New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks To Sign Lamar Peters

August 11th, 2019 at 8:53pm CST by JD Shaw

The Knicks have agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with undrafted guard Lamar Peters, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Peters, 21, averaged 11.9 points, 5.2 assists and two rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game during his junior season at Mississippi State last year, earning a spot with New York’s summer league team after going undrafted.

Peters is now set to compete in training camp with the franchise to start his professional career. The Knicks are coming off a busy offseason, signing players such Julius Randle, Elfrid Payton, Marcus Morris, and others on new deals during the free agency period.

The Knicks have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, plus one on a two-way contract. Peters joins Amir Hinton, V.J. King, Kenny Wooten, and Kris Wilkes (two-way) as players who have reportedly reached deals with New York that have not yet been finalized.

Knicks Don’t Regret Trading Kristaps Porzingis

August 10th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks didn’t land the top stars they targeted in free agency, but management still believes the January trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks was the right move, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post.

New York acquired Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and a pair of first-round picks in that deal, but most importantly the team opened enough cap room for two max salary offers by unloading Porzingis, who would have been a restricted free agent, along with the unwanted contracts of Courtney Lee, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.

The trade led to five months of speculation that Kevin Durant was serious about joining the Knicks and would bring another star with him, possibly Kyrie Irving. However, Durant and Irving opted for Brooklyn, while New York filled its roster with a collection of vets on short-term contracts.

The situation looks worse after Durant gave an interview this week in which he claims he never considered the Knicks. That comment drew some skepticism throughout the league, according to Berman, but New York’s front office stands behind the Porzingis decision regardless.

Sources tell Berman that a rift had been building between the two sides long before Porzingis met with the front office to request a trade. Management thought it would be a waste of time to try to convince the injured star to stay and was concerned that his cap hold would interfere with the team’s free agency plans.

The Knicks also never believed that Janis Porzingis, who serves as his brother’s representative, would let Kristaps play last season, even if tests showed he was fully recovered from an ACL injury. Janis’ priority was to protect the $158MM deal that Kristaps eventually got from Dallas.

Berman suggests that New York might have sought more young assets in the deal if it had a clue that free agency would turn out the way it did. Even so, the Knicks were happy to add Smith to their backcourt and believe the two first-rounders will eventually prove valuable.

Team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry have confidence in the players they signed after their top targets were off the board, Berman adds. Mills views this as the third season of the rebuilding plan, noting that the one-year deals offer plenty of flexibility to acquire the next star player who becomes available.

Berman points out that Anthony Davis will top the free agent market next July and his agent, Rich Paul, likes the prospect of bringing his client to New York if things don’t work out with the Lakers.

World Cup Notes: Team USA, White, Young

August 8th, 2019 at 8:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Head coach Gregg Popovich is strongly considering taking 15 players to Australia later this month in advance of the World Cup as opposed to cutting the roster down to a dozen players prior to leaving the country, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. FIBA regulations state that teams can only carry 12 players for the World Cup itself, though the remaining players could simply attend alongside the coaching staff and never suit up.

Here’s more surrounding the World Cup:

Spurs guard Derrick White and Kings big man Marvin Bagley III are the strongest contenders to be promoted from the Select Team to Team USA’s primary World Cup roster, tweets Stein. Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher suggests (via Instagram) that White’s promotion has already happened, while Bagley’s is likely.
Mitchell Robinson is dealing with a knee injury, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The Knicks center initially suffered the injury over the weekend and returned to practice on Tuesday and re-injured it the following day. A source close to the situation describes the ailment as “just soreness.”
Hawks guard Trae Young left Team USA’s training camp because of a minor eye infection, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Young had been practicing with the Select Team.
Chris Boucher has withdrawn from the World Cup for personal reasons, Josh Lewenberg of the TSN tweets. The Raptors big man had been practicing with Canada’s National Team.

Durant Doesn’t Blame Warriors, Never Considered Knicks

August 7th, 2019 at 5:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports sat down with Nets forward Kevin Durant earlier this week to discuss several notable topics, including how the 30-year-old star perceives the opinion of some that the Warriors mishandled Durant’s return from a Grade 2 right calf strain. His response?

“Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no. I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back. It was only me and [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] working out every day. Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5. Hell, nah. It just happened. It’s basketball. S— happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that s— because I’m going to be back playing.”

Durant also spoke about his choice to sign with Brooklyn, saying that the decision was not made until the morning of June 30, as he didn’t want to “disrespect the game” by putting his focus on the future during the season. Interestingly, he also said that he only considered the Warriors and the Nets as potential destinations.

Of course, speculation ran rampant throughout the entire 2018/19 season that the Knicks were a strong, if not primary contender to land both Durant and Kyrie Irving this summer. In response, Durant said “If I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets. They got the pieces and a creative front office. I just like what they were building.”

