New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Ntilikina, Rivers, Thibodeau

December 22nd, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina was one of the 13 players who didn’t sign a rookie scale extension by Monday’s deadline despite being eligible for a new deal, and will now be on track for 2021 free agency.

While some of those 13 players engaged in contract negotiations with their respective teams, that wasn’t the case for Ntilikina, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who says there were no extension talks between the Knicks and the former lottery pick.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Knicks won’t attempt to re-sign Ntilikina when he becomes a free agent in 2021 or that they’ll try to trade him before then. But it appears as if the team is content to take a wait-and-see approach with the fourth-year guard, as Begley observes.

New Knicks combo guard Austin Rivers, who has missed all four preseason games due to a right groin injury had yet to return to practice as of Monday and seems very likely to miss the start of the regular season, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
Ian O’Connor of ESPN takes an in-depth look at Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, examining Thibs’ popularity among players, his coaching style, and his outlook in New York.

Knicks Exercise Contract Options On Barrett, Knox

December 21st, 2020 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have exercised their 2021/22 contract options on recent lottery picks RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox, the team’s PR department tweets.

Barrett, the third pick of last year’s draft, will make approximately $8.6MM in his third season. Knox, chosen ninth in the 2018 draft, will make $5.85MM in his fourth season during the 2021/22 campaign.

Barrett was the third-leading scorer among rookies last season at 14.3 PPG in 30.4 MPG while appearing in 56 games.

Knox’s playing time and production regressed dramatically in his second season, but the Knicks’ new regime thinks enough of him to lock in his salary through the next two seasons. He has averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 140 career games.

Notably, the Knicks’ announcement didn’t mention recently-acquired big man Omari Spellman, the team’s other player with a 2021/22 rookie scale option. New York has until December 29 to make a decision on Spellman, but teams generally announce all their exercised options at once, so the team may be declining that one.

And-Ones: Dixon, G League, Owners, Rookie Transition Program

December 20th, 2020 at 6:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Former William & Mary guard Daniel Dixon has retired from professional basketball and will join the Hornets as a video coordinator and basketball operations assistant this season, he told Hoops Rumors.

Dixon holds NBA G League experience with Maine (Celtics), Northern Arizona (Suns) and Windy City (Bulls), spending four years in college before going undrafted in 2017. He also signed a contract in France during the summer of 2018.

At just 26 years old, Dixon joins a revamped Hornets franchise for the 2020/21 season. Charlotte drafted LaMelo Ball at No. 3 overall and signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM deal this offseason, working to become competitive in the Eastern Conference. The team last made the postseason in 2016.

Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz obtained footage of both G League Ignite scrimmages from last week, dissecting how each player performed against the veterans and what’s ahead for the team. The decision-makers within the G League curiously opted not to publicly live-stream the games or release any footage, though the pair of ESPN scribes managed to examine the pros and cons for top 2021 prospects such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores which team owners are the NBA’s best and worst, tallying opinions from various league insiders. Steve Ballmer (Clippers), Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavericks) ranked in the top three, while Vivek Ranadive (Kings), Robert Sarver (Suns) and James Dolan (Knicks) finished in the bottom three. Among the league insiders polled were front office members and agents from around the league.
Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated takes a deep dive into the NBA’s rookie transition program, which, like many other things, has been complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Things are all moving parts right now, but you just gotta kinda go on the fly and that’s all us rookies have been used to the whole time,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton explained. “We’ve been going on the fly since March. It’s just kinda a part of it.”

Knicks Notes: Knox, Brazdeikis, Robinson, Noel

December 19th, 2020 at 9:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

After a disappointing second NBA season, Kevin Knox is taking advantage of a fresh start with the Knicks‘ new coaching staff, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Knox has emerged as a dangerous outside shooter, making nine of his last 10 from beyond the arc.

“Looking at his career, when he’s taken good shots, he’s always made them. Or at least had a good chance to make them,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And when he’s eliminated the tough shots, it makes him a much better player. He plays with a lot more energy defensively. But I want him to get himself going — with his defense first, running the floor, rebounding and then spacing the floor. … Kevin has worked extremely hard to get himself ready for the season.”

Knox, the ninth player taken in the 2018 draft, turned in a strong rookie season, averaging 12.8 PPG in 75 games. But his playing time was cut from 28.8 to 17.9 minutes per game last year and his performance declined across the board. Knox is still only 21 and was counting on a strong preseason showing after the coaching change.

“It’s good, it’s always good to see the ball go through the net,” he said. “But with preseason over now, starting Wednesday we get the real games going, so I want to continue to get the work in, watch a lot of film, get a lot of shots up. It was great to see the ball go through the net these last two games, and hopefully I can continue with that confidence and play with it consistently like I’ve been playing.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

Ignas Brazdeikis was in the G League for most of his rookie season and opportunities are still coming slowly, observes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Brazdeikis sat out the Knicks’ first three preseason games before playing 17 minutes Friday night. “I’m just working every single day to get better,” he said. “That’s the main focus is just developing my game. I’m still young. I’ve got to improve a lot. I’m not even close to the player I want to be.”
New York wasn’t able to upgrade its roster in free agency, so the focus turns to developing players into tradable assets, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. He adds that the Knicks weren’t able to find anyone willing to give up a draft pick for Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina and states that Mitchell Robinson might have the most trade value on the roster.
Nerlens Noel is seeking a new agent after ending his relationship with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball News. Paul and the agency say it was an amicable separation (Twitter link).

Knicks Waive Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Two Others

December 19th, 2020 at 8:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:36pm: The Knicks have confirmed that Kidd-Gilchrist has been waived, along with guards Bryce Brown and Myles Powell (Twitter link). Brown and Powell both had Exhibit 10 contracts and are likely to play for the team’s G League affiliate in Westchester.

