- Knicks guard Wayne Ellington remembers the late Kobe Bryant as both a friend and a mentor, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. Both Ellington and Bryant played for the Lakers during the 2014/15 season, with Bryant’s competitiveness, drive and passion holding a permanent impact on Ellington and many other players around the association.
- As the Knicks continue to rework their public perception under newly-hired brand consultant Steve Stoute, they may try to improve relations with past New York heroes, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. “As a New York fan, as a friend of Charles Oakley, as somebody a part of the Knicks organization, of course, I would love to see that subsided and bring that back,” Stoute mentioned in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take.
FEBRUARY 21, 6:05pm: Harkless plans to remain with the Knicks for the rest of the season, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.
FEBRUARY 20, 9:15am: When the Clippers acquired Marcus Morris from the Knicks two weeks ago, they sent Maurice Harkless to New York as a salary-matching piece. With Harkless on an expiring contract and New York well out of the playoff race, there was speculation that his new team may be willing to buy out the veteran forward to allow him to join a contender.
As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reports (via Twitter), Harkless said on Wednesday that he hasn’t initiated any buyout talks with the Knicks. However, the 26-year-old didn’t entirely rule out the possibility, suggesting he and his agent may discuss a potential buyout at some point and weigh whether he wants to finish the season with a playoff team.
Harkless appeared in 50 games (38 starts) with the Clippers before being dealt at the deadline. His counting stats (5.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 22.8 MPG) were modest, but he was a solid complementary piece alongside a handful of ball-dominant players in L.A., providing good perimeter defense and shooting well (.516 FG%, .370 3PT%) when he did end up with the ball.
A New York native, Harkless said upon being traded to the Knicks that it was a “dream come true” to join the club he grew up rooting for. So it’s possible his desire to finish the season with his hometown team may outweigh his interest in signing with a contender. Even if he seeks a buyout, the Knicks would have to be willing to negotiate the terms of his release.
If the two sides end up pursuing a buyout agreement, they’ll do so by March 1 to ensure Harkless retains his postseason eligibility. A player who is waived on March 2 or a later date can’t appear in the playoffs for a new team.
Harkless wouldn’t be able to re-sign with the Clippers if he’s bought out, but any other team would be fair game. There have been rumors suggesting that Los Angeles’ other team, the Lakers, would have interest.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown explained his plan for Alec Burks, who made his first real impact for Philadelphia on Thursday night against the Nets.
“I’m looking at him is sort of instant offense type off the bench he can be given the ball can be put in pick-and-rolls,” Brown said (via Heavy.com). “I like him more probably in the middle of the floor with the pick and roll than the sideline with the pick-and-roll I think that he can be a primary ball carrier for a while.”
Burks, who came to the Sixers along with Glenn Robinson III at the trade deadline, has spent 44 minutes on the court so far in his Sixers’ career.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Villanova head coach Jay Wright simply isn’t interested in the Knicks‘ coaching job, as Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link). “I haven’t talked to the Knicks, I’m not going to the Knicks. It’s crazy,” Wright said.
- Ben Simmons is probable for the Sixers‘ matchup with Milwaukee on Saturday night, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Simmons missed Thursday’s contest against Brooklyn with back tightness.
- Zach Braziller of the New York Post details how interim coach Mike Miller is handling the situation with the Knicks. “If we help these guys and we continue to grow and get better, then we’ve done our job,” Miller said. “All I’m concerned about is bringing value to it and helping these guys. As simple as it sounds, I did that for six years as a D-League [and] G-League coach and I felt good at the end of every season. That’s the direction that I take.”
Having ruled earlier this week that Makur Maker – the younger cousin of Thon Maker – is eligible to enter the 2020 draft, the NBA and NBPA reached a revised agreement on the draft eligibility of players in similar situations to Maker, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com. Going forward, 19-year-old prospects who are still enrolled in high school won’t be eligible to enter the draft, clearing up an area of confusion for NBA teams.
As for Maker specifically, even though he’s now free to enter this year’s draft, there’s no guarantee he’ll do so. His guardian Ed Smith told ESPN that Maker will go pro if he’s projected to be a lottery pick. Givony currently has the young center ranked 77th overall on this year’s big board.
- In an Insider-only ESPN.com article, Givony and Mike Schmitz evaluate which prospects had the biggest impact at last weekend’s Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Chicago. According to ESPN’s draft experts, Canadian guard Josh Primo “stole the show,” looking comfortable playing both on and off the ball. Primo, currently a high school junior, projects to be a first-rounder in 2021, says Givony.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic identifies nine undervalued draft prospects that have piqued his interest, including Dayton forward Obi Toppin, Florida State forward Patrick Williams, and French guard Killian Hayes.
- Elsewhere at The Athletic, Sam Vecenie makes the case for why Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike is the best center in the NCAA, while Mike Vorkunov takes a look at which prospects the Knicks should be targeting this spring, with some help from Spencer Pearlman of The Stepien.
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Timberwolves assigned Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman and Jarred Vanderbilt to their affiliate in Iowa, the team announced in a press release. All three were acquired two weeks ago in deals at the trade deadline, with Evans and Spellman coming from the Warriors and Vanderbilt being obtained from the Nuggets.
- The Hornets assigned Dwayne Bacon to their Greensboro affiliate, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- The Nets assigned Nicolas Claxton to Long Island, according to the G League transactions log.
Also on the transactions log:
- The Knicks assigned Ignas Brazdeikis to Westchester.
- The Jazz sent Miye Oni to Salt Lake City.
- The Sixers assigned Zhaire Smith to Delaware.
The civil lawsuit that former Knicks player Charles Oakley filed against Madison Square Garden and team owner James Dolan was dismissed today by a federal judge in Manhattan, according to Andrew Denney and Gabrielle Fonrouge of The New York Post.
