New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Smart, Embiid, Madar

August 17th, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Marcus Smart‘s extension with the Celtics puts him at the intersection of being a franchise cornerstone and on the trade block, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

As Weiss observes, the timing of Smart’s deal – during Summer League as opposed to right before the regular season – points to the possibility of his inclusion in a superstar deal, as the usual moratorium on trading players off an extension has been changed from six to five months due to the shortened offeason. As a result, Smart will be trade-eligible before the 2022 deadline.

Weiss adds that the Celtics wouldn’t make this deal strictly for trade purposes, noting that it’s also an indication of their belief in the gritty guard and that Smart and new head coach Ime Udoka are a match made in heaven.

“He has that edge and toughness about him,” Udoka said of Smart soon after being hired. “The things he brings to your team are the things you’d love every player to bring.”

Udoka also called Smart the heart and soul of the team. The four-year, $77.1MM extension is a bet that that’s still true even if he’s given the added responsibility of leading the team’s offense.

We have more news from the Celtics:

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston has similar thoughts, writing that – rather than preventing the Celtics from adding another big name – the Smart extension actually opens up multiple pathways for a deal to be made. Forsberg adds that despite the Celtics signing Dennis Schroder, Smart should be considered the best bet to be the team’s starting point guard entering the season, and that much of the Celtics’ ceiling as a team will revolve around how the trio of Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is able to function together with Smart at the helm.
Joel Embiid‘s super-max extension does more than just lock up the Sixers’ All-NBA center through 2027, writes Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. It also sends a message of stability and desirability to stars around the league as president Daryl Morey continues to shop Ben Simmons and hunt for a second superstar to pair with Embiid. Neubeck adds there were rumors the Knicks hoped to pair Embiid and Damian Lillard once Embiid’s contract ended in 2023, which is now off the table.
Partizan Belgrade is “very close” to a deal with Celtics stash pick Yam Madar to a two-year deal, according to a MozzartSport report (hat tip to Sportando). The Serbian team would pay $250K for Madar’s buyout with current team Hapoel Tel Aviv. It was previously reported that Madar was likely to sign with Ratiopharm Ulm.

Knicks Notes: Walker, Fournier, Dinwiddie, Cash

August 17th, 2021 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Knicks’ two-year, $18MM offer to Kemba Walker was the only one he needed to consider, the point guard said today during an introductory press conference for him and Evan Fournier.

“Perfect timing. Really motivated,” Walker said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Super excited that these guys have belief in me. That’s all I need. I just need somebody to believe in me. These guys do, and I appreciate that.”

Bontemps also writes that the status of Walker’s knee remains a big question. When asked if he’d play in back-to-backs this season (he didn’t last year), Walker replied with a smile, “You gotta ask (coach Tom Thibodeau).”

Thibodeau responded in a customary fashion. “Playing,” he said, eliciting laughter from those in attendance.

We have more Knicks news here:

Both the Clippers and Lakers were interested in trading for Walker, but couldn’t reach a deal with the Thunder, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman runs through what held up the Knicks in their pursuit of other guards, writing that they liked Lonzo Ball but wanted a more ready-made point guard. Berman adds that – given Walker’s and Derrick Rose‘s history of knee injuries – Immanuel Quickley and rookie Miles McBride may be more important than realized to the team’s success.
Spencer Dinwiddie responded to the claim in Berman’s article that he didn’t see the Knicks as “an appealing fit,” tweeting today, “Why y’all still writing this stuff about me? I never said that.” He went on to say he’s just happy to be a member of the Wizards.
The Knicks will send $110K to the Celtics as their return for the Fournier sign-and-trade, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). In addition to the 28-year-old shooting guard, the Knicks will receive two future second-round picks (one heavily protected) for their role in helping the Celtics create a $17.1MM trade exception.

Knicks Acquire Evan Fournier From Celtics Via Sign-And-Trade

August 17th, 2021 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks‘ have turned their free agent agreement with swingman Evan Fournier into a sign-and-trade deal with the Celtics, announcing today in a press release that they’ve officially acquired Fournier and two future second-round picks from Boston in exchange for cash. Fournier received a four-year deal that includes a fourth-year team option and can reportedly be worth up to $78MM.

