New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Notes: Divac, Bagley, Ranadive, Perry

August 16th, 2020 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview with Marcos Breton of The Sacramento Bee, former Kings general manager Vlade Divac discusses his most controversial moves, including the draft day decision from two years ago that likely ended his time with the franchise. Divac got a phone call Friday from owner Vivek Ranadive telling him that Joe Dumars was taking over the front office, but Divac’s fate was probably sealed when he used the second pick in the 2018 draft to take Marvin Bagley III instead of Luka Doncic.

Bagley has played 75 combined games in two injury-filled seasons, while Doncic has quickly become an All-Star. Divac admits the decision became a source of tension with the owner, explaining that he saw Bagley as a better fit and remains confident he has a bright future.

“That was my decision,” Divac said. “I still believe Marvin has big upside. But I needed more time to prove it. I’m sure Marvin is going to prove everybody wrong. But in this league, you need to produce right now. People don’t have patience but I’m OK with that.”

Also in the interview, Divac talks about his decision not to pick up Harry Giles‘ option, the hiring of Luke Walton as head coach and Buddy Hield‘s frustration with his reserve role.

There’s more Kings news this morning:

Divac turned down Ranadive’s offer to remain in the front office and share power with Dumars, according to Sam Amick and Jason Jones of The Athletic. After conducting exit interviews with Kings players, Divac spoke with Ranadive again later in the day, but the owner hadn’t changed his mind. Sources tell the authors that Divac will be paid for the remainder of his contract, which runs through the 2022/23 season, and that Walton’s job remains safe.
Knicks general manager Scott Perry may be a candidate to replace Divac, suggests Marc Berman of The New York Post. Perry spent a short time with the Sacramento front office before coming to New York and reportedly left on good terms. He also has experience working for Dumars in Detroit. Knicks president Leon Rose recently exercised Perry’s option for next season, but he may not have much job security with a new management team in place.
The Kings will take their time finding a new general manager, and the search could extend into next season, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Goodwill thinks Dumars might opt for a younger executive, similar to his experience with the Pistons when he took over the front office at age 37.

Tyronn Lue, Chauncey Billups May Be Package Deal

August 15th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyronn Lue is rumored to be in the running for several head coaching jobs, and whoever hires him should be prepared to have Chauncey Billups as an assistant, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Sources tell Woj that teams know Lue has been talking to Billups about joining his staff as associate head coach. They are longtime friends, share the same agent, and both currently work for the Clippers, Lue as an assistant coach and Billups as a broadcaster.

Billups has been considered for several front office openings around the league and turned down an offer from the Cavaliers in 2017. Sources say his interest has changed from being an executive to being a coach, and he believes working with Lue will help him eventually land a head coaching position.

Lue is reportedly being considered for the new opening with the Pelicans, as well as the Nets, who plan to launch their search once they are eliminated from the playoffs. Wojnarowski states that he could be a candidate for the Rockets and Sixers as well if those teams decide to make coaching changes.

Lue turned down an offer from the Lakers last summer because L.A. wasn’t willing to give him more than three years of guaranteed salary. He landed a job with their cross-town rivals and has earned respect for challenging head coach Doc Rivers when he believes it’s necessary and for pushing the Clippers’ star players, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski also reports that Lakers assistant Jason Kidd has seen his stock rise this year while serving as an assistant to Frank Vogel, and he could emerge as a strong candidate for one of the high-profile openings. According to Woj, Kidd impressed the Knicks in his interview for their head coaching spot and was willing to admit mistakes that he made during his time with the Nets and Bucks.

Payne Reportedly Earning $1.5MM With Knicks

August 14th, 2020 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Knicks hired Kenny Payne away from Kentucky this week, it represented another instance of new executives Leon Rose and William Wesley bringing aboard someone with whom they have a preexisting relationship. However, Kentucky head coach John Calipari tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that Payne was very capable of making the leap to the NBA with or without those connections.

