- Steve Popper of Newsday indicates that the Knicks might still be in the market for talent this offseason. The team remains $8MM below the salary cap floor. Given the club’s cap space, New York might be in the mix to take back money in a trade. Popper notes that the contracts of Nicolas Batum, Victor Oladipo, and DeMar DeRozan could still be traded into cap space.
- New Knicks coaching hire Aaron Brooks will be the first “two-way liaison” in the NBA, as Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. We passed along word of Brooks’ hiring earlier today.
Teams around the NBA are under the impression that the Knicks remain open to providing cap relief to clubs looking to unload unwanted salary, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. New York already used its cap space to accommodate an Ed Davis salary dump, acquiring two second-round picks for taking his contract, then flipping him to Minnesota for another future second-rounder.
The Knicks still have at least $18MM in cap room, so they could absorb a more significant salary than Davis’ $5MM. However, there’s also no rush for New York to use up all that space now. Preserving their cap room into the season would make the Knicks a go-to-trade partner for teams looking to cut costs at the in-season deadline.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- In a separate SNY.tv article, Begley considers whether the Knicks could realistically help Charlotte dump Nicolas Batum‘s $27MM salary.
- The two draft picks that the Knicks acquired from the Jazz in their Davis trade – initially reported as two 2023 second-rounders – will actually be second-round selections in 2023 and 2024, per RealGM’s breakdown of traded draft picks. New York received the Jazz’s own ’23 second-rounder and either Utah’s or Cleveland’s ’24 second-rounder (whichever is more favorable).
- The Knicks will receive $559,528 in set-off on Wayne Ellington‘s $1MM dead-money cap hit as a result of his new deal with Detroit, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains (via Twitter). Although New York will save a little money, the set-off amount won’t change Ellington’s cap hit until after the season, so the club won’t open up any extra room.
- Las Vegas’ Westgate Sportsbook has the Knicks projected to be one of the NBA’s worst teams in 2020/21, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who says the club’s over/under is 22.5 wins (in 72 games) and its title odds are 500-to-1. Both of those are tied for the lowest mark in the league, which isn’t a big surprise, given the Knicks’ relatively quiet offseason so far.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
- 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.
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.