New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Support Within Knicks’ Organization For Kenny Atkinson

June 12th, 2020 at 12:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Tom Thibodeau is widely viewed as the favorite to become the Knicks‘ next head coach, there’s “legitimate internal support” within the organization for former Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Thibodeau and Atkinson are among the candidates expected to interview for New York’s head coaching vacancy. Current interim coach Mike Miller and former Knicks coach Mike Woodson will also reportedly interview. It’s not clear yet whether the club will meet with additional candidates beyond those four, though Begley notes that Mark Jackson and Jason Kidd also have fans within the organization.

Atkinson was dismissed from his position with the Nets in March amidst rumors that the team was seeking a head coach more suited for a veteran contender, following Atkinson’s solid work during Brooklyn’s rebuild. His performance with the Nets could make him a good fit a rebuilding Knicks team, and the Long Island native has a history with the club, having been a Knicks assistant from 2008-12.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who worked with Atkinson in Atlanta from 2013-16, endorsed his former assistant for the Knicks’ job, as Marc Berman of The New York Post details.

“I’d love to see him be coach of the Knicks,” Budenholzer told Berman. “It’s a great opportunity. He understands he’ll have a bunch of opportunities and situations. He’s had an amazing life with a great family. It would be a home run for him. There’s nothing like coaching the team you grew up with, he worked with. And with what they’re trying to do and where they are.

“… He’s just interesting because he’s so unique in that he is so true to player development and can really help players improve,” Budenholzer added. “The league has gotten a lot better with (development), but he’s one of the first — his ability doing it at a super-high level.”

Although the Knicks have reportedly begun their head coaching search, we haven’t gotten many updates on the process as of late and it’s not clear whether the team has set a timeline to make a hire.

Dolan Memo Possibly Damaging To Knicks Reputation

June 11th, 2020 at 9:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The reigning NBA champion Raptors are riding high during 2019/20, boasting the second-strongest record (46-18) in the East. Team president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri will have a bevy of roster personnel choices to make during the 2020 offseason — one big one is whom to draft.

There are several intriguing switchable wing options that Toronto should consider with their first-round pick (currently projected to be No. 28) in the 2020 draft, per Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Arizona’s Josh Green, TCU’s Desmond Bane of TCU, Washington’s Jaden McDaniels, Colorado’s Tyler Bey, UCLA’s Chris Smith, and Barcelona forward Leandro Bolmaro are all viable candidates who may still be available when the Raptors are on the board.

There’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

With All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant officially declaring themselves done for the rest of the 2019/20 season, the Nets look to have at least one roster spot left to fill when play resumes in Orlando, per Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Guards Justin Anderson, Henry Ellenson, Devin Cannady and veteran Iman Shumpert are among the leading prospects worth a look.
The muted response of Knicks owner James Dolan‘s internal memo addressing the George Floyd protests sweeping the nation did little to help the franchise’s reputation amongst NBA players, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted on First Take on Wednesday (video link).
As the Raptors prepare to defend their title in Orlando, Blake Murphy of The Athletic addresses questions related to the team’s rest-of-season roster and rotation depth, plus possible offseason additions.

Trail Blazers Notes: Glickman, Lillard, Carmelo

June 11th, 2020 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers founder and president emeritus Harry Glickman passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96, according to a press release from the team. When the NBA granted Portland an expansion franchise back in 1970, Glickman put together the group of investors who would cover the expansion fee and become the club’s initial owners.

Gilckman headed up the Blazers’ business and basketball operations departments for more than a decade after the team joined the NBA, helping lead Portland to its first and only championship in 1977. He was one of the shareholders that sold the franchise to Paul Allen in 1988 and maintained an active role with the team until his retirement in 1994.

“The Trail Blazers have long been the beneficiary of Harry’s vision, generosity, and inspiration,” current Blazers owner Jody Allen said in a statement. “As the team’s founder and first General Manager, his leadership was instrumental in igniting our city’s pride and passion for sports. I am grateful for Harry’s many contributions to the franchise over the years. He will be missed by many.”

Here’s more on the Blazers:

In a conversation with Lisa Robinson of Vanity Fair, Blazers star Damian Lillard said he thought he might be sent to the Knicks a few years back, admitting that he had “heard trade rumors.” Lillard also said he has some concerns about the NBA’s restart plans, but trusts that the league is taking the necessary precautions to “keep us safe.”
Speaking to Robinson, Lillard expressed plenty of confidence about the Blazers’ chances in Orlando this summer. Asked about the possibility of moving up to No. 8 in the West and potentially playing the Lakers in the first round of the postseason, Lillard replied, “I think we could beat them.”
Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony wants to learn more about the NBA’s safety protocols before getting fully on board with the summer restart, as he told Turner Sports during an #NBATogether stream on Wednesday. “As far as actually playing and going back down into Orlando, I’m still up in the air a little bit because we don’t have all the details.” Anthony said, per Scott Gleeson of USA Today. “We don’t know a lot of information, so until we have that, it’s hard to just commit to that 100 percent.”