There’s more from Durant’s interview with Haynes, which is worth a read in its entirety:

Speaking on how some Toronto fans cheered and applauded his injury before several Raptors players signaled the crowd to stop, Durant smirked and said, perhaps with a suggestion of karma, “It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals.”
Durant had a difficult time watching the remainder of Game 5 from his hotel room, even turning the channel at one point before flipping back later to cheer on his teammates.
Durant would not confirm that he will miss the entire 2019/20 season, leaving open the possibility that he could return before season’s end.
Durant’s perspective on the entire injury situation is a positive one, saying “Yeah, I still think about that night… that one is definitely always going to be a huge part of my career because it’s the biggest stage and the type of injury I had. But now I look at it as me just going out there playing basketball, and I happened to get hurt. And now I’m just waiting to get back. I know it’s a huge deal to everybody else, but I just try to take it on the chin and keep it moving.”

Isaiah Hicks To Play In Russia

August 4th, 2019 at 2:25pm CST by clarkcrum

One of the Knicks‘ two-way players from last season is headed overseas to continue his playing career, with VTB United League club Avtodor Saratov announcing (via Instagram) that they have signed Isaiah Hicks for the 2019/20 season (h/t to Emiliano Carchia or Sportando).

Hicks, who went undrafted out of North Carolina after helping the Tar Heels win a national championship in 2017, spent both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons as a two-way player for the Knicks. In 64 G League contests with the Westchester Knicks, Hicks averaged 16.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 29.7 MPG.

The 25-year-old power forward also saw some game action with the Knicks during his tenure in New York, appearing in 21 NBA games and posting averages of 4.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.0 minutes per contest.

The Knicks opted not to tender Hicks a two-way qualifying offer earlier this summer, thereby making him an unrestricted free agent. Guard Kadeem Allen remains the Knicks’ only current two-way player, but it was reported back in June that rookie Kris Wilkes will earn the second slot for the 2019/20 season.

Julius Randle Out Of World Cup; Torrey Craig Joining Select Team

August 3rd, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA lost another star today as Julius Randle announced that he won’t be competing for a spot on the FIBA World Cup squad, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN. He cited an unspecified family issue for the decision.

Randle, who signed with the Knicks last month, was a late addition to camp, receiving an invitation 11 days ago along with the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown after several high-profile players declined the opportunity. With competition for 12 roster spots to begin Monday, it’s not clear if there’s time to find a replacement for Randle.

A move was also made to the Select Team that will scrimmage against those players in Las Vegas. Torrey Craig of the Nuggets was chosen to replace Landry Shamet of the Clippers, who announced yesterday that he won’t be participating.

Players will report to camp tomorrow and the battle for roster spots will run through Thursday. The World Cup will take place from August 31 to September 15 in China.

Column: Fizdale's First Year Was A Failure

July 31st, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guards Trey Burke and Raul Neto could be useful members of the Sixers’ rotation but big man Kyle O’Quinn will have regain the form he showed earlier in his career with the Knicks to make a meaningful contribution, Mike O’Connor of The Athletic writes. O’Connor breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of the incoming reserve trio and how they’ll fit in.
The fact that the Knicks didn’t re-sign any of their nine free agents reflects poorly on coach David Fizdale, the New York Post’s Marc Berman opines. The teams sold player development over the team’s win-loss record last season, yet didn’t consider any of those players worthy of another contract, Berman notes.

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

July 31st, 2019 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing recently on “The Breakfast Club,” Carmelo Anthony‘s trainer Chris Brickley said that Anthony is still hoping to sign with an NBA team and is being realistic about what sort of role he could play, as Jack Maloney of CBS Sports relays.

“I think teams are afraid of, ‘I want to be the star,’ or ‘I want this.’ That’s not the case, though,” Brickley said. “‘Melo just wants to have a final season, farewell season, do what D-Wade did. Do the jersey swap. He had a great career, he’s a Hall-of-Famer. So hopefully that can happen.”

While Brickley’s comments were well-meaning, they could open up Anthony to unfair ridicule, according to Frank Isola of The Athletic, who says that Carmelo would be better served by speaking for himself. The 10-time All-Star should also be focusing on ways he can help a contending team rather than a farewell tour, Isola adds.

“Can he still play? That’s what teams want to know,” an NBA coach whose team had internal discussions about pursuing Anthony told Isola. “It can’t be about a farewell tour.”

The question of whether Anthony can add value to a playoff team is on the mind of various team executives, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. As Charania explains, those execs want to know if the 35-year-old would be willing to accept a role where he sits on some nights and thrives in other games, based on matchups.

“‘Melo could fill a spot on most second units, but what kind of role works for both sides?” one executive said to Charania.

