dolan, executive vice president William Wesley has been blaming Thibodeau’s coaching as a significant factor in the team’s struggles this season.
Thibodeau, the reigning Coach of the Year, was hand-picked by Wesley and president Leon Rose, and the three men have known each other for years, Begley writes. However, something is clearly amiss between the coaching staff and the front office.
Thibodeau was angry that the Knicks didn’t make trades ahead of the deadline last week and believed that a roster upgrade would have been beneficial, sources tell Begley. Thibodeau has been consulted with for personnel moves, and although his opinion is considered, New York’s front office has made several roster moves that didn’t align with Thibodeau’s thinking, per Begley.
In a separate article for SNY.tv, Begley states that he would be surprised if Thibodeau was fired before the end of the season — but confidence in the coach has clearly diminished within the organization.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News contends that the onus is on Rose to speak up with the embattled coach twisting in the wind. Sources confirmed Begley’s reporting to Bondy, that Wesley has Dolan’s ear and has been blaming Thibodeau for the team’s struggles. Wesley is also unhappy with Thibodeau’s reticence to play younger players.
The front office forced Thibodeau to add two assistant coaches — Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne — onto the staff as a condition of his hiring in 2020, sources tell Bondy. Should Thibodeau be fired, Bondy believes either of those coaches could named the next head coach.
Rose hasn’t spoken to the media since September, before the season started, and prior to that it had been more than a year since he’d spoken publicly, Bondy writes. He believes Rose needs to address the situation and back Thibodeau — or not — because the silence is leading to a lack of clarity on the team’s direction.
In their last game before the All-Star break, the Knicks had one of their worst losses of the season, letting a 28-point lead slip away against a Brooklyn team that was playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News contends that the ugly loss will only intensify the scrutiny on head coach Tom Thibodeau, who mismanaged his timeouts earlier in the week against Oklahoma City and faced criticism for keeping RJ Barrett on the court in the final moments of an out-of-reach game last Tuesday (Barrett injured his ankle with less than a minute left and the Knicks down by 15).
While Bondy says “the temperature on the coach’s seat only got hotter” on Wednesday, forward Julius Randle dismissed the idea that the players are tuning out Thibodeau’s message.
“Coach is amazing. I’m riding with Coach every day,” Randle told reporters after the game (video link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv). “He challenges us and prepares us very well every day. His message is still ringing clear in the locker room. We’ve just got to execute.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- There’s optimism that point guard Derrick Rose will be able to return to action for the Knicks immediately after the All-Star break next week, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Rose has been unavailable since December 16 due to an ankle injury, but Wojnarowski says it looks like the former MVP should play next Friday vs. Miami, barring any setbacks.
- Thibodeau expressed confidence on Wednesday that Barrett will return right after the All-Star break too, telling reporters that the forward was “pretty close” to being ready but that the team wanted to give him an extra week to get back to 100%, per Steve Popper of Newsday.
- The prognosis wasn’t as positive for Nerlens Noel, who has been bothered this season by knee soreness and has missed the team’s last five games. Asked if Noel may ultimately require surgery, Thibodeau didn’t rule out the possibility, as Popper relays. “Yeah, it’s ongoing, so they’re checking that,” Thibodeau said. “Hopefully it responds better as we go.”
- Thibodeau is viewing the All-Star break as a “chance to reboot” for the Knicks, according to Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. “Everything is on the table now. Everything has to be merit-based. You earn what you get,” the head coach said. “You look at everything. How are we going to manage this. If a guy is playing good, he plays. If the team is functioning well he should play. The team has to come first for everyone.”
- The Knicks’ signing of Luka Samanic to a two-way contract hasn’t worked out, as the big man’s season has been marred by a left heel injury, Marc Berman writes for The New York Post. With Samanic still sidelined, it’s unclear if the team will consider making a change to that two-way slot for the rest of the season, says Berman.
Prior to last week’s trade deadline, a source close to Gary Harris said he didn’t think the Magic wing would be bought out in the coming weeks, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Harris in the final year of his contract and probably isn’t part of the long-term plans in Orlando, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the team decided to part ways with him to open up minutes for its younger players. However, one recent report stated that the Magic have appreciated the 27-year-old’s influence on their young guards.
