New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Porzingis, Knox, Dotson, Hezonja

October 21st, 2018 at 2:05pm CST by JD Shaw

Knicks coach David Fizdale has enjoyed the presence of Kristaps Porzingis at practice and games, with Porzingis still months away from a potential return to the court after tearing his ACL in February.

Porzingis, 23, has mostly been away from the team rehabbing his injury, but was at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks took on Boston Saturday night. He sat on the bench supporting his teammates and was available for advice when needed.

“It’s good for his mindset,” Fizdale said, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). “When you’re out that long and you’re dealing with injury and you’re dealing with, (you think) ‘if I don’t come back the same and man I can’t even play and these guys are having fun and competing’ and all of that. For him to be around helps.

“It’s very easy to go into some depression if you stay away from the team when you’re going through something that big. So I think it’s really good for him. I know it’s good for us. The young guys look to him for advice. And for encouragement. And he sees the game very clearly. The film sessions have been fantastic with him. Just him taking over the film sessions and (saying) hey, we have to do this, do this. I know he needs that right now. To feel connected and like I said he’s been fantastic from that point. Totally engaged.”

There’s more out of New York today:

Kevin Knox sustained a sprained left ankle in Saturday’s game against the Celtics, an MRI confirmed. Knox is set to be re-evaluated in one week and won’t make the team’s upcoming two-game road trip.
The sudden injury to Knox will free up minutes for young forward Damyean Dotson, Peter Botte of The New York Post contends. Dotson scored 20 points on 4-8 shooting last game, with coach David Fizdale later telling reporters, “I told him this. I told him all through preseason — I trust the kid — ‘You’re a player. You’re exactly what we’re looking for in a player.’ And he earned the right to get on the court. I’m really happy how he kept himself ready, real professional approach.”
Former Knicks executive Clarence Gaines Jr. ripped Mario Hezonja following the team’s loss to Boston, tweeting that Hezonja is a “huge liability as an individual defender” (link). Knicks general manager Scott Perry is a longtime Hezonja supporter, with Gaines Jr. being a former right-hand man to Phil Jackson during his time with the Knicks.

Injury Updates: Knox, Hayward, Barton, Valentine

October 21st, 2018 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks rookie Kevin Knox could miss up to a month of action after spraining his left ankle Saturday night, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The injury took place late in the first quarter in a collision with Celtics guard Terry Rozier. Knox had to be helped to the locker room for x-rays, and the initial timetable for recovery has been set at two to four weeks.

It’s a tough way to start a career for the 19-year-old, who was originally pegged to be a starter before an uneven performance in the preseason. The Knicks are still counting on Knox to be an important contributor and want to give him as much court time as possible to help him adjust to the NBA.

“I had a real bad feeling in my gut when he went down,” coach David Fizdale told Marc Berman of The New York Post. “From my angle, I could basically see the [ankle] hit the floor, roll to the floor. I knew right away when he stayed down it was a good one. I feel for the kid. He’s had his fair share of adversity already. That’s what I joked to him about. ‘Welcome to the NBA. You play like crap. You play great [in Brooklyn], then you get hurt.’ It’s the roller coaster of our league. This is good for him. He’s going to learn from this.”

The new season is still in its first week, but there’s more injury news to pass along:

Gordon Hayward sat out Saturday’s game with “general soreness” in the area of his surgically repaired left ankle, notes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. The Celtics forward, who is playing limited minutes, felt pain in the ankle after Friday’s game in Toronto. “We didn’t plan on that,” coach Brad Stevens said about playing without Hayward. “This is something we’ll take game by game, night by night. Obviously with the minutes restriction we’re monitoring it very closely. It’s general soreness, so not overly concerned about it.”
An MRI is scheduled today for Nuggets guard Will Barton, who had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair after hurting his hip Saturday, according to an ESPN report. Barton fell to the floor after making a layup in the third quarter and said he heard a pop when he started to jump. Barton signed a four-year, $54MM deal over the summer and entered this season as a full-time starter for the first time in his career.
Bulls swingman Denzel Valentine is trying to stay positive despite the latest setback in his recovery from a sprained left ankle, relays Sam Smith of NBA.com. Coach Fred Hoiberg said Valentine’s condition will be re-evaluated in another 10 days to two weeks. “I’m not going to quit; just deal with the hand deal,” Valentine said. “I can’t sit here and be negative. I’ve just got to fight, stay mentally strong and this will be bittersweet when I come back and have a great year.”

