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Summer Of “Seismic Change” Coming For Warriors?

May 6th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors are on a quest to win three-straight championships and while the team remains focused on achieving that goal, internally, the franchise is preparing for a summer of change.

“Internally in Golden State, there’s a sense of let’s try to put aside what’s coming in July,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the network’s show Get Up! (h/t Tyler Conley of Bleacher Report). “Let’s try to keep our focus there and win the title, then let July play out the way it’s going to. But I think the Warriors are bracing for possibly seismic change within that organization,”

Klay Thompson is unlikely to switch teams as long as the Warriors present him with a five-year, max deal.

“If they come with a five-year, $190MM max deal for Klay Thompson, that’s done on July 1—he’s going into the new building with Steph Curry,” Woj said.

Many teams will pursue Thompson if the shooting guard does not receive that offer from Golden State. The Lakers will surely have interest in Thompson, but Wojnarowski names the Clippers as the bigger Los Angeles threat to sign the five-time All-Star.

The Clippers are one of a few teams that will have the ability to carve out two max slots. The Knicks are another franchise expected to chase a pair of superstars and Kevin Durant has been regularly linked to the Big Apple.

“I don’t know if there’s a lot of talking that has to happen between the Warriors and Kevin Durant,” Wojnarowski said. “I think he knows what it is, what he wants, and there may be nothing the Warriors can do or say to change that.”

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New York Notes: Russell, Crabbe, Perry, Free Agents

May 6th, 2019 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Re-signing point guard D’Angelo Russell will be the top priority for the Nets this summer, writes Michael Scotto of The Athletic. After making several recent runs at restricted free agents such as Tyler Johnson, Allen Crabbe and Otto Porter, Brooklyn will be on defense this year, hoping Russell doesn’t receive an offer that’s too outrageous to match.

The Nets would like to have enough cap flexibility to offer two max contracts and will be handcuffed if Russell receives a substantial offer shortly after free agency begins on July 1, Scotto notes. Brooklyn will have just two days after the moratorium to decide to match, which could tie up money the organization is hoping to use elsewhere.

Scotto considers the Pacers to be a threat to make a move on Russell, with Darren Collison and Cory Joseph both headed toward free agency. That leaves rookie Aaron Holiday as the only other point guard on the roster, and Scotto says Indiana may like the idea of teaming up Russell with Victor Oladipo. Still, he believes the Nets will match any offer unless they find themselves in position to add two elite free agents.

There’s more today from New York City:

  • Scotto lists Brooklyn’s other offseason priorities as trading Crabbe’s $18.5MM salary to open cap space, adding a veteran center to back up Jarrett Allen and finding another stretch four. Scotto notes that the Hawks, Bulls, Mavericks, Pacers, Suns and Kings all have enough cap room to add Crabbe, and the Nets will consider using the stretch provision if they can’t find a taker. Free agents Robin Lopez, Aron Baynes, Boban Marjanovic, Zaza Pachulia, Tyson Chandler and Kyle O’Quinn are possibilities as reserve centers, while Nikola Mirotic, Anthony Tolliver, Mike Scott and Omri Casspi are free agents forwards with 3-point range.
  • The Knicks will prioritize talent over position in the draft, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry discuss the process in a new “MSG 150” TV show that will air tonight and tomorrow. “Where we are at right now, talent is important,” Perry said. “If it’s very close, then you may lean towards the position of need, but if there is a clear delineation between the talent, I think you always err on the side of talent.”
  • Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic examines all the free agents that the Knicks might consider this summer. Kevin Durant tops the list, of course, but Vorkunov rates plenty of others, including role players who could be useful if New York gets the stars it wants.
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Knicks Have 16-1 Odds At Next Year's Title

May 4th, 2019 at 8:54pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Las Vegas oddsmakers are expecting a huge summer for the Knicks, writes David Purdum of ESPN. The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas has given New York 16-1 odds to win next season’s title, trailing just the Bucks, Celtics and Sixers in the East. Jeff Sherman, who oversees the Superbook’s NBA odds, told Purdum they are based on the Knicks being the favorites to land Kevin Durant in free agency. He adds that New York would be about a 300-1 shot without Durant.
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Dolan Sued By Shareholders For Being Overpaid