New York is now at the roster limit for the season, with 15 guaranteed contracts and a pair of two-way players.

7:29pm: The Knicks will place veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Kidd-Gilchrist was in a difficult position because New York had 15 other players with guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season. An illness slowed him throughout training camp, and he didn’t appear in any preseason games. Kidd-Gilchrist had an Exhibit 10 deal, which would have paid him the minimum salary for one year if he had made the team.

The Knicks believed it was worth gambling on the 27-year-old, who was the second overall choice in the 2012 draft. His career has sputtered in recent years, and he played a combined 25 games last season for the Hornets and Mavericks.

New York still has to trim two more players off its roster before Monday’s deadline.

Why Many Teams Are Finalizing Roster Cuts On Saturday

December 19th, 2020 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have until Monday night to officially set their rosters for the 2020/21 regular season. However, a majority of NBA teams will likely have their rosters ready to go on Saturday, with more roster cuts expected today than on Sunday or Monday.

Why is that? Well, releasing a player today will allow him to clear waivers on Monday, before the regular season gets underway.

Players who are cut during the season are also paid for each day they spend on waivers, so a player who hits waivers on Sunday and doesn’t clear until the first day of the season on Tuesday would technically earn one day’s worth of pay, even if his salary isn’t guaranteed. A player waived on Monday would spend two regular season days on waivers.

For players with partial or full guarantees, spending the first day or two of the regular season on waivers doesn’t really matter — they’re getting their full 2020/21 salary no matter when they’re released. But if a team waits until Monday to cut a player with a non-guaranteed salary, that team will be on the hook for two days’ worth of dead money for the player.

Two days’ worth of dead money won’t exactly break the bank — it shouldn’t be more than about $22K for a minimum-salary player. But most teams already know which players are in and which are out, so there’s no need to take the decision down to the wire on Monday. They’ll make those cuts today and will avoid adding extra cap charges to their books for ’20/21. Even that small amount of savings could make a difference for teams who are right around the tax line or up against a hard cap.

While many teams will make their cuts today, clubs like the Pistons and Thunder can afford to wait an extra day or two, since they’ll each be waiving a player who has a full or partial guarantee. Waiting until Sunday or Monday to make that move won’t affect their cap outlook at all.

[RELATED: 2020/21 NBA Roster Counts]

Meanwhile, it’s worth keeping an eye on a team like the Knicks, who have 15 players on guaranteed contracts but might want to retain veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose deal is non-guaranteed. If New York hangs onto Kidd-Gilchrist and doesn’t trim its roster to 15 players on standard deals today, that’ll signal that the team likely plans to waive a player with a guaranteed salary by Monday.

Dotson Wasn't Surprised By Knicks' Lack Of Interest

December 18th, 2020 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Charles Oakley wants to add Knicks owner James Dolan as a defendant to his assault and battery lawsuit against Madison Square Garden, Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reports. The former Knicks player was forcibly removed, arrested and banned from MSG in 2017. Previously, Oakley contended Dolan had ordered his removal. He is now alleging Dolan ordered the so-called assault. The federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the assault and battery claims in November after a lower court had thrown out the lawsuit’s 10 original claims, Kaplan adds.
Damyean Dotson wasn’t surprised the Knicks failed to make him an offer in free agency, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Dotson wound up signing a two-year deal with the Cavaliers, though only the first year is guaranteed. “It’s a whole new staff, management, coaches,” Dotson said. “The guys that drafted me, Phil Jackson, has been gone three years now. It’s a new wave. It wasn’t surprising.’’

Knicks Sign Bryce Brown

December 17th, 2020 at 7:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Knicks have signed shooting guard Bryce Brown, the team announced in a tweet. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s likely an Exhibit 10 agreement.

Brown won’t make the Knicks’ regular season roster, but looks like a candidate to play for the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Brown figures to be waived by New York very soon, as small forward Louis King was earlier today.

The 6’3″ right-hander went undrafted out of Auburn in 2019. He was added as an affiliate player on the Celtics’ G League team, the Maine Red Claws. In 34 games with Maine (all starts) across the 2019/20 season, Brown averaged 16.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.4 APG and 0.9 SPG. He also shot an excellent 42.7% on 8.6 three-point attempts per night.

Brown’s G League returning rights are held by the Red Claws. That said, it’s unclear how that will work if Westchester participates in the G League bubble but Maine opts out, which is the current expectation — we don’t know yet whether Westchester would still have to trade for his rights.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Knicks Sign, Waive Louis King

December 17th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

10:59am: The Knicks, as expected, have waived King, the team announced (via Twitter).

8:14am: One day after clearing waivers, free agent forward Louis King has caught on with a new team, having signed a contract with the Knicks, according to a press release.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it figures to be an Exhibit 10 contract. King is unlikely to make New York’s regular season roster, but could end up playing for the Westchester Knicks in the G League as an affiliate player.

King, 21, spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Pistons after going undrafted out of Oregon in 2019. He played just 62 minutes in 10 games at the NBA level, but was a regular for the Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 15.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 31 NBAGL games (28.5 MPG).

King signed a new two-way contract with Detroit for the 2020/21 season, but was waived on Monday by the club.

The Knicks now have a full 20-man training camp roster for the time being. King and at least two other players will have to be cut by Monday’s regular season roster deadline.

Knicks Waive James Young

December 16th, 2020 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have waived guard James Young two days after signing him, the team announced (via Twitter). Young’s next stop could be the organization’s G League affiliate in Westchester.

The 25-year-old shooting guard spent three years with the Celtics and had a brief stay with the Sixers after being taken with the 17th pick in the 2014 draft. Young played in Israel last season.

The move brings the Knicks’ roster to 19, including two players on two-way deals. They have until Monday to trim it down to 17.