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Knicks Notes: Durant, Wilkes, Draft, Cavanaugh

June 22nd, 2019 at 7:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks will do their homework on Kevin Durant before committing to a max offer, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team will request access to Durant’s medical records and will evaluate his long-term chances for a full recovery from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in the NBA Finals.

New York’s front office recognizes that Durant will be 32 by the time he can play again in 2020/21 and may be dealing with a “load management” situation that will limit both the number of games he can play and his minutes in each one.

Sources tell Berman that the Knicks believe they’re still in the running for Kawhi Leonard, even though he seems more likely to stay in Toronto or go to one of the Los Angeles teams, and Kyrie Irving, who is rumored to be headed to Brooklyn.

There’s more from New York City:

  • After agreeing to sign UCLA forward Kris Wilkes to a two-way contract, GM Scott Perry said the team never expected him to be available, Berman relays in a separate story. Wilkes was projected as a second-round pick after leading the Bruins in scoring at 17.4 points per game. “Kind of surprised (Wilkes) didn’t get drafted, similar to Allonzo Trier last year,’’ Perry said. “Winning player, can score, 6-8, highly rated player coming out of high school. Exciting to add him to our mix and see how we can develop him.”
  • The Knicks were convinced about taking R.J. Barrett with the No. 3 pick, even though they worked out Darius Garland and Coby White shortly before the draft, relays Ian Begley of SNY.TV. Perry explained that the team was taking advantage of having the players in town. “You want to get a chance to see as many prospects as you can,” he said. “Learn more about them, learn their stories. Also further evaluate, you dot your final I’s and crossing the final T’s. So that’s what went into our thinking.”
  • Tyler Cavanaugh, who spent this season on a two-way contract with the Jazz, will join the Knicks’ Summer League team, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. The 25-year-old power forward got into just 11 NBA games during the year, spending most of his time in the G League. He played 39 games for the Hawks in 2017/18, starting on a two-way deal before earning a standard contract.
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And-Ones: Wiseman, Barrett, Dedmon, Barbosa, DeMarco

June 22nd, 2019 at 11:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

The latest 2020 mock draft has Memphis freshman center James Wiseman going to the Knicks with the No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Georgia guard Anthony Edwards going to the Cavaliers at No. 2 and North Carolina guard Cole Anthony heading to the Suns at No. 3.

We have more from around the basketball world:

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Perry Pushed Hard For Barrett

June 22nd, 2019 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder
  • There were mixed views on R.J. Barrett within the Knicks organization but GM Scott Perry was determined to draft the Duke freshman with the No. 3 pick, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Barrett made a strong impression during a June 10 visit with the Knicks. “When we bring guys in, we allowed them to spend time with the front-office staff, coaching and medical staff. It became apparent he was going to be an excellent fit from a culture standpoint,” Perry said. “He did nice things on the court when he worked with coaches. He reaffirmed what we had seen during the college season. … We were comfortable remaining in the draft position at 3.”
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Lakers To Pursue Brook Lopez, Jordan?

June 21st, 2019 at 6:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Could a Brook Lopez-Lakers reunion be in the works? According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, it’s possible (hat tip to RealGM).

Windhorst said on an ESPN podcast that the Lakers are interested in bringing in a center, with Lopez and DeAndre Jordan being potential targets on the free agent market.

“The Lakers, I think, are sniffing around (Lopez). I think the Lakers need perimeter players. I think they’re going to have to use their money on perimeter players. I know DeAndre Jordan is a guy on the Lakers’ radar that they’re hoping they may able to get for relatively cheap because he wants to be back in L.A.”

Lopez was one of the biggest bargains in free agency last season after the Lakers let him walk. He signed a one-year, $3.4MM contract with the Bucks and proved to be a great fit for Milwaukee’s scheme. He started 81 games during the regular season and averaged 12.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 2.2 BPG while draining 36.5% of his 3-point tries. The previous season, Lopez played 74 games with the Lakers and posted 13.0/4.0/1.3 averages in those categories.

Jordan, the longtime Clippers center, had a disappointing 50-game stay with the Mavericks before he was tossed into the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster with the Knicks. He started 19 games for New York and averaged 10.9 PPG and 11.4 RPG.

The Lakers have also been linked to Nikola Vucevic, so presumably they’re planning to go very big and use Anthony Davis quite a bit at power forward and LeBron James at small forward.

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Rick Pitino Wants To Return To The NBA

June 21st, 2019 at 11:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Rick Pitino has declined a chance to return to his team in Greece and is hoping for another shot at the NBA, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Pitino confirmed that he has turned down an offer from Panathinaikos after leading the team to the Greek Cup title while serving as both coach and president. He will spend the summer trying to land an NBA job, either as a coach, a player personnel specialist or an advisor.

Pitino, 66, spent two years as head coach of the Knicks in the 1980s, then returned to the NBA with the Celtics nearly a decade later. He won a division title in New York and took the team to the playoffs in both seasons, but was less successful in Boston, resigning during the 2000/01 season and citing the difficulty of handling both coaching and front office responsibilities. His career record as an NBA coach is 192-220.

He is best known for his success in college, where he took teams to seven Final Fours and won titles at Kentucky and Louisville. However, his championship with the Cardinals and two of his Final Fours were vacated in the wake of scandal, and the school fired him in 2018 after an FBI investigation into NCAA recruiting practices.