“You got to understand, he’s been invited to four different NBA teams where they had their summer camp and did stuff and won there,” Calipari said of his longtime assistant. “And why do you think they’re bringing him there? Trying to feel him out. They want to see him teach, they want to see him interact. And those were some of the top franchises out there. I knew why they were doing it. And because we were paying him so much, none of them thought he would leave (Kentucky) to go to the Knicks. Now they’re pissed that they didn’t bring him in. …There were other franchises that would’ve (hired him).”

While Calipari may be right that other teams would have liked to hire Payne before New York did, it’s not clear whether those clubs would’ve been willing to pay the price necessary to bring him aboard. According to Bondy (Twitter link), Payne will earn over $1.5MM with the Knicks, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid assistants.

Latest On Potential Offseason OTAs For Bottom Eight Teams

August 14th, 2020 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussions about organized team activities (OTAs) – including group workouts and scrimmages – for the eight clubs left out of the NBA’s 22-team Orlando restart are ongoing, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who says those talks continue to center on in-market workouts that would start in September.

Over the course of the summer, there have been rumblings that the NBA was considering setting up a second bubble in Chicago for its bottom eight teams to conduct group workouts and scrimmages. The league was also said to be exploring the idea of bringing those eight clubs to the first bubble at Walt Disney World once several of the teams involved in the restart are eliminated.

However, the most likely outcome is a scenario reported by The Charlotte Observer last month, which would allow the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pistons, Knicks, Bulls, and Hornets to conduct offseason workouts for about three weeks in their respective home markets and facilities. No inter-squad scrimmages would take place in that scenario, but intra-squad scrimmages would be permitted.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), the NBA and NBPA are in serious talks about moving forward with that plan for September. It would look something like this, per Charania:

One week of individual workouts
Two weeks of group practices
One hour of 5-on-5 play per day
Daily coronavirus testing

Presumably, any team that has a player test positive for COVID-19 during that three-week period would have to at least temporarily shut down its facility in an effort to avoid a more significant outbreak.

Those workouts are also expected to be voluntary, which means that certain star players or other veterans, including players eligible for free agency, likely won’t participate. However, rebuilding teams like the Cavaliers, Hawks, and Timberwolves are eager to get their young players some organized offseason reps, since they’ll likely go at least nine months – or more – between regular season games.

Marks Previews the Knicks' Offseason

August 12th, 2020 at 7:29pm CST by Jovan Alford

ESPN’s Bobby Marks gave an overview of what the Knicks’ offseason looks like, starting with October’s NBA draft and then heading into free agency. According to Marks, the Knicks will have to make financial decisions on Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton, and Reggie Bullock. Out of those five players, Portis might be the most important on the list as he has a $15.8MM team option, which needs to be exercised by Oct. 17.

DSJ At Crossroads; Knicks Hope Payne Can Help Attract Stars

August 11th, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Former lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. finds himself at a crossroads as he enters a contract year under new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. One scout who spoke to Berman is curious to see how the team handles Smith in ’20/21. “He’s certainly not a Thibs kind of player, but let’s see how committed they are to getting him right,” the scout said. “You don’t want to force it because they traded (Kristaps) Porzingis for him. Knowing when to cut bait is important. There may be too many things to fix with him.”
New Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne is primarily known for three things, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News: recruiting, relationships, and developing frontcourt players. As Bondy writes, the Knicks will hope that Payne can assist in their efforts to attract stars to New York.

Knicks Hire Kenny Payne As Assistant Coach

August 11th, 2020 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have formally announced the first addition to Tom Thibodeau‘s new staff, confirming in a press release that they’ve hired Kentucky associate head coach Kenny Payne as an assistant. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the hiring.

Payne, who has been a member of John Calipari‘s Wildcats staff for the last decade, has strong relationships with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose and executive VP William Wesley, Wojnarowski notes.

“I’m thrilled that Kenny has joined my staff as an assistant coach. He has an outstanding ability to forge relationships with players and improve their skills,” Thibodeau said in a statement. “He knows what it takes to win and has learned from one of the best coaches there is in John Calipari. Kenny will be a tremendous addition to our organization.”

