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Knicks Notes: Coaching Search, Rose, Wesley, Harper

June 26th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A recent report indicated that the Knicks would look to hire a permanent head coach by the time the season resumes in Orlando on July 30, and president of basketball operations Leon Rose essentially confirmed as much in a conversation with Mike Breen on MSG Network this week. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays, Rose said he expects the search to last until mid-to-late July.

“We want to find the right leader that can develop our young players, as well as hold everyone accountable and take us from development to becoming a perennial winner,” Rose told Breen. “We also want somebody that we think will be collaborative with the front office. Someone that when you’re in that huddle, you’re looking in that coach’s eyes, every player that’s looking at him knows that person is driving the ship and going to get the job done.”

As Vorkunov and Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv pass along, Rose also addressed several more topics, including the possibility of the Knicks becoming a free agent destination, his thoughts on some of the team’s young players, and the club’s draft plans. On the subject of appealing to top free agents, Rose said he wants to make sure the organization is “player-friendly and first-class,” per SNY.tv.

“We’re going to work as hard as we can that this is the place you want to be at,” Rose said. “We have the greatest city in the world, we have an iconic arena and we just need to create culture that people are going to want to be part of.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Greg Joyce of The New York Post takes a closer look at the 11 known candidates for the Knicks’ head coaching position.
Former Knicks Rasheed Wallace and Stephon Marbury are unimpressed with the team’s decision to hire Rose and William Wesley (“World Wide Wes”), as Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. Wallace called the decision a “brain fart,” while Marbury referred to Wesley as a “world wide sucker.”
Following the Knicks’ waiver claim of Jared Harper on Thursday, Harper’s former college coach Bruce Pearl praised the Auburn alum, calling him a “flat-out winner” and suggesting New York should retain him for 2020/21. “The Knicks are getting a true scoring point guard,” Pearl told Adam Zagoria of Forbes. “He’s under-sized, but pound-for-pound is as strong and athletic as any player out there on the floor. He has tremendous range and the ability to pull from deep. He’s special in ball-screen and plays at a real good tempo.”
In case you missed it, the Knicks made another waiver claim today, nabbing Theo Pinson from the Nets and releasing Allonzo Trier to make room on the roster.

Knicks Claim Theo Pinson, Waive Allonzo Trier

June 26th, 2020 at 4:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have claimed swingman Theo Pinson off waivers, waiving guard Allonzo Trier to clear a spot on their roster, the team announced today in a press release. Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) first reported the pair of moves.

Pinson, 24, spent his rookie season in 2018/19 on a two-way contract with the Nets, then got a guaranteed contract from the team this season. However, he struggled to produce, averaging 3.6 PPG on 2.90/.188/.938 shooting in 33 games (11.1 MPG).

The former UNC wing, who was waived earlier this week when Brooklyn signed Tyler Johnson, was on a minimum-salary contract, so the Knicks didn’t need to use cap room or a trade exception to claim him. Pinson has a team option for 2020/21, which New York will have to make a decision on this October.

As for Trier, he was a two-way success story in 2018/19, having his deal converted into a two-year contract worth nearly $7MM. But after averaging 10.9 PPG in 64 games (22.8 MPG) as a rookie, the 24-year-old fell mostly out of the rotation in his second year in New York, posting just 6.5 PPG in 24 games (12.1 MPG). There were whispers at the end of his first season that some of Trier’s teammates were put off by his ball-dominant style.

Trier was facing potential restricted free agency this offseason and it appears the Knicks’ new front office – led by Leon Rose – didn’t see him as part of the club’s future. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers, which seems like a safe bet.

The Pinson/Trier swap represents the second roster change made by the Knicks this week. The team also claimed Jared Harper and waived Kadeem Allen on Thursday.

Knicks Claim Jared Harper, Waive Kadeem Allen

June 25th, 2020 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

4:56pm: The Knicks have issued a press release confirming that they’ve claimed Harper and waived Allen.

4:24pm: The Knicks have claimed two-way player Jared Harper off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team waived guard Kadeem Allen to open up a spot. Harper and Kenny Wooten now occupy New York’s two-way contract slots.

Harper, 22, signed a two-way contract with Phoenix last July after going undrafted out of Auburn. The 5’11” 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 opted to release Harper in March just as the NBA puts its transaction moratorium in place, so the move didn’t technically become official until Tuesday of this week. Harper would have cleared waivers and become a free agent today if not for the Knicks’ claim.

Now, it will be Allen who is on track to become a free agent if he clears waivers this weekend. The 6’1″ guard spent the last two seasons under contract with New York, appearing in 29 games for the NBA squad and 63 more for the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Allen struggled to score efficiency this season, averaging 13.7 PPG on .394/.261/.828 shooting in 24 NBAGL games (28.8 MPG).

