New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

New York Notes: Allen, Jordan, Quickley, DSJ

January 1st, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Jarrett Allen is one of the NBA’s top rebounders and he could force Nets coach Steve Nash to consider a change in his starting lineup, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Allen is only playing 22.6 minutes per night off the bench, but he’s leading the league in offensive rebounds, offensive rebound percentage, and total rebound percentage.

Nash has been using DeAndre Jordan as his starting center, but the 32-year-old hasn’t been impressive. Lewis notes that Jordan’s plus-minus rating has declined in each game this season, hitting minus-8 on Wednesday as he managed just five points and one rebound against the Hawks.

“That’s a good debate. It’s a small sample, one, and I’m not sure if plus-minus is the best barometer,” Nash said. “But that was a tough matchup for DJ. Those guys are good, dynamic rollers, (Clint) Capela, but even more so (John) Collins’ speed is exceptional getting out of the screen and it poses a unique problem.”

There’s more from New York City:

The Nets are still adjusting to life without Spencer Dinwiddie, who may be lost for the season with a partially torn ACL, Lewis adds in a separate story. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot replaced Dinwiddie in the starting lineup Wednesday, but that new unit had never practiced together. They wound up with a minus-10 in 13 minutes. “It’s a big loss because of (Dinwiddie’s) versatility, skill set, size, speed, defensive ability. We’ll miss him dearly,” Nash said. “We’re going to see a lot of different lineups, different combinations.”
The Knicks should be getting a couple of injured guards back soon, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Immanuel Quickley, who’s been dealing with a sore left hip, could return Saturday or Monday. Dennis Smith Jr., who has a left quad issue, will rejoin the team during its road trip but will have to work on conditioning before being cleared to practice.
Austin Rivers, who played his first game with the Knicks Thursday night, posted an Instagram message afterward asking fans to be patient, Begley tweets. “Trust us. We’re getting better,” Rivers wrote. “We have a new great coach, all new players, really young, learning to play with each other and get chemistry right still, and we still getting all the way healthy. It’s a process but I promise we getting there step by step.”

Rivers To Make Knicks Debut Tonight

December 31st, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Raptors will sit healthy forward Pascal Siakam tonight against the Knicks in favor of Norman Powell to penalize the All-Star, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. After Siakam fouled out with less than a minute left in Toronto’s 100-93 loss to the Sixers Tuesday, he headed to the locker room early.

Knicks off-guard Austin Rivers is set to make his debut for New York tonight against the Raptors after recovering from a groin injury, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. Berman notes that Rivers said he has yet to even partake in five-on-five practices with the Knicks yet. The Knicks may have pressed him into service due to the injuries of Dennis Smith Jr. and Immanuel Quickley.

New York Notes: Randle, Rivers, Luwawu-Cabarrot, Crawford

December 30th, 2020 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Julius Randle became the symbol of free agency disappointment for Knicks fans last season, but he has shown signs of a turnaround this year, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Randle was among several veteran free agents brought in on short-term deals after New York missed out on its primary targets during the summer of 2019. Bondy notes that Randle has lost weight and looks like a different player so far.

“I ran pretty much every day during the offseason. Like I said, that was just a challenge for me to get in extreme condition or whatever it is,” Randle said. “That’s just what I challenged myself to do every day. Yeah, I dropped a little bit of weight but the biggest thing was just pushing myself just to run every day and just challenging myself in that way.”

New coach Tom Thibodeau said he noticed the difference in Randle when he reported for the team’s voluntary training camp in September. Thibodeau has given Randle control of the offense, and he’s averaging 24.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists through the first four games.

