New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Hire Aaron Brooks, Others

November 25th, 2020 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have hired longtime NBA point guard Aaron Brooks, announcing in a press release that he’ll act as the team’s “two-way liaison.” Based on his title – and a story from Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who first reported the hiring – it sounds like Brooks will be primarily responsible for working with New York’s two-way players, Jared Harper and Theo Pinson.

Brooks, who spent 10 seasons in the NBA, played for current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota. He also shares a relationship with team president Leon Rose, who served as his agent at CAA Sports.

Brooks, 35, appears to be transitioning to a new phase in his career. He suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon last October in Australia, making past stops with the Rockets, Suns, Kings, Nuggets and Pacers. The Oregon product hinted at retirement shortly after suffering the injury.

The Knicks have also announced a series of other hires, including Darren Erman as an assistant coach, Larry Greer as an advance scout/assistant coach, Richard Williams as the strength and conditioning coach, and Reggie Johnson and TJ Zanin as scouts.

Most of those moves had been previously reported — Zanin’s hiring was even announced by the Knicks once before, way back in June.

JD Shaw contributed to this story.

Stein’s Latest: Williams, Clippers, Giannis, Bucks, Knicks

November 25th, 2020 at 9:57am CST by Luke Adams

After adding Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard to their roster while losing Montrezl Harrell, JaMychal Green, and Landry Shamet, the Clippers may not be done, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. A number of rival teams expect L.A. to trade away Lou Williams at some point, Stein says.

Although Williams is now 34 years old, he’s on a team-friendly expiring $8MM contract and remains a very talented scorer, having averaged 18.2 PPG off the bench in 2019/20, so he’d certainly draw interest if the Clippers put him on the trade block.

Interestingly, Stein notes that the Clippers made it a top priority this offseason to make “dramatic chemistry changes.” There were reports last season of tension in the locker room based on what some incumbent players viewed as preferential treatment for new Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. While he doesn’t specify whether it was related to those issues, Stein says that team officials “quietly decided (Harrell) had to go.” The Sixth Man of the Year ended up with the rival Lakers.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest newsletter:

For weeks leading up to the offseason, there had been “promising rumblings” about the Bucks‘ ability to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo to a super-max extension this fall, according to Stein. As Stein explains, there was an increasing belief that Antetokounmpo would opt for long-term financial security and reserve the right to ask for a trade down the road if he becomes dissatisfied with the situation in Milwaukee. The Bucks are now in wait-and-see mode, with Giannis expected to soon arrive back in the U.S. from Greece.
People around the NBA are wondering if the Bucks gave up too much to acquire Jrue Holiday, having surrendered three first-round picks and two pick swaps for the standout guard, writes Stein. However, he contends that if Holiday and Antetokounmpo end up sticking around beyond 2021, Milwaukee’s “all-in approach will be redeemed.”
After initially offering Gordon Hayward a two-year deal in free agency, the Knicks increased their offer to four years and remained in the chase for the veteran forward “throughout the process,” according to Stein, who notes that head coach Tom Thibodeau is an “admirer” of Hayward. Ultimately though, Charlotte’s four-year, $120MM was at a level that neither New York nor any other suitor was willing to match.

Pistons Sign Wayne Ellington

November 24th, 2020 at 5:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 2: The Pistons have officially signed Ellington, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 24: Free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has agreed to a one-year, $2.6MM contract with the Pistons, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The Pistons, who have engaged in a flurry of roster moves over the past week, are hard-capped but needed backcourt help and decided to bring in Ellington on a veteran’s minimum contract. Svi Mykhailiuk is the only other natural shooting guard on the roster.

This is Ellington’s second stint with the organization. He played 28 games for the Detroit during the 2018/19 season. He saw action in 36 games with the Knicks last season, averaging 5.1 PPG and 15.1 MPG. Ellington, 32, is a career 37.8% 3-point shooter.

Knicks Trade Ed Davis To Wolves For Spellman, Evans, Pick

November 24th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 24: The Timberwolves have officially acquired Davis from the Knicks in exchange for Spellman, Evans, and a future draft pick, the team confirmed today in a press release. According to the Wolves, the pick going to the Knicks is Minnesota’s 2026 second-rounder.

NOVEMBER 22: The Knicks will trade big man Ed Davis to the Timberwolves for big man Omari Spellman, shooting guard Jacob Evans and the rights to a future second-round pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Evans and Spellman, sent by the Warriors to Minnesota at the 2020 deadline as part of the D’Angelo Russell–Andrew Wiggins deal, will earn a combined $4MM in 2020/21. Davis, meanwhile, is set to make $5MM this season.

Given the added money and the fact that the Timberwolves are surrendering a draft asset in the deal, it looks as if the Wolves like Davis and intend to retain him. At just 31 years old, the athletic journeyman could help spell sharpshooting star center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Davis had career-lows in minutes (10.8 MPG in just 28 games), points (1.8 PPG) and rebounds (3.8 RPG) during his 2019/20 season with the Jazz. Utah agreed to send him to New York earlier this week in a salary-dump deal.

Considering that the Knicks acquired two 2023 second-round draft picks for taking on Davis’ salary originally, it is impressive that the club has now added a third second-round draft pick in moving off his salary.