Harper’s two-way contract is believed to be for only one season, which means the Knicks would have to re-sign him this fall in order to keep him under control beyond 2019/20. Claiming him off waivers gives the club greater control of that process, since he can be made a restricted free agent.

Knicks Notes: Woodson, Coaching Search, Wesley

June 24th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike Woodson, one of 11 known candidates for the Knicks‘ head coaching vacancy, tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv that he’s “ecstatic” to be given the opportunity to return to the job he held from 2012-14. Although Woodson would have to beat out a long list of contenders to claim the position, including presumed frontrunner Tom Thibodeau, the former Knicks head coach believes he’s the right fit.

“I did my job when I was here. We won games. The fan base was engaged. I walked out of the Garden many nights thinking that the fans were proud and excited about what we were doing,” Woodson told Begley. “Am I capable of coming back to New York and helping them build a winning team again? I feel confident in that, I absolutely do.

“I think with the people in charge, with (president of basketball operations) Leon (Rose) and (GM) Scott (Perry) and (owner) Jim (Dolan) and everyone else that they hired on board, they will build a winner. At the end of the day, it takes everybody being on board to make it happen. That’s what we did (the last time I was here). We all had a great working relationship when I was here. That can definitely happen again. “

Here’s more on the Knicks:

While New York’s rebuilding process has taken some criticism in recent years, Woodson tells Begley that he thinks the franchise in well-positioned to improve in the coming years: “The Knicks are in a great position because they’ve got cap space, they’ve got room to go out and wheel and deal in the free agent market, and they’ve got room to make trades. They also have young players that you can continue to develop and they have draft picks. It’s a great combination.”
The Knicks have begun interviewing their head coaching candidates via video, and their search is expected to extend into July, league sources told Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) this week. A previous report indicated that the team would take its time with the process, intending to have a new coach in place sometime before play resumes on July 30.
William Wesley was named the Knicks’ executive vice president and senior basketball advisor today, despite some speculation that he wouldn’t take on an official role with the team. According to Begley, Wesley decided he wanted to formally commit to the franchise due to his strong relationships with Leon Rose and James Dolan. “It just got to the point where it made sense for him,” a source told SNY.tv. “He wanted to be fully invested in the team.”

Knicks Hire William Wesley As Executive VP, Senior Advisor

June 24th, 2020 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have hired William Wesley – also known as “World Wide Wes” – as an executive vice president and senior basketball advisor, the team announced today in a press release. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that the move was imminent.

As Wojnarowski details, Wesley is considered one of the most well-connected people in basketball and has previously worked with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose at CAA. Wesley has been a consultant in the coaching division of CAA for 13 years, Woj notes.

“My long history with and respect for (Knicks owner) Jim Dolan and Leon Rose, as well as the chance to be part of the New York Knicks, made this an opportunity I wanted to pursue,” Wesley said in a statement. “I look forward to joining the current staff and moving the organization toward a successful future.”

When word first broke that New York was hiring Rose to lead its basketball operations department, there was speculation that Wesley would join him. A subsequent report from Shams Charania suggested that World Wide Wes wouldn’t actually join the Knicks in a formal capacity, but it appears the two sides have had a change of heart on that.

Meanwhile, Marc Berman of The New York Post speculates (via Twitter) that Wesley’s hiring is a good sign for Tom Thibodeau‘s candidacy for the Knicks’ head coaching vacancy, given the long-standing relationship between Thibodeau and World Wide Wes.

The Knicks also announced that Alex Kline and TJ Zanin have been hired as scouts. Kline’s deal was previously reported. Zanin has worked for the Grizzlies, Sixers, Clippers, Nets, and Hornets in the past, serving as Charlotte’s director of college scouting from 2015-17. His brother Frank Zanin recently joined the Knicks as an assistant GM.

New Dates Set For Option Decisions, Salary Guarantees, More

June 23rd, 2020 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As part of the revised Collective Bargaining Agreement terms that the NBA and NBPA have agreed to, a series of option decision deadlines, salary guarantee dates, and other offseason dates and deadlines have been pushed back.

We don’t yet have a full list that outlines how every date and deadline will be adjusted, but in cases where a deadline fell slightly before or after the start of the 2020/21 league year, those dates have been pushed back to coincide with the new start date for the league year, which will begin on October 19 rather than July 1.