May 3rd, 2019 at 5:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Shareholders of Madison Square Garden Company have filed a suit against Knicks owner James Dolan, its executive chairman and CEO, for being grossly overpaid, Pitchfork.com reports. Over the last three fiscal years, MSG has paid Dolan $75.6MM, according to company filings. MSG’s peer companies have paid their CEOs an average of $17MM over the same period, according to the lawsuit. The filing also claims that Dolan “works at MSG only part time,” with much of his focus going toward touring and recording for his band JD & the Straight Shot. MSG has labelled the lawsuit “nothing more than corporate harassment.”
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Knicks Rumors: Offseason, Durant, Kyrie, Kawhi

April 26th, 2019 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Despite winning just 17 games in 2018/19, the Knicks repeatedly suggested they were happy with the direction the franchise was headed. As Ian Begley of ESPN.com details, head coach David Fizdale said that he had heard praise from people around the NBA for how hard his players were competing, and for how the Knicks were treating their players, which was the sort of praise the franchise hadn’t received in recent years.

“In our circles that we travel and the people that we talk to,” team president Steve Mills said, “we know that there is a change in how people perceive us.”

Not everyone is convinced that things are altogether different in New York. One rival executive who spoke to Begley expressed his skepticism: “Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see the results on the court before making any bold statements about perception.”

Still, armed with a ton of cap flexibility, a top-five pick, and a handful of other assets, the Knicks are viewed as a team in a pretty good position as they enter the summer.

“If we’re ranking teams heading into the offseason, New York probably has the best tools in the toolshed,” said a Western Conference executive. “Maybe they get it right this time.”

Here’s more from Begley on the Knicks:

  • Several of Kevin Durant‘s current teammates have told friends they think KD will sign with the Knicks, and some of Durant’s former teammates think it’ll happen too, according to Begley. The Durant-to-New-York theories are also popular among rival agents around the NBA. “Just a matter of putting pen to paper,” one of those agents told Begley.
  • In addition to Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard are viewed as potential targets for the Knicks this summer, and while Leonard is considered a longer shot, multiple executives who are “doing their homework” on free agency believe Irving will end up with the Knicks, per Begley.
  • As Begley details, some executives would be surprised if the Knicks spend big on a long-term contract for any free agents besides Durant, Irving, or Leonard. Those execs expect New York to use its cap space in other ways – such as accommodating salary dumps or signing short-term free agent deals – if the team misses out on its top targets.
  • If the Knicks land the No. 1 overall pick, it would put them in a great position to make a play for Anthony Davis on the trade market. However, there’s no consensus that the club would definitely trade that pick in a package for the Pelicans star, sources tell Begley.
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Nets Notes: LeVert, Durant, Free Agency

April 25th, 2019 at 8:36pm CST by clarkcrum

Swingman Caris LeVert is going to be a key piece for the Nets this summer, in more ways than one, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. LeVert, affectionately nicknamed “Baby Durant” due to his lanky build, style of play, and relationship with his nickname-namesake, is the one player on the Brooklyn roster with connections to Kevin Durant, the cream of this summer’s free-agent crop.

But on top of that, LeVert is also a key piece of the Nets’ young core – he led the team in scoring before injuring his foot and then again during the playoffs – and locking him up to a long-term contract extension should be near the top of the team’s offseason to-do list, right next to making a run at Durant, writes Lewis.

LeVert, 24, just completed the third season of a rookie contract he signed after being drafted No. 20 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Therefore, per the CBA, the Nets have until the day before the start of the 2019/20 season (but not before the end of the July Moratorium) to lock LeVert up to a long-term deal, potentially through 2024 (or 2025 if the club designates him), right before LeVert turns 30.

As Lewis notes, the Nets opted not to extend the rookie contract of D’Angelo Russell last summer, instead letting the 23-year-old All-Star hit restricted free agency. Brooklyn is still in a good position to re-sign Russell, but it’s likely they could have gotten him on a cheaper contract last summer before his breakout 2018/19 season. Failing to extend LeVert could again cost the Nets money next summer should LeVert outperform expectations in 2019/20 akin to how Russell did this season.

Furthermore, keeping LeVert happy is important in order for the Nets to have the best chance at signing Durant this summer. And LeVert has made it clear he’s happy in Brooklyn. “I’d love to play here as long as possible,” LeVert said. “I love the city of Brooklyn, I love the coaches and the team here. So whatever we decide to do, I’ll be happy with.”