Before being hired by Kentucky in 2010, Payne was an assistant with the Oregon Ducks. He also played basketball professionally before beginning his coaching career, spending a few seasons with the Sixers from 1989-93.

As we noted over the weekend when discussing the Knicks’ interest in Payne, the longtime college assistant is known for developing big men, including Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. He also worked with Knicks forwards Julius Randle and Kevin Knox while they were at Kentucky.

Mike Woodson and Mike Miller are among the other coaches rumored to be candidates to join Thibodeau’s staff.

Pistons Adding Harold Ellis, Ryan West To Scouting Department

August 10th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons are hiring Harold Ellis and Ryan West as scouts, sources tell James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). The moves come as part of a front office shakeup that has already included the hiring of Troy Weaver as GM and David Mincberg as an assistant GM.

It’ll be a reunion for Ellis, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Pistons in 2008/09 and was later a scout for the club. Since then, he has held a director of pro scouting position with the Magic and a director of player personnel role with the Knicks. Ellis was with New York up until this year, when the team reshaped its own front office following the dismissal of Steve Mills and the hiring of Leon Rose.

West, the son of NBA legend Jerry West, joined the Grizzlies under his father as a scout back in 2002. He later took on a similar role with the Lakers before being promoted to assistant director of scouting in 2012 and then to director of player personnel in 2015. The younger West parted ways with the Lakers a year ago and did some work with the Clippers during the 2019/20 season, albeit not in a formal capacity.

The Pistons have yet to make any formal announcements about Ellis and West, so it’s not clear yet whether they’ll receive titles similar to the player personnel ones they held with the Knicks and Lakers, respectively.

Knicks Considering Mike Woodson, Kenny Payne As Assistants

August 9th, 2020 at 9:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson and Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne are receiving strong consideration as Tom Thibodeau puts together his staff in New York, writes Adam Zagoria of Forbes.

The Woodson move appears to be “virtually done,” sources tell Zagoria, although nothing has been announced. Woodson has head coaching experience with both the Hawks and Knicks and led New York to its last postseason trip in 2013. He last coached as an assistant with the Clippers from 2014-18.

Woodson, 62, got an endorsement this week from former Knicks coach David Fizdale on Sirius XM NBA Radio.

“You know, it’s not an easy place to work, it’s not an easy place to coach,” Fizdale said. “There’s a lot of different things that swirl around the team and that’s just what comes with being the New York Knicks. And so because Woody successfully navigated that and really understands the dynamic of New York and New York City I think he’s really going to be of huge value to Thibs in that situation. And Woody can flat out coach and so that’s where he’s also going to help him is from that standpoint on his own accord.”

Payne is currently “weighing an offer” from the Knicks, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium. The 53-year-old has ties to both newly hired executive William “World Wide Wes” Wesley and team president Leon Rose. Payne is known for developing big men, including Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. He also worked with Knicks forwards Julius Randle and Kevin Knox while they were with the Wildcats.

“KP is one of the best development coaches in the world,” Towns said last year. “KP is the horse beneath the jockey driving Kentucky basketball.”

Mike Miller, who served as the Knicks’ interim coach after Fizdale was fired, is also being considered for a spot on Thibodeau’s staff, according to Corey Hersch of SNY.tv.

Kemba Thought Seriously About Signing With Knicks

August 7th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kemba Walker‘s interest in signing with the Knicks as a free agent last summer was “very serious,” the Celtics guard said in a Ringer podcast (Twitter link). The New York native revealed that “before Boston actually came along, the Knicks were one of my top priorities. I was thinking they were going to get another player (top free agent) but it didn’t work out.” Walker wound up agreeing to a four-year, $141MM max contract with Boston.

Ex-Knicks coach David Fizdale endorses his former team’s selection of Tom Thibodeau as its new head coach, according to Ian Begley of SNY. Fizdale made his comments during a Sirius XM Radio interview. “I think (Thibs) is a great hire. I think Thibs is a hell of a coach,” Fizdale said. “He demands hard work and toughness out of his guys.”