Additionally, as Scotto observes, Harris has been one of the Magic’s most-used players this season and hasn’t seen his role reduced at all lately, logging nearly 37 minutes against his old team in Denver on Monday. Ahead of his upcoming free agency, it may be in Harris’ best interests to remain in Orlando, where he’s an important part of the rotation, Scotto says, rather than taking his chances in a situation where he’d be further down in the pecking order.
Here’s more from Scotto’s latest HoopsHype Podcast with Yossi Gozlan:
- The Lakers are a team worth keeping an eye on if Tristan Thompson is bought out by the Pacers, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran center “certainly has a lot of relationships there.” Like Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Thompson is a Klutch Sports client.
- According to Scotto, NBA executives he has spoken to are trying to determine whether the Knicks will make a serious run at Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency this summer or whether New York’s rumored interest is being used as a leverage play to boost Brunson’s market.
- Scotto adds that rival execs always thought the Mavericks would end up choosing between Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith due to the luxury tax implications of giving both players big long-term deals. However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has expressed confidence about keeping both players, and has already extended Finney-Smith.
- Scotto confirms there’s mutual interest between Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers in continuing their relationship beyond this season, as has been previously reported. Nurkic would be eligible to sign a contract extension anytime before June 30, though he wouldn’t be able to receive a starting salary higher than $14.4MM unless he reaches free agency.
Talented second-year Knicks players Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley are striving to grow through their limited minutes allocations, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post.
“It’s continual, doesn’t end,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the young Knicks’ development. “You look at the season in totality, so at the end of the year, that’s when you make a judgment on how the season went… They’re making progress, [but] there’s still a long way to go.”
In 15.1 MPG, Toppin is averaging 7.3 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .510/.233/.744 shooting splits. Across 21.3 MPG, Quickley is averaging 9.2 PPG, 3.0 APG and 2.2 RPG.
There’s more out of the Mecca:
- Quickley is grappling with a shooting slump that could be impacting his rotation minutes. Steve Popper of Newsday notes that Quickley averaged 38.9% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game as a rookie. This season, his shooting has slipped to 32.2% on 4.8 triples a night. “He’s a diligent worker,” Tom Thibodeau observed. “He’s in morning, noon and night shooting. Just got to stay with it, keep continuing to groove your shot, it’ll come back around. It’s part of it.”
- After Knicks wing RJ Barrett suffered an ankle sprain during the end of a 132-115 blowout loss to the Nuggets last week, head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s decision to leave him on the court late is being questioned, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “You don’t work backwards,” Thibodeau said. “There’s different points. You look at the score and the time. And if you make a run, then you take a shot at it. So that’s what we did.”
- As Knicks power forward Julius Randle improves his on-court performance for New York, he is also helping build up his trade value, per Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. The 25-33 Knicks may see their play-in chances fade away this year, but at least the 27-year-old Randle, who averaged 29.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG and 6.2 APG during the club’s recent 1-4 road trip, is reminding prospective trade partners of his abilities as a player.
- The Bulls were among the teams interested in trading for Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson prior to the deadline, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. The Bulls viewed Robinson as a defensive center to back up offensively-skilled Nikola Vucevic for an extended playoff run, Berman adds. The Pistons were also among the teams who inquired about Robinson.
Nets center Nic Claxton feared he would be dealt prior to last week’s deadline, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. Claxton termed the days leading up to the trade deadline as a “roller coaster,” but sounds happy to stay in Brooklyn and is looking forward to playing with Ben Simmons, Friedell adds. Claxton returned to action on Monday after injuring his hamstring on February 4.
We have more on the New York teams:
- Nets coach Steve Nash says Simmons “is in a pretty good place mentally” and will be ready to play “when he’s ready physically,” Adam Zagoria of Forbes.com tweets. The Nets’ medical staff will determine the timetable for Simmons’ debut, with speculation that he could suit up after the All-Star break on February 24 against Boston.