Turning the transaction into a sign-and-trade will allow the Celtics to create a traded player exception worth Fournier’s first-year salary. That new trade exception will be worth $17.1MM, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had the cap room necessary to sign Fournier outright, but will pick up some extra draft assets due to their willingness to work with Boston on a sign-and-trade agreement.

According to Himmelsbach (Twitter link), one of the two second-round picks the Knicks are receiving is heavily (top-55) protected — it’s the Hornets’ 2022 second-rounder. The other pick will be a 2023 second-rounder that originally belonged to Oklahoma City, Washington, Miami, or Dallas.

It’s a similar move to the one the Celtics made last fall when Gordon Hayward left for Charlotte in free agency — the Hornets acquired a pair of second-rounders in that deal, while Boston created a $28.5MM trade exception.

Fournier, who had spent six seasons in Orlando entering the 2020/21 season, was traded from the Magic to the Celtics in a midseason deal that used the Hayward trade exception. He dealt with a handful of health issues over the course of the season, but had a solid overall year when he was available, averaging 17.1 PPG, 3.4 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .457/.413/.788 shooting in 42 total games (30.0 MPG) for Orlando and Boston.

The Celtics explored re-signing Fournier, but recognized they’d face competition on the open market and pivoted to acquiring Josh Richardson (using the rest of the Hayward TPE) to address the wing position. The Knicks ultimately outbid Boston to land Fournier.

“We identified Evan as a key addition as we entered free agency and are ecstatic that he’s joining us,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “He’s a great teammate, a fierce competitor, and a perfect complement to our returning players. He wants to be a part of what we are building here, and we are happy to have him join our family.”

The Knicks have now officially completed their deals with Fournier, Nerlens Noel, and Kemba Walker. The team still has to announce a few other signings, including Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, and Taj Gibson.

New York Notes: Toppin, Weatherspoon, Edwards, DeAndre

August 16th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Knicks forward Obi Toppin is hoping to earn a bigger role with New York next season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

During his first Summer League, Toppin is averaging 23.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG across 36.5 MPG and has proven to be an adept scorer from everywhere on the court, driving inside for dunks and easy looks around the basket plus converting his three-point attempts at a solid 35.5% clip. The eighth pick in the 2020 draft out of Dayton, Toppin averaged just 11.0 MPG across 62 games in his rookie season.

“I feel like I know my role,’’ Toppin said of how he’ll slot in as the main reserve behind All-Star forward Julius Randle during his second season in the league. “I tried to focus on rebounding and defense mostly. Just improving in that, offensively things will come to me. I feel like defense is the most important thing when playing for coach [Tom Thibodeau] — and playing anywhere.”

There’s more out of the Big Apple:

Nets Summer League standout Quinndary Weatherspoon has impressed during his time in Las Vegas this year, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Yeah, Q’s great,” Summer League coach John Ott said of the 6’3″ shooting guard. “We’ve asked him at times to pick up full court. He’s accepted that, bringing some of the defensive mentality that we were hoping to find in Summer League. He’s definitely shown more than capable to guard on the basketball at this level.”
Rookie Nets forward Kessler Edwards knows how the Nets want him to contribute after signing a two-way deal with Brooklyn, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “(The Nets) told me they just want to see me doing all the little things, along with rebounding the ball, crashing the glass, run the floor, spacing the floor, knocking down open shots and then really just guarding 1-through-5,” Edwards said. “Those 3-pointers and that defensive ability and versatility is what I take pride in. That’s what I like doing the most when I play.”
Veteran Nets center DeAndre Jordan may not start the 2021/22 season with Brooklyn, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets continue to consider possible trade routes for the final two years and $19.7MM left on the 33-year-old big man’s current deal.

International Notes: Petrusev, Madar, Giedraitis, Jokubaitis

August 16th, 2021 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the reigning EuroLeague champion, is expected to sign 6’11” forward/center Filip Petrusev for the coming season, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Petrusev was the 50th player selected in the 2021 draft, and while he spoke earlier this month of wanting to join his new NBA team – the Sixers – as soon as possible, the plan was always to stash him overseas for at least one more seasons.