There’s more from New York:

The Knicks are encouraged by the progress of free agent addition Austin Rivers, who has been sidelined by a groin injury but went through he first contact drills Monday, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “There’s a progression to coming back,’’ Thibodeau explained. “He was doing condition without contact. Then it goes to one-on-one controlled movements. Then progressed to two-on-two. And then three-on-three. We’re on the three-on-three phase right now. It’s day-to-day on how he feels and whether we get to the next step. There’s more steps to take. He has to play five-on-five and practice with the team. He’s still a couple of steps away.’’
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is making a bid for more playing time following the season-ending injury to Spencer Dinwiddie, writes Mollie Walker of The New York Post. Luwawu-Cabarrot was used as a starter Monday and responded with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes. “TLC has just been really steady,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “Very trustworthy defensively. Knows the system. Is very attentive to his responsibilities, and he’s been shooting the ball. He’s played within himself. He’s doing very well.”
The Nets have remained in contact with veteran guard Jamal Crawford and may consider him as a replacement for Dinwiddie, states Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Crawford signed with the Nets for last season’s restart, but appeared in just one game before getting injured.

New York Notes: Ntilikina, Dinwiddie, Chiozza, Bullock

December 29th, 2020 at 8:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

A rash of backcourt injuries have allowed 6’5″ combo guard Frank Ntilikina to become the primary option at backup point guard for the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Rookie Immanuel Quickley bruised his hip in the Knicks’ season opener, Dennis Smith Jr. will be missing all of the club’s current four-game road trip due to a bruised quadriceps muscle, and veteran off-guard Austin Rivers has yet to suit up for New York as he deals with a pulled groin.

Ntilikina has been striving to improve his jump shooting during this young season. “Working [on it] is the key,” he said. “The answer to probably everything in this game is probably work and just treat it with confidence.”

There’s more out of the Empire State:

With guard Spencer Dinwiddie likely out for the season due to a partially torn ACL, some league executives weighed in on whether or not he will pick up his $12.3MM player option with the Nets for the 2021/22 NBA season, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Dinwiddie released a statement on his Instagram page, expressing his hope to beat the odds as he works to recover from this latest knee issue.
Two-way Nets guard Chris Chiozza is currently the biggest rotational beneficiary of Dinwiddie’s absence, according to Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “You never want to see your teammate get hurt and praying for Spencer, we’re here for him, hopefully he makes a speedy return,” Chiozza said. “He’s a big part of this team. While he’s out, we take it, everybody takes it, to do a little bit more than we’ve been doing, collectively.”
After battling health issues for much of his 2019/20 season with the Knicks, veteran swingman Reggie Bullock has managed to contribute on both sides of the court to the injury-depleted club this year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “Well, his defense has been terrific,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So just watching him move on the court he’s obviously not laboring like he did last year. I think health is the big thing and he’s been a good pro wherever he’s been.” Bullock just poured in 17 points in almost 41 minutes to help the Knicks beat the Cavaliers tonight, 95-86. He connected on five of his nine three-point attempts.

And-Ones: Wisconsin Herd, Davis, Hall, Tax Teams

December 28th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, plans to opt out of the proposed G League bubble season in Atlanta, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. They’ll be the 10th NBA franchise to pass on the bubble event. For a list of teams expected to participate, follow this link.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Baron Davis and rapper Percy “Master P” Miller are in negotiations to acquire Reebok, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. According to Forbes, Reebok’s asking price from its parent company Adidas is around $2.4 billion. Master P says they’re “prepared financially” after a couple months of negotiations, Woodard adds.
Big man Donta Hall is joining the G League Ignite as one of its veteran players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The Ignite includes top prospects for next year’s draft who decided against playing in college this season. Hall spent most of last season with the Pistons’ G League team in Grand Rapids. Hall also saw action in four games with Detroit and five games as a substitute player for the Nets during the restart.
Who were the worst teams in NBA history to pay the luxury tax? Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype takes a deep dive into that subject. Not surprisingly, the Knicks snagged three of top six spots on the list.