There’s more news out of Brooklyn this evening:

  • The Nets being ahead of schedule in their rebuild does not mean they should sacrifice their core to go wild in free agency, writes Sean Deveney of Sporting News. For example, Brooklyn could make a trade and let Russell go in free agency in order to create two max-contract slots. But doing so would destabilize the nucleus of a team that is on the rise, and there is no guarantee that the two-max players would fit into head coach Kenny Atkinson’s system. Even signing one max-guy shouldn’t be a no-brainer, writes Deveney, as that player could potentially stunt the growth of LeVert or a guy like Spencer Dinwiddie.
  • Despite the lack of an on-court rivalry between the two teams from the Big Apple, the Knicks and Nets could be headed for an offseason, front-office-oriented showdown this summer in the form of Durant’s free agency, writes Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. One factor in the Nets’ favor is location – per forward Jared Dudley – as the Nets practice in Brooklyn while the Knicks practice in Tarrytown, a village in Westchester County located roughly 30 miles north of Manhattan.
  • Frank Isola of The Athletic also chimed in on the difference in value between the Knicks and Nets from the eyes of free agents, writing that Madison Square Garden, fan base, and team history tip the scales in New York’s favor, despite the tremendous job that Atkinson and Sean Marks have done in the last three years.
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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: New York Knicks

April 25th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There was plenty not to like about the Knicks‘ 2018/19 season. They lost an NBA-worst 65 games; they traded a potential franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis, to Dallas in a deal primarily aimed at creating cap flexibility and acquiring far-off assets; and young prospects Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox looked shaky. Still, there’s optimism in New York heading into the 2019 offseason, given the club’s two maximum salary contract slots and whispers that top free agents will seriously consider the Knicks.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Knicks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Maximum cap room projection: $73.2MM
  • This cap projection assumes the Knicks renounce all their free agents, decline their team options, and waive their players on non-guaranteed salaries. It would give the Knicks enough cap space for two maximum salary contracts, assuming at least one of those two players isn’t a 10-year veteran.
  • If the Knicks don’t need every cent of their cap room for two max contracts, they may not be quite as aggressive in purging their lower-priced players. If the club were to retain Trier and Dotson, for instance, that would reduce its cap room projection to $69.8MM.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,760,000 3

Footnotes

  1. Thomas’ salary becomes partially guaranteed ($1MM) after June 30.
  2. Dotson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 15.
  3. This is a projected value. Assuming the Knicks use cap room, they’ll lose access to one trade exception ($1,435,750; expires 2/7/20).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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O’Connor’s Latest: Durant, Clippers, Kawhi, Gallinari

April 25th, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve mentioned multiple times throughout the 2018/19 NBA league year, there’s a widespread belief among people around the NBA that Kevin Durant will leave the Warriors for the Knicks in free agency. However, uncertainty about Durant’s future has increased in recent months, Kevin O’Connor writes in his latest article for The Ringer.

As O’Connor explains, Durant seems more likely to go to the Knicks if Kyrie Irving goes with him, and there’s no guarantee that Irving will leave the Celtics, given how well things have gone in Boston over the last several weeks. LeBron James‘ struggles during his first year as a Laker could also serve as a cautionary tale for Durant.

One front office executive who spoke to O’Connor suggests that everything should be considered on the table for Durant, since the Warriors forward has proven to be unpredictable in the past.

O’Connor’s piece, which focuses primarily on the Clippers, features a few more items of note, so let’s round them up…

  • The Clippers continue to be viewed as the more likely destination than the Lakers if Kawhi Leonard decides to return home to Southern California, though O’Connor writes that it would be “foolish” to rule out the Lakers.
  • The odds of both Durant and Leonard joining the Clippers are slim, but the team could theoretically make it happen based on its cap situation. As O’Connor details, if the Clippers trade Danilo Gallinari and renounce all their free agents except Ivica Zubac, they’d have more than enough room for two max contracts, and would be able to go over the cap to re-sign Zubac.
  • Of course, in that scenario, the Clippers wouldn’t be able to take money back for Gallinari, which would limit their potential trade partners. Still, O’Connor has spoken to front office executives who don’t think it’d be too challenging to find a deal for Gallinari, especially if the Clips are willing to attach a future pick. O’Connor cites the Nets, Mavericks, Hawks, Jazz, and Pacers as a few teams that might be fits for the veteran forward in that scenario.
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Steve Mills, Scott Perry Discuss Knicks’ Offseason

April 18th, 2019 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are entering their most crucial offseason in years, but president of basketball operations Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry told reporters on Wednesday that they’re not necessarily feeling pressure to turn the team into an instant contender overnight with a series of major additions.