The 21-year-old is coming off a big year (23.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG) for Mega Basket in the Adriatic League and will get an opportunity to face a higher level of competition in EuroLeague play in 2021/22.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

If the Celtics opt not to sign 2020 second-rounder Yam Madar for the 2021/22 season, the expectation is that he’ll play for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, according to reports out of Israel (hat tip to Sportando). Madar remains a candidate to come stateside, but Boston already has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts (plus Jabari Parker on a non-guaranteed deal) for ’21/22, so it may be another year before the Israeli guard signs his first NBA contract.
Lithuanian wing Rokas Giedraitis has turned down a one-year, minimum-salary offer from an NBA team and will remain with Baskonia in Spain, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. Giedraitis averaged 12.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .485/.405/.824 shooting in 33 EuroLeague games (28.7 MPG) last season. It’s unclear which NBA team attempted to sign him.
Marc Berman of The New York Post explores the roles that the Knicks‘ European scouts, Adam Tatalovich and Kevin Wilson, played in the team’s decision to draft Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis. As Berman notes, Wilson is based in Barcelona, so he’ll get an opportunity to continue scouting Jokubaitis in 2021/22 — the No. 34 pick is set to spend the season with FC Barcelona in Spain.

Kemba Walker Set To Return To New York After Decade Away

August 15th, 2021 at 6:42pm CST by JD Shaw

Julius Randle‘s extension with the Knicks will likely be a win-win situation for both him and the team, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Randle is coming off a career-best season, averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and six assists per game. The Knicks finished with an impressive 41-31 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 2013 in 2020/21.
New Knicks guard Kemba Walker is set to return to New York after spending the last decade away from the state, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Walker signed with the Knicks after reaching a buyout agreement with the Thunder, joining a backcourt that already includes Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley and others. As Bondy notes, the Bronx native will now have the chance to show what he’s learned on the road over the past 10 years.

New York Notes: Perry, Thomas, Jokubaitis, Grimes

August 14th, 2021 at 8:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets rescinded their qualifying offer to Reggie Perry just before Friday’s deadline, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be back for another season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The second-year power forward can no longer accept the offer, which was limited to one year with a $50K guarantee because he was a two-way player last season, and Brooklyn can’t match any offer he might receive in free agency because he’s now unrestricted.

Perry remains with the Nets’ Summer League team and took part in practice today. He wasn’t made available to the media afterward, and coach Jordan Ott said questions about Perry’s future should go to his bosses.

“We just want to leave that to (general manager) Sean (Marks) and (head coach) Steve (Nash),” Ott said. “I’ll say this: He is here, he’s practicing. He’s a Brooklyn Net. He’s part of our summer league team. We coached him just like any other person on our team. We came here to get better. He got better (Saturday). We all got better. We’re going to continue to coach him every day. That’s what we’re all signed up to do. He’s a Brooklyn Net right now, and we’ll continue to coach him.”

There’s more on the two New York teams:

The Nets drafted Cameron Thomas well outside of the lottery, but he has been among the most productive rookies so far during Summer League, Lewis writes in a separate story. Going into Friday’s games, Thomas was the top-scoring first-year player in Las Vegas. “Cam, I mean, I don’t even know where to start,” Ott said. “Ultimate gamer, young guy, finds a way often. … Even just getting to the free-throw line when nothing is there, the ability to get to the free-throw line. For a young guy, it’s pretty incredible.”
Second-round pick Rokas Jokubaitis won’t finish Summer League play with the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The 34th overall pick has left Las Vegas to join his Barcelona team, and Berman states that the plan was to have him play in three games. He notes that Jokubaitis saw limited action, but displayed speed, outside shooting and energy on defense.
Rookie guard Quentin Grimes had his best offensive showing Friday night, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the second half, Berman writes in another piece. Grimes credits the performance to becoming more aggressive. “I’m starting to get real comfortable,’’ he said. “The first two games, I didn’t shoot it the way I can. But I hung my hat on defense and rebounding and making plays. Allan Houston told me keep shooting, they’re going to fall. Penny (Hardaway) texted me and said you’re a shooter, keep shooting. That’s what you do. That’s what I did today, being aggressive at all times.’’