Kyrie Irving Would Have Considered Joining Knicks

October 21st, 2018 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving took the suspense out of his free agency plans by announcing that he will remain with the Celtics, but he said Saturday that the Knicks would have been in the running if he had wanted to change teams, relays Peter Botte of The New York Post.

Irving made the remarks during Boston’s first trip of the season to Madison Square Garden, telling reporters that he feels a strong connection to the area after growing up in New Jersey.

“Just being from Jersey and envisioning myself as a free agent and ultimately taking a meeting and playing for [coach David Fizdale] and the great young core they have here, thinking about playing with [Kristaps Porzingis], that was a big thing before I made my decision to sign back — or, I don’t want to get in trouble, to plan on re-signing back — with Boston,” Irving said. “But yeah, of course, New York was a strong consideration.”

The Knicks plan to be in position to offer a max contract during next summer’s free agency, and there were hopes that Irving might be the target. The five-time All-Star would have given the organization its best point guard in years and would have been an exciting running mate to team with Porzingis.

Irving believes he landed in a perfect situation with the Celtics after requesting a trade from the Cavaliers last summer. He is the leader of a talented team that many are projecting to reach the NBA Finals and is surrounded by a mix of veterans and young stars.

“I think if you were in my position, I think it would be an easy decision at this point,” Irving said. “Thinking about who we have, and the future and what we’re set up for, for me, where I am in age and how I envision my career going, and kind of the lineage of guys who’ve come before me in the Boston Celtics, is something that I wanted to be a part of.”

New York Notes: LeVert, Porzingis, Dinwiddie, Fizdale

October 20th, 2018 at 7:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Caris LeVert wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the Nets’ rotation heading into training camp, notes Michael Scotto of The Athletic, but through two games he looks like the early favorite for Most Improved Player. LeVert torched the Knicks for a career-high 28 points Friday night, including the game-winning shot. That followed a 27-point outburst against the Pistons in the season opener.

A month ago, LeVert was part of a large group in Brooklyn battling for playing time. He was competing with DeMarre Carroll, Joe Harris and Allen Crabbe at the wings and D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Shabazz Napier in the backcourt. LeVert’s transformation may be shocking to outsiders, but teammate Jarrett Allen said it has been building for a while.

“We saw it during the summer,” he said. “We knew it was coming, but coming out and playing like this not even we expected him scoring almost 30 points every night, but he’s coming out and showing all the work he’s done this summer is paying off.”

There’s more from New York City:

The rivalry between the Knicks and Nets may be more intense next summer than it is during the season, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Both teams should be in the running for lottery picks and both will have plenty of cap room to make a splash on the free agent market. Berman suggests that Brooklyn, which may be in position to offer two max contracts, could really heat things up by pursuing Kristaps Porzingis, who will be a restricted free agent after the deadline for an extension passed without a deal. The Nets can offer him a chance to play alongside fellow Latvian Rodions Kurucs.
If the Knicks can’t get a star to take a max offer, they could spend some of their money on Dinwiddie, Berman adds in the same piece. He notes that New York tried to work out a deal for the Nets guard in February, but decided the price was too high and opted for Emmanuel Mudiay instead.
David Fizdale’s relaxed exchanges with the media are a sign that a transformation has taken place among Knicks management, contends Harvey Araton of The New York Times. Owner James Dolan has produced a smothering environment among previous coaches, but Fizdale feels free to be open and honest in his assessment of players.

Noah Vonley Explains Decision To Sign With Knicks

October 18th, 2018 at 5:13pm CST by JD Shaw

New Knicks forward Noah Vonleh explained his decision to sign with the team this week, as relayed by Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “I felt like this was great spot for me, great opportunity,” he said. “Young team, being able to play with a bunch of guys around my age, a bunch of guys who have been in similar situations as me, being former lottery picks, teams giving up on them pretty quick. I felt like it was a good group to come join.”

Knicks Notes: Burke, Porzingis, Noah, Ntilikina

October 17th, 2018 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

Trey Burke is poised to open the season as the Knicks‘ starting point guard, which means he’s in line to lock in a partial guarantee on his salary for 2018/19. According to Basketball Insiders’ salary data, Burke’s $1,795,015 salary for the coming season is mostly non-guaranteed, with only a modest $100K partial guarantee. However, as long as Burke remains on the roster through the club’s first game of the regular season, that guarantee increases to $400K.