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Knicks Agree To Sign Kris Wilkes, Amir Hinton, V.J. King

June 21st, 2019 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will sign UCLA forward Kris Wilkes to a two-way contract, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal can become official after the new league year begins.

Wilkes, who was the 23rd-best prospect to go undrafted on Thursday night, per ESPN’s big board, averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 33 games during his sophomore season with the Bruins. He has a wingspan of nearly 7’0″ and has potential as a slasher and multi-postional defender, according to ESPN’s scouting report.

Kadeem Allen‘s two-way deal with the Knicks runs for another season, while Isaiah Hicks‘ is expiring, so it appears likely that Wilkes will replace Hicks, though it’s possible the team will turn over both two-way spots.

Meanwhile, the Knicks have also agreed to free agent deals with two more undrafted rookies. Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) that Louisville wing V.J. King and Shaw point guard Amir Hinton will sign with the team.

King didn’t play much of a role during his final year at Louisville, averaging just 3.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 13.7 minutes per contest, but NBA teams are still intrigued by his potential. As for Hinton, he led all Division II players in 2018/19 with 29.4 points per game and earned CIAA Player of the Year honors. He had hoped to become the first D-II since 2005 to be drafted.

Hinton will get an Exhibit 10 deal from the Knicks, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who adds (via Twitter) that the Pistons showed a lot of interest in the Division II star. Specific details on King’s agreement aren’t known.

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Woj's Latest On Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard

June 21st, 2019 at 12:56am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Warriors, Nets, Knicks, and Clippers will all be “significant considerations” for Kevin Durant in free agency this summer, according to Wojnarowski. “One thing I’m told is he is really focused on making his decision independently of anyone else and that includes Kyrie Irving,” Woj said of Durant, per RealGM. “He’s at a point in his career where he’s going to decide really essentially on a four-year deal elsewhere or a five-year deal with Golden State, where he’s going to spend the rest of his prime.”
  • While the Raptors and Clippers are still considered the frontrunners to sign Kawhi Leonard, Wojnarowski hears that Leonard may take free agents meetings with the Knicks and perhaps the Nets and Sixers as well (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com).
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Knicks Trade With Kings, Select Brazdeikis

June 20th, 2019 at 11:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 21: The deal is now official, per a press release from the Kings.

JUNE 20: The Knicks acquired the No. 47 pick from the Kings and selected University of Michigan forward Ignas Brazdeikis, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Sacramento received the No. 55 pick in the draft and cash, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets. The Kings used the No. 55 pick on Kyle Guy.

Brazdeikis was an early-entry prospect who left the Wolverines after one season. The stretch four averaged 14.8 PPG and 5.4 RPG. Brazdeikis’ representatives had pegged him to go anywhere from 20-40 early in the draft process, so he lasted a little longer than anticipated.

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Draft Rumors: Wolves, Pistons, Hornets, Knicks

June 20th, 2019 at 8:32pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Timberwolves were exploring trades involving the No. 6 pick after acquiring it from Phoenix, they plan on hanging onto Jarrett Culver, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Still, it’s safe to assume Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas will continue to be aggressive in exploring trade options, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who tweets that Rosas seems to be open to discussing anyone except Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here are a few more draft-night notes and rumors:

  • Sekou Doumbouya was higher than No. 15 on the Pistons‘ draft board, so the team was happy to snag him, a source tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Ellis hears that the Pistons were also seriously considering big man Goga Bitadze at No. 15 (Twitter link). Pistons executive Ed Stefanski said that Detroit explored trading up, but teams wanted too much, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
  • The Hornets were close to trading up from No. 12, but felt like the price was excessive compared to what their options at No. 12 were, Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said tonight (Twitter link via Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer). Kupchak added that Charlotte views PJ Washington as both a small forward and power forward.
  • Jalen McDaniels, Miye Oni, Zylan Cheatham, and Jaylen Nowell are among the prospects receiving consideration from the Knicks at No. 55, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who tweets that New York likely won’t draft Tacko Fall.
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Draft-Night Rumors: Cavs, Suns, Wolves, Nets, Knicks

June 20th, 2019 at 7:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers remain active in trade discussions, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Cleveland is exploring deals involving J.R. Smith‘s expiring contract in addition to possible trades of the No. 5 pick. Barring a trade, Cleveland remains focused on Darius Garland at No. 5, Woj adds (via Twitter).

Here a few more draft-night rumors worth rounding up:

  • According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the Suns felt that the ability to land a starting power forward trumped the opportunity to draft a developmental point guard at No. 6, which is why they made their trade with the Timberwolves for Dario Saric. Phoenix plans on rolling with Tyler Johnson and a free agent signing at the point guard spot, Gambadoro adds.
  • The Timberwolves have engaged in multiple conversations about that No. 6 pick since agreeing to acquire it from the Suns, league sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
  • Two high-ranking sources have told Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) that the Nets remain “very interested” in signing Kyrie Irving with or without Kevin Durant. Lewis had previously reported that Brooklyn was weighing whether to sign Irving if the team couldn’t get Durant too.
  • Things could change, but for now it looks like Frank Ntilikina may not be traded tonight by the Knicks, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.
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