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Robinson, Bonga, Begarin

August 14th, 2021 at 1:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

Nerlens Noel had several suitors in free agency, but wanted to return to the Knicks to continue building on the progress from last year, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

“There were other opportunities but I want to build on that and get this team to the next level,” Noel said. “Guys like Julius (Randle), RJ (Barrett), Derrick (Rose), we had pieces that can really come together. And I’m really confident we can be better.”

Berman also writes that Noel’s three-year, $27.2MM deal presents the Knicks with questions regarding young center Mitchell Robinson, who was one of the more productive young defensive centers in the league before injuries derailed his 2020/21 season. Robinson is eligible for a contract extension, but there has yet to be any indication whether the two sides will be able to get a deal done.

We have more news from around the Atlantic Division:

In the same piece, Berman writes that Robinson has been in Las Vegas, working out with Knicks staffers as he continues to progress from his broken foot. In a tweet, Robinson writes: “I look big asf them weights doing me some good and form looking great thanks Knicks staff.”
Isaac Bonga‘s deal with the Raptors includes a $200K guarantee, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. The deal is presumed to be a training camp try-out, but the guarantee offers hope that Bonga may be able to stick. If so, the versatile wing could find himself in an ideal developmental situation with a team known for helping young players grow.
The Celtics’ 45th pick, Juhann Begarin, is ready to come over from France, writes Jay King of The Athletic, but team president Brad Stevens has other ideas. “Brad told me I would play in France for one more year,” Begarin said. “I think I’m ready to play with (the Celtics), and I knew summer league was an opportunity to show them I’m ready. I just asked him to play and show I can play with them.”

Clippers, Spurs Among Teams Facing Potential Roster Crunch

August 13th, 2021 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 20 players during the offseason, so no clubs have been forced to cut anyone to make room for new additions so far this summer. However, once the regular season begins in October, teams must trim their rosters to 15 players (not counting two-way contracts), and there are already a handful of clubs that may face some difficult decision to get down to that number.

Of course, there’s plenty of time for these teams to figure out how their regular season rosters will look and make the necessary trades or cuts. It’s only mid-August after all.

Still, we wanted to check in on these teams to preview some of the decisions they may be facing in the coming weeks and months.

Let’s dive in…

Los Angeles Clippers:

After officially completing their new deal with Kawhi Leonard on Thursday, the Clippers now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, and Nicolas Batum will become the 16th once he officially finalizes his new contract with the team.

Yogi Ferrell remains under contract on a non-guaranteed salary, but it’s hard to see how he’ll fit on the regular season roster, since the club would have to remove two players on guaranteed salaries in order to keep him.

Perhaps the Clippers, who are facing a projected $125MM tax bill in 2021/22, will make a surprise trade involving a veteran on an expiring contract in order to cut costs, but it’s hard at this point to imagine the team salary-dumping a player like Patrick Beverley, Serge Ibaka, or Rajon Rondo.

This year’s second-round picks, Jason Preston and Brandon Boston, signed deals with two guaranteed seasons and should be safe, but last year’s second-rounder – Daniel Oturu – is on an expiring $1.52MM deal and could be at risk of losing his roster spot following a quiet rookie season.

San Antonio Spurs:

The Spurs are currently at 14 players on guaranteed contracts and one (Drew Eubanks) with a small partial guarantee of $500K. Their offseason moves aren’t all done though — Bryn Forbes and Jock Landale have yet to sign their contracts, and second-rounder Joe Wieskamp is unsigned too.

We don’t know the exact salary details for Forbes and Landale. However, Forbes seems like a safe bet for a full guarantee. It’s possible Landale’s deal won’t be guaranteed, which would make him and Eubanks potential odd men out. The Spurs also have an open two-way slot, which perhaps they’d like to use on Wieskamp.