Dennis Smith Jr. Remains Sidelined With Quad Injury

December 28th, 2020 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr., who has appeared in just one of the team’s three games so far, will remain in New York to continue rehabbing his left quad contusion, per the club (Twitter link). The hope is that Smith rejoins the Knicks at some point during their four-game road trip, which begins on Tuesday in Cleveland and runs through next Monday in Atlanta.

Outstanding 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 28th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to exercise the third- and fourth-year team options for 2021/22 on players’ rookie scale contracts is Tuesday, December 29, meaning that clubs who have yet to finalize those decisions will have to do so today or tomorrow.

Most clubs with options to pick up have already done so, and in many cases those decisions were no-brainers. Luka Doncic (Mavericks), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Trae Young (Hawks), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) are among the players whose 2021/22 options have been exercised, and as long as they remain on their rookie contracts, they’ll be among the best bargains in the NBA.

With the help of our tracker, here are the option decisions that have not yet been announced or reported, with Tuesday’s deadline looming:

Boston Celtics

Romeo Langford (third year, $3,804,360)
Robert Williams (fourth year, $3,661,976)
Grant Williams (third year, $2,617,800)

Golden State Warriors

Jordan Poole (third year, $2,161,440)

Los Angeles Clippers

Mfiondu Kabengele (third year, $2,174,880)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Jarrett Culver (third year, $6,395,160)
Josh Okogie (fourth year, $4,087,904)

New York Knicks

Omari Spellman (fourth year, $3,588,845)

Philadelphia 76ers

Matisse Thybulle (third year, $2,840,160)

Washington Wizards

Jerome Robinson (fourth year, $5,340,916)
Troy Brown (fourth year, $5,170,564)
Rui Hachimura (third year, $4,916,160)
Moritz Wagner (fourth year, $3,893,618)

The fact that these option decisions haven’t been formally finalized yet doesn’t mean they won’t be easy calls. For instance, there’s no chance that the Sixers are going to decline their third-year option on Thybulle — they just haven’t made it official yet.

However, not all of these options are locked to be picked up. The Knicks, for instance, previously exercised their options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox but didn’t do so for Spellman. Teams almost always announce all their option pick-ups at once, so the fact that Spellman wasn’t included in that press release is a strong sign that New York will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Poole’s option is the least expensive on this list and is barely worth more than the minimum, but even at that price, the Warriors have a tough decision to make. Poole has been relatively ineffective so far (.334/.277/.805 shooting in 60 games) and Golden State’s roster is expensive. The team has to determine whether it makes sense to continue investing in Poole’s development next season, or whether a minimum-salary veteran should get his spot on the ’21/22 roster.

I think most of the other options listed here – with the possible exception of Wagner’s – are more likely to be exercised than declined, but it’s possible there will be a surprise or two. It’s worth noting that turning down an option doesn’t mean the team can’t re-sign the player in 2021 free agency — it just means they can’t offer a starting salary higher than the value of the declined option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Obi Toppin Out 7-10 Days With Strained Calf

December 26th, 2020 at 8:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks rookie forward Obi Toppin has a strained right calf and will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Toppin suffered the injury in the team’s first game Wednesday at Indiana, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Toppin was held out of practice Thursday and didn’t play in tonight’s home opener.

The Knicks were thrilled that Toppin, the reigning Naismith Award winner, was still available with the eighth pick. However, he wasn’t effective in his first regular season game, shooting just 3-of-12 before the injury.

“Yeah, he’s a work in progress,” coach Tom Thibodeau said afterward. “There’s some things he’s doing really well. I think each game he’ll get better and better, each day he’ll get better and better. He’s nicked up a little bit right now, so missing practice. You can’t really do anything in practice, but study and learn and that’s what he’s doing.”

Knicks Notes: Burks, Rivers, Dolan, Barrett

December 26th, 2020 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Alec Burks could join the Knicks‘ starting lineup soon after an impressive performance Wednesday in his first game with the team, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Signed during the offseason, Burks poured in 22 points in 32 minutes. Reggie Bullock got the start at shooting guard because Burks missed the last two preseason games for the birth of a child, but coach Tom Thibodeau is thinking about converting Burks to a starter.