Oakley sued following a 2017 incident that saw him ejected from the arena and arrested after a scuffle with security guards. Oakley’s suit claimed he was unfairly targeted for taking verbal jabs at Dolan, while the owner accused Oakley of being drunk and belligerent. The lawsuit, filed in September of 2017, alleged defamation, assault, false imprisonment and other similar charges.
Judge Richard Sullivan ruled today that Oakley failed to make a plausible legal argument against the defendants.
“From its inception, this case has had the feel of a public relations campaign, with the parties seemingly more interested in the court of public opinion than the merits of their legal arguments. That is perhaps understandable, given the personal and public nature of the dispute,” Sullivan wrote. “But while basketball fans in general, and Knicks fans in particular, are free to form their own opinions about who was in the right and whether Oakley’s ejection was motivated by something more than the whims of the teams owner, the fact remains that Oakley has failed to allege a plausible legal claim that can meet federal pleading standards.”
Sullivan also determined that Dolan and MSG had the right to eject Oakley because they serve as landlords of the arena.
MSG issued a statement praising the decision. The company called the dispute with Oakley an “incident that no one was happy about,” adding, “Maybe now there can be peace between us.”
However, Douglas Wigdor, who serves as Oakley’s attorney, indicated his client isn’t ready to call off the legal battle.
“Charles is not one to give up,” Wigdor said. “While we are disappointed with the ruling, it’s just the beginning of the fourth quarter and we are confident that we can turn this around with an appeal that we plan to file in the coming days.”
As the Knicks restructure their front office, Allan Houston appears to be in line for a promotion, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
Houston, 48, was New York’s former assistant general manager and currently serves as GM for the organization’s G League affiliate in Westchester. He was a strong proponent of hiring that team’s former head coach, Mike Miller, as the Knicks’ interim coach after David Fizdale was fired. Houston has been with the organization since 2008 and has survived multiple management shakeups.
Bondy shares information on a few other prominent figures:
- The Knicks have given up on an attempt to lure Rich Cho from the Grizzlies‘ front office. A source tells Bondy that Cho is happy in Memphis, where the team is a surprise playoff contender with a bright future built around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Cho has more than two decades of experience as an NBA executive and is a former GM with both Charlotte and Portland.
- Vice president of player development Craig Robinson, best known as the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, is seeing a reduction in responsibilities. Robinson was hired three years ago by ousted team president Steve Mills to run the Knicks’ player development initiative. However, the organization has experienced a mixed draft record during that time and is using a lineup mostly consisting of players who were developed by other teams.
- No decision has been made on GM Scott Perry, but he has a strong relationship with William Wesley (“Worldwide Wes”), who will have an unofficial role with the team through his close ties to incoming president of basketball operations Leon Rose. Perry was an executive in Detroit when Wesley was managing former Pistons star Richard Hamilton.
- Bondy confirms that Tom Thibodeau, a former client of Rose’s Creative Artists Agency, is expected to be considered for the head coaching job.
Although the Knicks reportedly have strong interest in Jay Wright, it doesn’t appear as if the Villanova head coach reciprocates that interest, as we outlined earlier this week.
A report on Monday suggested Wright has no plans to leave his post at Villanova, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears a similar sentiment from an NCAA source, who says Wright would have to be “” to even consider leaving his current job.
While Wright may not be a realistic target for the Knicks as they seek a permanent head coach this spring, veteran NBA coach Tom Thibodeau – who is expected to receive consideration – sounds much more open to being courted. A Thibodeau “confidant” tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that the former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach would be very interested in the Knicks’ position.
“He really wants the Knick job,” the source told Berman. “He can taste it and he may even be in the lead.”
Considering the Knicks haven’t even yet announced Leon Rose as their new president of basketball operations, it may be premature to declare a frontrunner for the team’s head coaching job, but Thibodeau’s ties with Rose at CAA should help make him a contender.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- In a separate New York Post article, Berman says that Dwyane Wade‘s three-day retirement celebration with the Heat this weekend is one reason Rose’s hiring by the Knicks has been delayed. As Berman explains, Rose helped plan the event for Wade, a longtime CAA client.
- Once Rose is officially installed as the Knicks’ new president of basketball operations, he’ll have a handful of pressing items on his to-do list, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Besides the head coaching search, Rose will have to plan for the draft and free agency, hire basketball operations staffers, and – perhaps most importantly – set boundaries with team owner James Dolan.
- In a story about Knicks branding consultant Steve Stoute making an appearance at All-Star weekend, Berman of The New York Post notes that interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry remains “in the dark” about his future – or lack thereof – with the organization.
If New York buys out Maurice Harkless, the Lakers may be interested in signing the wing, Sam Amick of The Athletic said on The Sedano Show earlier today (h/t The Lakers Review). The Lakers, who missed out on Reggie Jackson to their L.A. rivals, are monitoring the Harkless’ situation.
Harkless came to the Knicks in the Marcus Morris deal at the trade deadline and it’s unclear whether he’ll reach a buyout agreement with the team. Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson may be angling for a sign-and-trade this summer and the Lakers would be a good fit for his services, as I wrote for Heavy.com. The team doesn’t have a long-term option at the center position and Thompson would be a nice partner to Anthony Davis in the frontcourt.
- The Grizzlies traded for Justise Winslow to be in the team’s starting lineup eventually, Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian writes. Winslow is still recovering from a back injury, so Memphis is expected to bring him along slowly.
- Bill Oram of The Athletic chronicles Dwight Howard‘s redemption story with the Lakers. “He’s been a guy that’s always put up great numbers,” former teammate J.J. Redick said, “but I think he’s having an impact in a really meaningful way defensively on the boards, screening, rolling to the boards.”