If San Antonio wants to carry at least one of Eubanks, Landale, and Wieskamp on its 15-man regular season roster, Al-Farouq Aminu would be the most logical odd man out. Injuries have limited him to just 41 games over the last two seasons, he’s on an expiring contract, and he was included in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade for salary-matching purposes.

Detroit Pistons:

It was a little surprising when the Pistons brought back Rodney McGruder on a guaranteed minimum-salary deal just a few days after waiving him. McGruder is Detroit’s 15th guaranteed contract, and the team has yet to sign restricted free agent Hamidou Diallo or second-round picks Luka Garza and Balsa Koprivica.

The Pistons are reportedly using one of their two-way contract slots on undrafted rookie Chris Smith, but that leaves one for Koprivica or Garza. Jahlil Okafor, who is on expiring $2.13MM contract, is probably the most expendable of the 15 players on guaranteed deals.

But even if, say, Koprivica fills a two-way slot and Diallo replaces Okafor on the 15-man roster, one more move would be necessary to accommodate Garza. Perhaps Detroit can stash Koprivica in the G League or an international league and use that second two-way spot on Garza.

New York Knicks:

The Knicks are carrying just 10 players on fully guaranteed contracts for the time being, but they still need to officially complete deals for Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Derrick Rose, and Taj Gibson. That’ll bring the total to 14.

The team is also carrying Luca Vildoza on a non-guaranteed deal, has reached an agreement to sign Dwayne Bacon, and has No. 34 overall pick Rokas Jokubaitis talking about wanting to make this year’s roster.

We don’t know the full details on Bacon’s contract yet, but if it’s not fully guaranteed, he could end up battling Vildoza for the final spot on the 15-man squad, with Jokubaitis returning to Europe for at least one more year.

A few other situations worth noting:

The Celtics will have 15 fully guaranteed contracts once Dennis Schröder and Enes Kanter officially sign, making Jabari Parker (non-guaranteed) the odd man out unless a player like Kris Dunn or Bruno Fernando is traded.
The Nets have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with DeAndre’ Bembry on a partial guarantee and Alize Johnson on a non-guaranteed deal. Second-round picks Kessler Edwards, Marcus Zegarowski, and RaiQuan Gray are all unsigned, as is two-way RFA Reggie Perry. Two of those players will likely end up on two-way deals and one of the second-rounders probably replaces Johnson on the 15-man roster. However, there’s not really a path to Edwards, Zegarowski, and Gray all claiming standard contracts or two-way deals unless one of Bembry or Perry is cut loose.
The Warriors have 13 players on fully guaranteed deals, meaning not all three of Damion Lee, Mychal Mulder, and Gary Payton II (all non-guaranteed) will make the team. Mulder and Payton may end up fighting for the 15th spot.
If the Pelicans sign RFA Josh Hart and second-round pick Herb Jones to guaranteed contracts, they’ll have 15 of them, making Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed) the likely odd man out.
The Sixers have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, with Paul Reed and Anthony Tolliver on non-guaranteed deals and second-round picks Charles Bassey and Filip Petrusev unsigned. Bassey figures to get a 15-man spot, since both of the team’s two-way slots are full, and I’d be surprised if Reed goes anywhere. That might mean Tolliver is waived, with Petrusev remaining overseas.
The Kings will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts once Alex Len officially signs, leaving Chimezie Metu (partially guaranteed) and Justin James (non-guaranteed) battling for the 15th spot.

No Max Cap Room In 2022; Toppin Excited To Play With Kemba

August 13th, 2021 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

As Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes, as a result of all the multiyear contract commitments the Knicks made this offseason, the summer of 2022 projects to be the first offseason in a few years that the team won’t have maximum-salary cap space.
Knicks forward Obi Toppin, a native New Yorker like Kemba Walker, grew up idolizing the point guard and can’t wait to play alongside him in 2021/22, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “Having Kemba come to the team is amazing,” Toppin said. “Great player. I’ve watched him as long as he’s been playing since he left UConn. Having an opportunity to play with him is going to be amazing.”