New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Billy Garrett Signs With French Team

July 25th, 2019 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent shooting guard Billy Garrett, who finished the 2018/19 season with the Knicks, has signed with French team Elan Chalon, the club announced today in a press release.

Garrett, 24, has spent most of the last two seasons playing for the Westchester Knicks after going undrafted out of DePaul in 2017. In 48 games for the G League club last season, he averaged 16.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.3 RPG in 29.8 minutes per contest, earning a late-season call-up to New York.

Garrett made his NBA debut in April for the Knicks, posting 6.5 PPG and 1.8 APG in four games (15.8 MPG) for the club down the stretch.

New York declined Garrett’s team option for 2019/20 and elected not to tender him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He suited up for the Suns during Summer League play earlier this month.

Team USA Updates: Millsap, Plumlee, Harrell, Select Team

July 25th, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has issued a press release announcing a series of updates relating to the team it’s putting together for the 2019 World Cup in China, as well as the training camp that will take place in August before that event. Here are the highlights of that announcement:

More withdrawals:

Nuggets big man Paul Millsap has joined the ever-growing list of players from Team USA’s initial 20-man roster who have decided not to participate in this year’s World Cup. As expected, Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has also withdrawn from Team USA’s 2019 roster.

Millsap and Love join Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum among the original invitees who have removed their names from World Cup consideration.

New invitees:

Team USA confirmed that Thaddeus Young, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, and Jaylen Brown will join the training camp roster for next month, as previous reports indicated.

In addition to those four players, two big men will join the roster as well, with Clippers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets center Mason Plumlee have received invitations from USA Basketball. Assuming the remaining 11 players from the original 20-man roster remain committed, that would bring the roster back up to 17.

[UPDATE: Harrell may turn down his invitation]

Those 11 other players are Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, P.J. Tucker, Myles Turner, and Kemba Walker.

Select Team:

For the first time, USA Basketball confirmed the players who will make up the Select Team at next month’s training camp in Las Vegas. The members of the 13-man Select Team will practice and scrimmage with Team USA’s training camp invitees, and will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy.

It’s possible that a player could be elevated from the Select Team to the primary roster and eventually find his way onto the 12-man squad that will play in China, but that’s probably a long shot.

The 13 players who will play for the Select Team are as follows:

Jarrett Allen (Nets)
Marvin Bagley III (Kings)
Mikal Bridges (Suns)
Jalen Brunson (Mavericks)
John Collins (Hawks)
Pat Connaughton (Bucks)
De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
Joe Harris (Nets)
Jonathan Isaac (Magic)
Mitchell Robinson (Knicks)
Landry Shamet (Clippers)
Derrick White (Spurs)
Trae Young (Hawks)

Team USA’s training camp will take place during the week of August 5, while the World Cup itself is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 15.

Jaylen Brown, Julius Randle Invited To Team USA Camp

July 23rd, 2019 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Jaylen Brown of the Celtics and Julius Randle of the Knicks are the latest additions to the USA Basketball training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

They will help to restock the camp after a series of high-profile withdrawals in the past week. Tobias Harris was the latest big name to turn down a shot at making the World Cup team, joining Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon. Decisions are expected soon from Damian Lillard and Kevin Love.

Brown struggled somewhat while adjusting to a reserve role last season, but still put up numbers similar to his breakthrough campaign of 2017/18, averaging 13.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 74 games. At 22, he is part of the young foundation in Boston.

Randle signed with New York after posting a career-high 21.4 PPG in his lone season with New Orleans. The 24-year-old is also a reliable rebounder, averaging 8.7 per night with the Pelicans.

The changes are transforming Team USA from a star-filled squad into a younger group similar to the team that captured the World Cup gold medal in 2010, Charania notes.

Bobby Portis Enjoys Underdog Status

July 22nd, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Power forward Bobby Portis believes the players the Knicks brought in are a hungry group ready to overachieve, as he told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Portis joined the team on a two-year, $31MM deal, though only the first year is guaranteed. “I love being underrated, man. I’m an underdog,” he said. “I say that every day. We’re the team that’s being counted out right now. People are looking past us. They’re talking about stars going to new teams and this and that, and that’s okay. Everybody on this team has a huge chip on their shoulder.”
After striking out on the big free agents this summer, the Knicks will have to exercise patience and come up with a better plan to lure top talent, Steve Popper of Newsday opines.

Southwest Notes: Diallo, Morris, Iguodala, Favors

July 22nd, 2019 at 8:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cheick Diallo was squeezed out of New Orleans due to a numbers crunch, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM tweets. The Pelicans didn’t want to lose the young power forward but they essentially had to choose between him and Jahlil Okafor, according to Gambadoro. New Orleans got three players back in the Anthony Davis deal, added three first-rounders including top pick Zion Williamson, and signed free agent guard J.J. Redick. New Orleans did not make a qualifying offer to Diallo, which made him an unrestricted free agent. He signed a two-year contract with the Suns.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Marcus Morris said he meant no disrespect when backed out of a verbal two-year agreement with the Spurs to sign a one-year contract with the Knicks, as he told Shams Charania of The Athletic. “The first thing that I did when I knew I would be going another direction, I called and made sure they knew. There was no shade. There’s no disrespect,” Morris said. “I had great conversations afterward, and as long as I feel that I’m clear with them and gave them my truth, I feel good about moving forward. … I thought at the time that the Spurs deal was all that I had. The process wasn’t what I expected and it didn’t go the right way.” The way Morris’ free agent journey played out contributed to bad blood between the two organizations.
Andre Iguodala remains in limbo after getting traded to the Grizzlies, Charania reports in a video post. The Rockets, Clippers, Mavericks and Nuggets have all shown interest in the veteran forward. Houston and the Clippers are the top contenders but the Rockets have major luxury tax concerns while the only thing that would make sense for the Clippers salary-wise would be to move Maurice Harkless, whom they acquired from the Trail Blazers. However, the Clippers don’t want to ship out Harkless, Charania adds.
The Pelicans believe they can turn big man Derrick Favors into a bigger offensive threat than he was with the Jazz, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. Favors was acquired for two second-rounders in a salary dump by Utah. The opportunity to play alongside Jrue Holiday, Zion Williamson and Redick will facilitate the process. Favors will be utilized more often as a passer and be encouraged to develop his 3-point game, Guillory adds.