It’s safe to say that Burke has secured that $400K. As for whether he guarantees the rest of his ’18/19 salary, that won’t happen until January 10. The Knicks like what they see from the former ninth overall pick though, so unless he has an awful start to the season, it’d be surprising to see Burke waived before the rest of his contract becomes guaranteed.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

It wasn’t surprising that Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline passed without a new deal in place for Kristaps Porzingis. After all, Porzingis continues to recover from an ACL tear and the Knicks can maximize their 2019 cap flexibility by waiting to re-sign him. However, GM Scott Perry‘s response when asked if Porzingis was fine with his contract situation was a little curious, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “That’s a question you’d have to ask him,” said Perry, who had previously stressed that both sides were on the same page.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News also notes (via Twitter) that Perry called the Knicks’ extra 2019 cap room a “byproduct” of not extending Porzingis, implying that it wasn’t the club’s primary reason for waiting on a deal. While this may simply be a case of Knicks reporters reading too much into a couple off-hand comments, Porzingis’ restricted free agency next summer will be interesting to monitor.
Perry said on Tuesday that he spent “a lot of time” trying to find a trade involving Joakim Noah before waiving him outright, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. However, Perry was dead set against giving up any first-round picks, making a deal a long shot.
Head coach David Fizdale has high hopes for second-year guard Frank Ntilikina on the defensive end, as Howie Kussoy of The New York Post relays. “Frank’s going to guard everybody. You can already see where I’m going with him,” Fizdale said. “With Frank, I’m trying to develop a first-team all-defender.”

Kevin Durant Addresses 2019 Free Agency

October 17th, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant will be the biggest free agent on the market during the 2019 offseason and a return to the Warriors doesn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion, which means speculation about his decision will continue through the 2018/19 season. While Durant recognizes why that will happen, he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he’s hoping not to be constantly asked about it in the coming months.

“I know it’s easy to look at that type of [expletive] because it’s the entertainment side. But wait until the season is over with to analyze [free agency],” Durant said to Haynes. “I know it’s your job and it’s hard to say that, but try to shift some of your focus to the court, too. I know you have to still do your job and check on stuff like that, but every day? Every city I go to? Come on, man. I said what I had to say at media day. I understand your job, but let’s come to a little agreement. Don’t ask me every time you see me. If it’s the first time I’m seeing y’all, I don’t mind answering. But every time? Come on, bro.”

After winning back-to-back championships with the Warriors and earning consecutive Finals MVPs, Durant said that he doesn’t expect “anything extra” from the franchise this season as it tries to recruit him for a longer-term stay, adding, “I already know what this organization is about.”

While the Warriors will have Durant’s Bird rights at the end of the season, giving them the ability to offer a five-year worth up to a projected $221MM+, rival executives believe it may be possible to lure the 30-year-old away from the Bay Area. As Haynes details, the Knicks, Lakers, and Clippers are among the many teams with cap room who may have eyes for Durant. Sources tell Haynes that personnel from the Clippers, specifically, are expected to attend a “high number” of Warriors games this season.

Unless he’s willing to publicly commit to re-signing with the Warriors – like Kyrie Irving did with the Celtics – Durant won’t be able to stop the speculation, a fact he acknowledges. However, he suggests to Haynes that he may not be overly receptive to questions about his upcoming free agency if they continue all year long.

“It depends on how I feel that day,” Durant said. “If I’m in a [expletive]-up mood, you’re going to see. Ask me that question and you’re going to really see what mood I’m in.”

Knicks Have One Of NBA's Youngest Rosters

October 16th, 2018 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Bobby Marks of ESPN.com passes along some interesting data on the NBA’s opening-night rosters, tweeting that the Nuggets, Knicks, and Trail Blazers have the youngest rosters, while the Rockets, Heat, and Mavericks are on the other end of the spectrum. Meanwhile, the NBA announces that the opening-night rosters feature a total of 108 international players from 42 different countries and territories.

Burke, Ntilikina In Knicks' Starting Lineup

October 16th, 2018 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Trey Burke will be the Knicks‘ starting point guard to open the season, but Frank Ntilikina also earned a job in the starting five, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Head coach David Fizdale, who indicated in camp that starting jobs would be based on merit, rewarded Ntilikina for his strong fall, and hopes the decision to bring Kevin Knox off the bench will motivate the rookie (Twitter link via Begley).

Knicks Still Exploring Trade Market For Lee

October 16th, 2018 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are still trying to trade Courtney Lee, sources tell Lowe. While it’s not clear if they’ve made progress in any trade talks, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes that Lee has generated interest, adding that the Hornets discussed a trade for the veteran swingman at last season’s deadline.

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