- RJ Barrett missed Monday’s game against Oklahoma City but has shed his walking boot, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. The Knicks’ guard has now missed three games due to a left ankle sprain.
- Guard Ryan Arcidiacono’s contract with the Knicks is a one-year deal for the minimum and he’ll be a free agent again this summer, Katz reports in another tweet. Arcidiacono inked the rest-of-the-season contract on Sunday.
Before Dallas agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to Washington last Thursday, one report suggested that the Mavericks and Raptors may be having discussions about the big man.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) and Marc Stein (Substack link) have since confirmed that Toronto had some interest in Porzingis. However, Grange says the Raptors never got close to making a deal for the former lottery pick, while league sources tell Stein that Toronto “stepped away” from those discussions due to concerns about Porzingis’ long-term health.
Porzingis was eventually traded to the Wizards along with a protected second-round pick in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Grange adds (via Twitter) that last week’s three-team trade talks involving the Raptors, Lakers, and Knicks reached an impasse in part due to L.A.’s luxury tax concerns. Presumably, the framework that was discussed would’ve required the Lakers to take on extra salary, increasing the projected luxury tax bill for a team that doesn’t currently hold a top-eight spot in the West.
- Discussing the Raptors’ decision to acquire Thaddeus Young at the trade deadline, president Masai Ujiri explained that the forward checked multiple boxes for the team: “We wanted a veteran-type player, a Bird rights-type player, that came and bridged (a gap) helping our young guys both in the locker room and on the court” (link via Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun). For his part, Young told reporters he’s excited to be in Toronto because the team’s energy and style matches how he plays (Twitter link via Eric Koreen of The Athletic).
- Ujiri admitted during his post-deadline press conference that he doesn’t love the trade deadline, since he views the offseason as a better time to make moves that reshape the roster (Twitter link via Koreen).
- The Raptors’ roster – which is heavy on length and 6’8″ forwards – reflects Ujiri’s refusal to subscribe to team-building orthodoxy, Koreen writes in a story for The Athletic. “We’re in a copycat league. Everybody wants to do what another person is doing,” Ujiri said. “‘Go play like Golden State.’ Well, we don’t have those types of players. You know, it’s hard to find those types of players. So, for me, we have to create ways where we think we’re going to win in this league, because it’s about winning. And I feel strongly that we can create our own style of play and bring these types of players and figure out a way to do it. Look, will it succeed? I pray it does. I’m hoping it does. And I think it will.”
Knicks star Julius Randle is rejuvenated and encouraged despite his team coming off a rough road trip, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York went 1-4 on the trip, defeating the Warriors and losing to the Lakers, Jazz, Nuggets and Blazers.
“Honestly encouraged in a sense of this was a tough trip,” Randle said. “We played some really good teams on this trip. We were in the game and really gave ourselves a shot to win four of the five games.
“It’s encouraging in that sense. But it’s also very disappointing that we were 1-4, easily could have gone 4-1. It’s tough. It’s tough. But for me it sucks, got a long plane ride back home.”
The Knicks are now 25-32 and rank 12th in the Eastern Conference. The team will return to New York for a four-game homestand on Monday, playing the Thunder, Nets, Heat and Sixers.
There’s more out of the Atlantic:
- New Raptors forward Thaddeus Young shouldn’t struggle fitting in with the team, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports writes. Toronto acquired Young in a deal with San Antonio last week, adding another lengthy and versatile defender to its frontcourt. The team is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson exited the club’s game on Saturday with a sprained ankle, Marc Berman relays in a separate article for the New York Post. Robinson finished with two points and three blocks in the contest, playing just 14 minutes. Backup center Nerlens Noel is day-to-day with a knee injury, so veteran Taj Gibson and two-way center Jericho Sims could see more playing time this week.
- Sixers officials rejected the theory of president Daryl Morey eyeing Mike D’Antoni as a future replacement for coach Doc Rivers, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice tweets. D’Antoni coached the Rockets when Morey served as general manager from 2016-20. Rivers has guided the Sixers to a 34-22 record despite not having Ben Simmons this season.