Knicks Notes: Offseason Activities, Calipari, More

June 9th, 2020 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As one of the eight teams not invited to Orlando to complete the 2019/20 season, the Knicks are anxious to have some form of offseason activities for their players this summer and/or fall, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

With the NBA prioritizing the restart of the season for now, the Knicks are waiting on the league to review a handful of the options on the table for its bottom eight teams. If the league moves forward with a specific plan, it will need to be approved by the NBPA.

According to Berman, the Knicks are hoping to at least get approval to hold a mandatory two-week camp between the October 15 draft and the proposed November 10 start of training camp. That would give the team a head-start on the 2020 preseason after seven-plus months of inaction.

As Berman details, the Knicks are also in favor of the proposed target date of December 1 for opening night of the 2020/21 campaign. There’s an expectation that the players’ union will want to push back that date a little, but New York and the other seven teams whose seasons are over will be eager to get next season started as soon as possible.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Within the New York Post article linked above, Berman suggests that John Calipari would challenge Tom Thibodeau‘s frontrunner status if he were to “throw his hat into the ring” for the Knicks’ head coaching job. However, Ian Begley of SNY.tv says interviews are expected to begin this week and notes that Calipari continues to reiterate he has no interest in leaving Kentucky. In other words, it seems pretty safe to cross Calipari off New York’s list of potential candidates.
The Knicks’ decision-makers were still finishing up their exit interviews with players as of Monday, a source tells Berman (Twitter link). Those conversations took place via video conference calls.
After some internal back-and-forth last week about the Knicks’ silence following the death of George Floyd, the team put out a statement today saying it stands with “all who act for a positive change.” Team owner James Dolan had initially told MSG employees in a pair of memos that he didn’t believe a public statement was necessary, even as the rest of the NBA’s teams issued statements of their own. ESPN’s Malika Andrews has more details.

Summer Transaction Window Will Be Open For All 30 Teams

June 8th, 2020 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

Over the weekend, we learned that the NBA intends to give teams a brief window, likely from June 22 to July 1, to convert two-way players to standard deals and otherwise tweak their 15-man rosters. Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the transaction window at the end of June will be open for all 30 teams, not just the 22 resuming play in Orlando.

This is an important point because in a typical season, lottery-bound teams also make roster moves during the final week or two of play, an option that wasn’t available this April. Instead of setting their rosters for the postseason, those clubs at the bottom of the standings are looking ahead to the offseason and the following year, signing players to multiyear deals in the hopes that they’ll become low-cost contributors down the road.

The most obvious example of this form of transaction last season was provided by the Heat, who missed the playoffs but were active during the final week of the season, signing Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson to three-year contracts. The first “year” of those deals only technically lasted a day or two last April, but now Miami has Nunn and Robinson locked up on minimum-salary deals through 2020/21.

Of course, not every lottery-bound team will strike gold with late-season, multiyear signings like Miami did with Nunn and Robinson. But it’s still common for those clubs to use any open roster spots to add players who can be auditioned during the summer and fall.

This summer, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, teams like the Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Timberwolves, and Warriors have available roster spots and could be looking to fill out their 15-man squads with newly-signed players (or converted two-way players). Based on Woj’s report, it sounds like they’ll have at least a week to do so at the end of June. The Knicks, Bulls, and Hawks have full rosters but would also be permitted to make changes if they so choose.

[RELATED: NBA Roster Counts For 2019/20]

When Wojnarowski and Marks reported over the weekend on the NBA’s potential pre-offseason transaction window, they noted that only players who were in the NBA, in the G League, or on training camp deals during the 2019/20 season were expected to be eligible. However, I wouldn’t expect that restriction to apply to the eight teams that won’t be resuming play in Orlando.

Hiring Thibodeau Likely Diminishes Knicks' Chances Of Acquiring Towns

June 7th, 2020 at 4:39pm CST by JD Shaw

For the Knicks, hiring Tom Thibodeau as head coach would likely mean the team wouldn’t acquire Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns anytime soon, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York reportedly expressed interest in Towns prior to the trade deadline this season, with Berman noting that the relationship between Towns and Thibodeau was strained in their final weeks together during the 2018/19 season.
Former NBA guard and current NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith laughed off a question about coaching for the Knicks in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post. “They know where I am,” Smith laughed, addressing a question about whether he would like to interview for New York’s head coaching job. “They know what I could bring to the table in any capacity. There is a head coach there now (interim coach Mike Miller). … I don’t like to talk about guys’ jobs who still have a job.” Smith also offered his thoughts on racial injustice, the NBA’s restart and more in the interview.