For instance, as Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets, player option decisions for Gordon Hayward (Celtics), DeMar DeRozan (Spurs), Mike Conley (Jazz), and Andre Drummond (Cavaliers) will now be due on October 17 instead of June 29. Lakers big man Anthony Davis will have to decide on his 2020/21 player option by October 14, one day after a potential NBA Finals Game 7, Charania adds.

Meanwhile, the salary guarantee date for four Knicks veterans – Reggie Bullock, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, and Elfrid Payton – who currently have $1MM partial guarantees for 2020/21 will be October 17 at 3:00pm eastern time, rather than on June 28, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Additionally, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link) reported over the weekend, traded player exceptions that were set to expire in early July will have their expiry dates moved to corresponding dates in October. For example, since the free agency moratorium will now expire on October 23 instead of July 6, the Warriors‘ $17.2MM TPE that would have expired on July 7 will instead do so on October 24.

[RELATED: Outstanding NBA Trade Exceptions]

There are other deadlines that figure to be closely tied to the new league year as well. For instance, the deadline to tender a qualifying offer to a potential restricted free agent will likely be on October 17 rather than June 29.

Some date adjustments may be trickier to determine and will require further clarification. For instance, some players had been scheduled to receive full or partial guarantees if they remained under contract through August 1. That date may simply be shifted to November 19, one month after the ’20/21 league year begins. But the NBA has proposed opening training camps for next season on November 10, complicating that timeline.

Knicks Receive Permission To Interview Jason Kidd

June 22nd, 2020 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have requested and received permission to interview Jason Kidd for their head coaching opening, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Kidd is currently an assistant on Frank Vogel‘s Lakers staff.

Kidd, 47, has a pair of head coaching stints under his belt. He led the Nets to a 44-38 record during the 2013/14 season before joining the Bucks the following year. From 2014-18, he had a 139-152 (.478) record in Milwaukee, earning two playoff appearances but not advancing beyond the first round during that time.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of the Knicks’ interest in Kidd. Ian Begley of SNY.tv previously reported that Kidd had fans within the organization, adding today that there had been “strong internal interest” in setting up an interview with the former All-Star point guard.

Kidd is the 11th candidate the Knicks are expected to interview as they conduct a wide-ranging search for their next permanent head coach. The full list of names can be found in our tracker.

Knicks To Interview Mike Brown For Head Coach Job

June 22nd, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will interview Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown for their head coaching vacancy, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York’s list of coaching candidates has now cracked double-digits, with Brown representing the club’s 10th known interviewee.

Brown has served as an NBA coach for more than two decades, holding assistant roles in Washington, San Antonio, and Indiana to start his career. He became the Cavaliers’ head coach in 2005 and led the team to a 305-187 (.620) record over the next five seasons, earning a spot in the 2007 Finals and winning a Coach of the Year award in 2009.

After departing the Cavs in 2010, Brown over as head coach of the Lakers for the lockout season of 2011/12, leading the team to a 41-25 (.621) record. He was let go just five games into the following season when L.A. got off to a 1-4 start, and rejoined the Cavs for a single season in 2013/14.

Since 2016, Brown has been a top assistant on Steve Kerr‘s staff in Golden State. Brown, who interviewed with the Knicks in 2018 before they hired David Fizdale, is also coaching the Nigerian national team that will compete in next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.

The full list of the 10 known candidates for the Knicks’ head coaching position can be found within our tracker. According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team started conducting phone calls with those candidates last week.

Coaching Candidates Will Receive Introductory Interviews

June 19th, 2020 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks’ head coaching search will begin in earnest next week with introductory interviews scheduled with candidates, SNY’s Ian Begley tweets. Those initial conversations will be brief and take place over video conference. They will be followed by longer, more formal interviews, likely also via video conference, Begley adds. Thus far, nine candidates have been identified as probable interviewees.

2020 NBA Front Office Shakeup Tracker

June 19th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Having created a space to track the NBA’s head coaching changes this year, we’re now doing the same for the teams shaking up their front offices.

The front office structure for an NBA franchise generally isn’t as cut-and-dried as a coaching staff. All 30 teams will enter the 2020/21 season employing a head coach and a staff of assistant coaches. But not every team will have an executive with the title of “president of basketball operations” or “executive VP of basketball operations” on its payroll. And while some general managers around the league have decision-making power within their organizations, that doesn’t apply to all of them.

Nonetheless, we’ll do our best to track this offseason’s front office changes in the space below, monitoring which executives have decision-making power in each new management group. Some of these searches could extend well into the summer or fall, so be sure to check back for the latest updates.