As Marc Berman of The New York Post relays, Perry said that the Knicks don’t view this summer as the “end-all or be-all,” noting that it will be more about taking steps in the right direction and avoiding major mistakes.

“What I look at is this summer presents an opportunity for us to get better,” Perry said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “And so whether we get better through whatever the free-agent signings may or may not be, whatever the drafting process yields us, whatever potential trade may come our way, our goal is to get this team better over the offseason so there’s a better product on the floor next season. And that’s what we’re committed to.”

Here are a few of the most noteworthy comments from Mills and Perry, as detailed by Berman and Popper:

Mills on his expectations for the summer:

“We feel good about the summer. We feel we’re in a position that it gives us an opportunity. We hope we get lucky and we land free agents. And if not, we’ll keep building the way we’re building. The space gives us an opportunity to be flexible in terms of how we deal with trades. We can take guys into our [cap] room in the trade process, it gives us the flexibility to continue to build the team the way we’ve been building it. But it gives us an opportunity to make it better in a way with free-agent or trade prospects.”

Mills on what happens if the Knicks can’t use their cap room to land two star free agents:

“I don’t feel pressure to deviate from our plan if we don’t get two big free agents. I don’t feel that kind of pressure. The pressure is for us to continue with the process and build this team the way we’re saying we’re going to build it.

“… The worst thing we can do is react to doing the wrong thing because we’re disappointed something didn’t happen exactly the way we want it to happen this summer. That could be thing that could derail us from doing what we committed to our fans, what I committed to Jim (owner James Dolan) in how I would build this team.”

On why the Knicks are confident in their appeal after a 17-65 season:

Perry:
“This is New York City. It’s the greatest city in the world. There’s a lot of appeal here. Even though the team has struggled, it’s a definite attraction to becoming a player in this city who can help turn this organization around. I think that’s something that gives us excitement that it’s out there — the storied nature of this franchise and what the franchise meant to the NBA that still resonates.”

Mills:
“There’s a lot of noise and a lot of guys are interested in New York. They like Fiz (head coach David Fizdale). They like some of the changes we made in the organization. We hear that from agents. We read it from guys getting interviewed about what guys feel about the Knicks. We hear that from other players. At least we’re in the game, and hopeful something really good happens. But we won’t know until it happens.”

Here are a few more Knicks-related items stemming from Mills’ and Perry’s comments:

  • According to Berman, Mills said that in this year’s exit interviews, every player on the Knicks’ roster expressed a desire to return to the team — one even said he’d come back for less money.
  • Perry didn’t rule out the possibility of shopping a top-three draft pick if the Knicks luck out in the lottery, per Berman. “Once the draft process plays out, your phone rings a lot of times,” Perry said. “I can’t sit here and tell you exactly what would happen in that scenario.”
  • As Berman writes in a separate story, the Knicks sound more bullish on Kevin Knox‘s future than Frank Ntilikina‘s. However, they’re not ready yet to pass judgment on either player, noting that Ntilikina is still 20 years old and Knox is 19.
  • In an appearance on ESPN Radio, Mills insisted that the Knicks weren’t tanking or trying to lose games on purpose in 2018/19, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. While that may technically be true, it’d be hard to argue that the front office was trying to put the roster in position to win as many games as possible this season, which is entirely understandable during a rebuild.
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Eastern Notes: Wizards, Robinson, Celtics

April 16th, 2019 at 10:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Bradley Beal making the league’s All-NBA team could change the course of the Wizards‘ franchise, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports writes. If Beal earns the nod, then he will be eligible for a super-max contract that starts at 35% of the salary cap.

[Related: How All-NBA Choices Impact Contract Situations]

There’s no guarantee that Washington offers that kind of deal to Beal if the organization gains the ability to do so. It’s also not certain that Beal would accept it. Hughes argues the Wizards will be left with no choice but to trade Beal if they decide against offering the super-max contract or Beal opts against accepting it.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Many within the NBA believe Mitchell Robinson possesses the highest ceiling of any current member of the Knicks, Marc Stein of The New York Times writes in his latest newsletter. Stein compares Robinson’s potential to Clint Capela‘s game, writing that Robinson could become better than the Rockets big man.
  • Rookie Allonzo Trier didn’t hear his name called on draft night but Stein (in the same piece) believes that was a mistake. Trier played in 64 games for the Knicks this season.
  • The Celtics brought in Cam Johnson (North Carolina), Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State) and Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) for workouts, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Boston could end up with as many as four first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
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