Idle Teams Consider Mini-Summer League

June 6th, 2020 at 3:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The teams that won’t be invited to Orlando for the resumption of the NBA season are discussing activities to make sure their players won’t be left without games for nine months, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. That plan could involve training camps, followed by a small summer league.

Wojnarowski lists seven teams — the Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Timberwolves and Knicks — that are supporting a plan to hold joint practices as preparation for summer league games in August. Sources tell him that Detroit and Cleveland have talked about having practices together before a “mini-pod” of games.

Ideas presented by the teams, according to Woj’s sources, include two weeks of workouts in July, regional mini-camps in August with several days of combined practices and approximately three games on television, then organized team activities in mid-September.

Also, the teams left out of Orlando are seeking permission from the NBA to start next season’s training camp a week to 10 days ahead of everyone else. Those teams are concerned that the long layoff will affect the development of their younger players, not only due to the lack of games but because of the long separation from team facilities and the structured life in the NBA.

“Nine months is too long without organized basketball,” Hawks owner Tony Ressler said. “We just can’t risk that. I think the league has heard that loud and clear. We are pushing to remain competitive. That’s what our players want. We were desperate to have something that helps us to stay competitive.”

“Not playing for eight months puts us in a competitive disadvantage, but again, I think there are creative ways to do so,” adds new Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas. “Collectively, I think these eight teams we’re getting now on calls and we have conversations of how we can develop our players and how we can have structure in place to get some practicing and possibly some scrimmaging in the offseason to catch up to the teams that are going to be playing.”

Wojnarowski points out that any games, camps or other activities would have to be negotiated by the league and the players union because they’re not part of the collective bargaining agreement. Sources tell ESPN that the league office has promised the teams it will work with them to find a solution.

Knicks Open To Trading Julius Randle

June 6th, 2020 at 12:29pm CST by marksuleymanov

With the NBA’s plan to return for the 2019/20 in place, the Knicks are officially in the offseason stage, as the organization was not one of the 22 teams summoned to Orlando.

In addition to searching for a new head coach, newly-minted team president Leon Rose will also have to focus on building the roster for next season. Last summer’s big free-agent signing, Julius Randle, is someone the team would be open to trading, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

The Knicks have already explored moving Randle, as the team had talks with the Hornets ahead of this year’s trade deadline. Randle signed a three-year, $63MM deal last summer after New York failed to land Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving in free agency.

Randle had flashes of brilliance this season, but his defensive shortcomings and ball-dominant style of play failed to mesh with the Knicks’ core of youngsters. Although Randle averaged 19.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 64 games, his strong three-point shooting from a year prior fell to 27.7%.

As Berman notes, there are some financial implications that could hinder dealing Randle, but his $18.9MM salary for next season is manageable. Also, still just 25 years old, Randle can be a helpful piece to an NBA team.

Mike Miller Has Support To Remain On Knicks’ Staff

June 6th, 2020 at 10:20am CST by marksuleymanov

As the Knicks intensify their pursuit for a new head coach, interim head coach Mike Miller has support from people in the organization to remain on the coaching staff, SNY’s Ian Begley reports.

Miller, 55, was moved up from assistant coach to interim head coach following the dismissal of David Fizdale in early December last year. While the Knicks’ losing record persisted, the team played better under Miller, going 17-27 in 44 games until the season was stopped amid the coronavirus pandemic.

With new team president Leon Rose in the fold, the Knicks reportedly have former Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau at the top of their list. However, in addition to Miller, the team also plans to interview former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson.

While Miller’s lone head coaching experience has been a 44-game stretch this season, he has experienced success at other levels, most notably winning Coach of the Year with the G League’s Westchester Knicks in 2017/18. It remains to be seen if Miller will be given a serious opportunity to become the full-time head coach, but he has impressed team officials enough to at least be in the mix.

Thibodeau "Great Guy," According To JVG

June 5th, 2020 at 6:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tom Thibodeau is considered the front-runner for the Knicks head coaching job and Jeff Van Gundy says Thibodeau is misunderstood, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The longtime TV analyst and former Knicks coach made his comments during a Sirius XM Radio interview. “Unfortunately for him the perception of him on the sidelines as this gruff, nasty dude is not even close to who is he personally,” Van Gundy said. “Like, he is a great guy. He’s fun to be around. He’s enjoyable to be around, and he loves basketball.”