Charania’s look at Anthony’s future includes several more interesting tidbits, so let’s round up up the highlights…

If the Knicks had landed two star free agents this summer, they would have considered bringing back Anthony, league sources tell Charania. Now that the team has gone in a different direction, that no longer looks like a viable option. However, some executives believe that if Anthony doesn’t find another NBA home, he could sign a one-day contract to retire as a Knick.
The Lakers are the only other team that currently looks like a potential suitor for Anthony, due to his friendship with LeBron James, but that’s viewed as an unlikely scenario, given the team’s depth at forward and on the wing. The presence of Kurt Rambis in the front office may be a factor as well — Charania notes that Rambis was with the Knicks during Anthony’s final “tumultuous” stretch in New York.
Anthony’s camp had conversation with USA Basketball about Carmelo being part of Team USA’s World Cup squad in 2019. Both sides ultimately decided not to go in that direction though, says Charania.
Last season, a team in the Chinese Basketball Association was prepared to offer Anthony a deal that would have paid him nearly $1MM for several weeks of work, a source tells Charania. However, those discussions never gained traction and multiple agents who do deals with clubs in China are skeptical that Anthony would go that route, Charania writes. If he were interested in playing in the CBA, Anthony would likely receive lucrative offers.

Atlantic Notes: Portis, Nets, Poirier, Knicks

July 28th, 2019 at 5:32pm CST by JD Shaw

For Bobby Portis, joining the Knicks in free agency didn’t require a promise from the team to name him a starter. Portis agreed to a two-year, $31MM deal with the team earlier in the month, fully prepared to contribute regardless of his role in the rotation.

“I don’t care about starting or coming off the bench,” Portis told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I envision myself being a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Last year I was in the running at the beginning of the season, playing well. That’s in the back of my mind for sure. Naysayers will say I’m crazy. I feel it’s going to come for me one day for sure. I play my role really well.”

With Portis eyeing the Sixth Man of the Year award, it’s worth noting he’s coming off a season that saw him average a career-high 14.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 26 minutes in 50 games with the Wizards, starting in 28 contests. He’s mostly played off the bench during his career, displaying an impressive touch around the rim and willingness to play physical.

In addition to Portis, the Knicks also reached free-agent agreements with Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock and Wayne Ellington, giving head coach David Fizdale plenty of new options for the upcoming season.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype spoke with a number of current and former Nets players about the new look of the team, including fourth-year Brooklyn guard Spencer Dinwiddie. “It shows that our program as a whole took a huge step forward – one that I don’t think many people thought was possible,” Dinwiddie said of the Nets landing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. “Even when you and I talked about it previously on the podcast, people were mocking me! I was very upfront and said, ‘Hey, I’d welcome stars with open arms,’ but everybody laughed at it. The reaction was, ‘Alright, that sounds good, but it ain’t going to happen.’ I guess it just makes this experience that much sweeter (laughs).”
Las Vegas oddsmakers don’t believe the Knicks will win more than 30 games next season, Marc Berman writes in a separate article for the New York Post. New York is coming off a league-worst 17-65 record from last season.
New Celtics center Vincent Poirier impressed the team for a variety of reasons, as detailed by Jacob Carmenker of NBC Sports Boston. The Celtics were intrigued with Poirier’s athleticism, ability to rebound and willingness to sacrifice, reaching a two-year deal with him earlier this month.

New York Notes: Jordan, Durant, Nets, Bullock

July 27th, 2019 at 9:07am CST by marksuleymanov

After spending the latter part of last season with the Knicks, veteran center DeAndre Jordan was expected to be a potentially key part of New York’s plan to pursue Kevin Durant in free agency. Instead, Jordan ended up joining the crosstown rival Nets, along with Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Jordan, 31, is joining his fourth team in two seasons. For him, the decision to go with the Nets over the Knicks had a lot to do with the team’s oft-mentioned culture and commitment to player development.

“Not to knock the culture the Knicks are creating, but we like what Kenny [Atkinson]’s doing and Sean [Marks] has been awesome and the organization, from top to bottom, has been great,” Jordan said to The Gothamist (via New York Post). “So you want to be a part of something like that, especially when you have a chance to play with other great players and build something.”

Check out more New York notes below:

As for Durant, Jordan commented on his new Nets teammate in the same story. While it’s unlikely that Durant, coming off a torn Achilles, plays next season, Jordan is excited at what Brooklyn can accomplish when he does suit up. “We’ve got a lot of talent on this team,” Jordan said. “You know obviously Kevin had a tough injury, he’s going to be out for a while, but he’s progressing great, he’s recovering fast, we’ll be even better when we get him back and healthy.”
With the Nets‘ free agency success has come an increased interest in the team, Kavitha Davidson of The Athletic writes. After luring Durant and Irving to Brooklyn, Nets’ CEO Brett Yormark said ticket demands, social media activity and much more has skyrocketed. “This is an outbound business, not an inbound business, so when a thousand calls are starting to come in, you get pretty excited. You realize momentum is shifting,” Yormark said.
Knicks free agency signee Reggie Bullock may not return to the court until sometime in the new year, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. A serious back injury forced the Knicks to rework their original deal with the 3-and-D specialist and his cervical disk herniation surgery could sideline him for upwards of six months, according to one leading orthopedic surgeon who spoke to Berman.