With these new additions, the Knicks now have 16 players on their roster, aside from their two-way players. Marc Berman of the New York Post has said the Knicks like Spellman, but it’s not clear whether or not Evans will be retained.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Darren Erman Next Addition To Tom Thibodeau's Staff

November 24th, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Darren Erman, who coached the Celtics’ G League affiliate last season, will join the Knicks as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Erman spent four years as associate head coach with the Pelicans.

Knicks’ Jared Harper Signs Two-Way Qualifying Offer

November 24th, 2020 at 8:03am CST by Luke Adams

Jared Harper is officially back with the Knicks on a two-way contract, according to the NBA’s transactions log. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter) that Harper signed his two-way qualifying offer from the team.

Harper, 23, signed a two-way contract with Phoenix last July after going undrafted out of Auburn. The 5’11” point guard logged just eight total minutes in three NBA games for the Suns, but had a strong season for the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.

In 34 NBAGL games (28.9 MPG), Harper averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .413/.362/.787.

The Suns released Harper before the NBA restarted its season in July and the Knicks claimed him off waivers, retaining the right to make him a restricted free agent with a two-way qualifying offer. Now Harper appears set to fill one of the team’s two-way contract slots, alongside Theo Pinson.

Rose Isn't Keen On Pursuing Oladipo

November 23rd, 2020 at 9:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks president Leon Rose isn’t eager to pursue a trade for Pacers guard Victor Oladipo even though GM Scott Perry wants to explore that possibility, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The front office did make a strong push for free agent forward Jerami Grant, who wound up with the Pistons in a sign-and-trade with Denver. Rose could still make another trade for a rotation player or take on another team’s unwanted contract with an asset attached in order to reach the salary cap floor, Berman adds.

Knicks Sign Obi Toppin To Rookie Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 11:39am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Knicks have announced (via Twitter) that they have inked their 2020 No. 8 lottery pick Obi Toppin to his rookie contract.

The former Dayton forward will earn $4,862,040 in his rookie year and about $22.1MM over the first four years of his NBA career, unless he accepts a deal worth less than the maximum allowable 120% of the rookie scale. A full list of anticipated rookie scale salary figures is viewable here.

The 22-year-old 6’9″ Brooklyn native played two years for Dayton, averaging 20.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG across 31 games during his sophomore season (all starts). Toppin was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and the National College Player of the Year in 2019/20.

Toppin marks the first draft pick of new Knicks team president Leon Rose, and will join new head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s revamped New York roster for the 2020/21 season. This offseason, the Knicks appear to be mostly in asset-gathering mode, having made two deals to turn Ed Davis into three future second-round picks and having avoided signing big-money free agents like Fred VanVleet or Gordon Hayward or (thus far) trading for frustrated Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook.

Jazz Trade Ed Davis To Knicks

November 23rd, 2020 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 23: The Jazz have issued a press release officially confirming that they’ve sent Davis and two future second-rounders to New York in exchange for cash considerations.

Now that the move is official, it clears the path for the Knicks to flip Davis to Minnesota in an agreed-upon deal with the Timberwolves.

NOVEMBER 19: The Jazz have reached an agreement to trade veteran big man Ed Davis to the Knicks, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York will also receive a pair of 2023 second-round pick in the deal, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter link).

Davis, who signed a two-year, $9.8MM deal with the Jazz a year ago, didn’t end up being relied upon as a regular part of the club’s rotation. He appeared in just 28 contests, logging 10.8 MPG and establishing new career lows in PPG (1.8) and RPG (3.8).

Davis is owed a guaranteed $5MM salary for the 2020/21 season, so this is essentially a salary dump for the Jazz, who are hoping to re-sign Jordan Clarkson and maintain enough cap flexibility to utilize their full $9.3MM mid-level exception. The Knicks will have upwards of $40MM in cap room in free agency, so they’ll have no problem taking on Davis’ contract.

After acquiring the Pistons’ 2023 second-round in last night’s draft, the Knicks will pick up two more second-rounders for that draft in this swap. It seems the team’s focus on ’23 is no accident — Marc Berman of The New York Post suggested earlier today (via Twitter) that the Knicks “really love” the 2023 draft, which they believe will be the first without the one-and-done rule in place, allowing high-schoolers to enter.

Rose Shows Patience By Passing On This Year's Top Free Agents

November 22nd, 2020 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Knicks president Leon Rose has exuded patience during free agency with an eye toward next offseason’s potentially star-studded free agent class, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Though the Knicks had some interest in Fred VanVleet and Gordon Hayward, they were not going to shell out the money and multi-year contracts that those top-level free agents received. New York could still trade for Russell Westbrook if the Rockets’ asking price drops but Rose isn’t inclined to make any panic moves, Popper adds.

The Knicks will retain big man Omari Spellman and he’s got a pretty good shot to make the opening-night roster, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. New York has an agreement to acquire Spellman, shooting guard Jacob Evans and the rights to a future second-round pick from the Timberwolves in exchange for Ed Davis. Berman’s note indicates Spellman’s salary wasn’t simply thrown in to make a trade work.