“It’s a possibility,’’ Thibodeau said. “I like the scoring punch he gives us off the bench. He’s sort of great to have because of the versatility. The ability to be a secondary ball-handler, at times playing the point. Scoring the ball, guarding down a position. He’s got a lot of toughness to him. He’ll have significant role, whether it’s starting or coming off the bench.’’

The idea of using Burks at point guard is a sign that Thibodeau hasn’t developed confidence in Frank Ntilikina or Dennis Smith Jr., Berman notes. Burks teamed with RJ Barrett in the backcourt for a while in the opener after rookie Immanuel Quickley suffered a hip pointer.

“I’m trying to get more chemistry,’’ Burks said. “We don’t have so much practice time. I’m trying to learn everybody, and that was the main thing I was happy about it. Learning everybody’s tendencies and where they like to be on the court.’’

There’s more from New York City:

There’s still no timetable for Austin Rivers‘ first game with the Knicks, but the free agent addition is making some progress in his return from a groin injury, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Rivers participated in a light practice Thursday, and the team plans to be careful after he missed almost the entire training camp.
Kevin Durant‘s early-season performance makes the Knicks’ decision not to offer him a maximum contract look like the latest mistake from owner James Dolan, contends Adam Zagoria of Forbes. New York had enough cap room for two max deals in July of 2019, but Dolan was hesitant to offer full max money because Durant had just ruptured his Achilles tendon.
Fans won’t be permitted to start the season at Madison Square Garden, which Barrett believes might help the home team, Berman adds in a separate story. “Actually having no fans might be an advantage,’’ Barrett said. “I know if I was a competitor, coming into the Garden, with all those fans, I’d want to have a great game. So coming in there with no fans actually probably gives us an advantage that way too.”

New York Notes: Ntilikina, Point Guards, Stoudemire, Thibs

December 24th, 2020 at 6:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Ahead of the first game of the 2020/21 Knicks season, point guard Frank Ntilikina stated that the sore left Achilles that had limited his preseason availability had fully recovered, according to Ian Begley of SNY (Twitter link). Ntilikina, the No. 8 pick in the 2017 draft, also noted that he and the Knicks did not discuss a potential contract extension ahead of Monday’s deadline, as we previously detailed.

The future of Ntilikina, the final lottery pick of former Knicks team president Phil Jackson, remains unclear, as Steve Popper of Newsday details. He will be eligible to become a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason.

There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:

Reserve point guards Dennis Smith Jr. and Ntilikina would not have made the cut for the club’s 10-man rotation in the Knicks’ season opener, a 121-107 loss to the Pacers, had rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley not gotten injured in the second quarter with a hip pointer, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. Both guards are former top-10 2017 NBA draft picks. Head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to play shooting guard Alec Burks as his initial replacement before ultimately bringing in Ntilikina for five minutes of relatively ineffective play. “We wanted to keep as much shooting on the floor as we can to try to create the opportunities that we’re looking for factored into it,” Thibodeau explained.
New Nets player development assistant Amar’e Stoudemire was reticent to make the leap from player to coach this summer after another productive season with the Israeli Basketball Premier League club Maccabi Tel Aviv, per Marc Stein of the New York Times. A six-time All-Star with the Suns and Knicks, the 38-year-old Stoudemire is reuniting with former Phoenix running mate Steve Nash, now Brooklyn’s head coach, and former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni, now another assistant on Nash’s bench. “We wanted him to come in and share all the things that he learned from his experiences — but also to learn about coaching, video analysis, analytics and the front office,” Nash said. “I get to learn from all departments,” Stoudemire said, “to see where I want my career to go.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is smartly prioritizing building good habits and player development rather than worrying about the club’s win-loss record, according to Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post. “You either win,” Thibodeau said, “or you learn.”