You’ll be able to access this page anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

Updated 10-24-20 (1:43pm CT)

Active Searches:

None

Completed Searches:

Chicago Bulls

In:
- Arturas Karnisovas, executive VP of basketball operations (story)
- Marc Eversley, general manager (story)
- J.J. Polk, assistant general manager (story)
- Pat Connelly, VP of player personnel (story)
Out:
- GM Gar Forman dismissed (story)
- Executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson moved to advisory role (story)

Some combination of Paxson and/or Forman had been running the show in Chicago since Jerry Krause‘s departure in 2003, so when the Bulls overhauled their front office this spring, there was skepticism among fans that the duo known as GarPax would really be stripped of its power.

Paxson remained in the organization and may be involved in some basketball decisions, but Forman is gone, and by all accounts, the Bulls are prepared to give the reins to Karnisovas and his new right-hand man Eversley. One of their first orders of business will be making a decision on head coach Jim Boylen, who is very much on the hot seat.

Denver Nuggets

In:
- Calvin Booth, general manager (story)
  - Note: Promoted from assistant GM
- Tommy Balcetis, assistant GM (story)
  - Note: Promoted from VP of basketball strategy and analytics
Out:
- General manager Arturas Karnisovas left for job with Bulls (story)

The Nuggets had to replace Karnisovas once he decided to take the top job in Chicago, but didn’t technically conduct a full-fledged search for his replacement, opting instead to stay in-house and promote Booth. He’ll be the new top lieutenant in Denver for president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

Detroit Pistons

In:
- Troy Weaver, general manager (story)
- David Mincberg, assistant general manager (story)
- Harold Ellis and Ryan West, scouting department (story)
Out:
- Assistant GM Malik Rose left for job with NBA league office (story)
- Assistant GM Pat Garrity left the organization (story)

Senior advisor Ed Stefanski has served as the Pistons’ de facto head of basketball operations for the last two years, but at the time of his hiring, he wasn’t necessarily viewed as someone who would hold that position for the next five or 10 years.

With its hiring of Weaver, Detroit has brought aboard a GM who will work with Stefanski and “run the basketball side of things,” according to team owner Tom Gores. While Stefanski, vice chairman Arn Tellem, and head coach Dwane Casey figure to be involved to some extent in basketball decisions, it sounds as if Weaver will take the lead on those matters.

It’s worth noting that the Pistons are expected to hire a couple new assistant GMs, so while their GM search is finished, their front office additions likely aren’t.

Houston Rockets

In:
- Rafael Stone, general manager (story)
  - Note: Promoted from executive VP of basketball operations
Out:
- General manager Daryl Morey stepped down (story)
- VP of basketball operations Monte McNair left for job with Kings (story)

After losing McNair to the Kings, the Rockets saw their longtime head of basketball operations exit the organization, as Morey resigned from his GM position.

Rather than launching a full-fledged search for a new general manager, the Rockets promoted Stone, a longtime Morey lieutenant who will take control of the team’s basketball operations department. Assistant GM Eli Witus will take on additional responsibilities as Stone’s new right-hand man.

New York Knicks

In:
- Leon Rose, president of basketball operations (story)
- William Wesley, executive VP/senior basketball advisor (story)
- Frank Zanin, assistant general manager – pro scouting (story)
- Walt Perrin, assistant general manager – college scouting (story)
- Brock Aller, VP of basketball and strategic planning (story)
Out:
- President of basketball operations Steve Mills reassigned to MSG board (story)
- Consultant David Blatt not retained (story)
- VP of player development Craig Robinson not retained (story)
- Director of player personnel Harold Ellis not retained (story)
Retained:
- Scott Perry, general manager (story)

The Knicks made their changes in the winter, firing Mills during the first week of February and officially bringing Rose aboard less than a month later. Still, we’re including them here because the work they’ve done reshaping their front office has extended into the offseason, with the hiring of Zanin, Perrin, and Aller.

Following the Knicks’ surprising decision to extend Perry’s contract by one year, the next items on the docket include hiring a permanent head coach and deciding how to use their cap room once free agency begins.

Sacramento Kings

In:

Monte McNair, general manager (story)
Joe Dumars, chief strategy officer (story)

Out:

Vlade Divac, general manager (story)
Peja Stojakovic, assistant GM (story)

Although Divac’s departure was classified as him “stepping down” from his general manager position with the Kings, subsequent reporting suggested that team owner Vivek Ranadive wanted him to accept a reduced role, with Dumars taking on more power in Sacramento’s front office.

Dumars briefly took the reins as the Kings’ interim executive VP of basketball operations and general manager, and was involved in the search for a new permanent GM, but transitioned to a chief strategy officer position once Sacramento landed on Rockets assistant GM McNair as its new head of basketball operations.