New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Noah, Porzingis, Atkinson, Crawford

August 11th, 2018 at 9:34am CST by marksuleymanov

As we relayed earlier this week, the Knicks are expected to part ways with oft-injured center Joakim Noah before the start of training camp. If the Knicks fail to find a trading partner, the team is expected to use the stretch provision after September 1. Noah, 33, still has two years and $37.8MM left on his deal.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News examined both the good and bad sides of the Knicks parting ways with Noah this offseason. It would likely avoid a major headache and possible players’ union issue if the Knicks refuse to play Noah. Bondy reiterates that the deadline to solve the Noah issue is not September 1 but rather next summer when New York intends to pursue top free agents.

The Nets dealing Timofey Mozgov‘s lucrative multiyear contract for an expiring deal is one example of a team leveraging an albatross deal into future cap space. The Knicks’ best choice would be to hold onto Noah and look for trades instead of stretching his contract, Bondy writes.

Check out more Atlantic Division notes:

In the same story, Bondy looked at the pros and cons of the Knicks extending Kristaps Porzingis this offseason. On one hand, New York should lock up its best player since Patrick Ewing amid an unstable environment, with Porzingis set to play for the fourth coach of his career in 2018/19. Conversely, the Knicks plan to make use of their cap room in 2019, and extending the Latvian now would eat into that space — the team could simply let him hit restricted free agency and then negotiate or match any offer.
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson denied the franchise has contemplated tanking in order to secure more favorable draft positioning, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Instead, Atkinson says the goal is to play as well as possible so Brooklyn becomes a desirable free agency destination. “We talk about internal improvement, we talk about player development, we talk about culture,” Atkinson said. “Tanking is not a word we use. It’s just not in our [vocabulary]. I don’t think the fans in New York want to see that.”
Following an injury to rookie Zhaire Smith, the Sixers may be in the market for wing depth, and veteran sharpshooter Jamal Crawford could fit the bill. In a recent appearance on Brandon Robinson’s Scoop B Podcast, Crawford spoke glowingly of Philadelphia and what playing there would mean to him (via Amico Hoops). “I like their city. I like how into it they are about basketball. I like their knowledge of basketball, how passionate they are. I’ve always loved coach Brett Brown,” Crawford said.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2018/19

August 9th, 2018 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $101.869MM threshold once that room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit as well, with clubs like the Warriors, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Raptors, and Wizards going well beyond that tax line this year.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows those clubs to build significant payrolls without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5.337MM) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron is set at a point approximately $6MM above the luxury tax line. For the 2018/19 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $129.817MM.

So far this year, nine teams have imposed a hard cap on themselves by using the bi-annual exception, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. Listed below are those nine teams, along with how they created a hard cap.

Charlotte Hornets

Used approximately $6MM of mid-level exception to sign Tony Parker and Devonte’ Graham.

Detroit Pistons

Used approximately $5.75MM of mid-level exception to sign Glenn Robinson, Khyri Thomas, and Bruce Brown.

Los Angeles Clippers

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Scott.

Memphis Grizzlies

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Kyle Anderson.

Milwaukee Bucks

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Brook Lopez.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Used approximately $6.59MM of mid-level exception to sign Anthony Tolliver and Keita Bates-Diop.

New Orleans Pelicans

Used full mid-level exception ($8.641MM) to sign Julius Randle.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Elfrid Payton.

New York Knicks

Used approximately $8MM of mid-level exception to sign Mario Hezonja and Mitchell Robinson.

San Antonio Spurs

Used approximately $6.99MM of mid-level exception to sign Marco Belinelli and Chimezie Metu.
Used bi-annual exception to sign Dante Cunningham.

Currently, none of the hard-capped teams listed above have team salaries within $5MM of the tax apron, so that hard cap shouldn’t be a real issue for most of these clubs during the 2018/19 league year. However, that could change if any of these teams – particularly the Hornets or Pistons – makes additional free agent signings or takes on extra money in a trade at some point.

Joakim Noah Unlikely To Remain With Knicks

August 8th, 2018 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are planning to part ways with veteran center Joakim Noah before the start of training camp, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley of ESPN. League sources say New York will use the stretch provision sometime after September 1 if it can’t find a trading partner before then.

The 33-year-old has been a disappointment ever since the Knicks gave him a four-year, $72MM contract to lure him away from the Bulls two years ago. Noah still has two seasons and $37.8MM remaining on that deal, which has tied up a significant portion of New York’s salary cap and has limited the team’s options in free agency.

By waiting until September 1, the Knicks will lock in Noah’s $18.53MM salary for the upcoming season and can stretch the remaining $19.295MM over three years. That amounts to roughly $6.4MM a year and will open an additional $12.9MM in cap space for next summer, when the Knicks hope to be major players in the free agent market.

Noah had expressed hope that this summer’s coaching change could give him a fresh start in New York, but he doesn’t appear to be in David Fizdale’s plans. Sources told ESPN that GM Scott Perry has been trying to work out a deal involving Noah since February’s trade deadline, but hasn’t been willing to give up a promising young player or future first-round picks. Perry has continued his efforts through the summer without success.

Noah was limited to seven games last summer through a combination of injuries, suspensions and coach’s decisions. He never returned to the team after a heated argument in practice with former coach Jeff Hornacek in January.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks To Host Bucks On Christmas Day

August 8th, 2018 at 8:10am CST by clarkcrum

However, Marc Stein of The New York Times is already reporting matchups for three of the Christmas Day games. The Celtics will play the Sixers, the Knicks will host the Bucks, and the new-look Lakers will travel to Oakland to take on the Warriors. Chris Haynes of ESPN is also reporting that the Jazz will host the Trail Blazers.

Contract Details For Noah Vonleh, Kadeem Allen

August 7th, 2018 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

Noah Vonleh and Kadeem Allen both signed one-year, non-guaranteed contracts with the Knicks, according to Pincus. Vonleh will be owed a $100K guarantee if he remains under contract through September 25.

Oddsmakers Name Celtics, Knicks Early 2019 Favorites To Sign Kyrie

August 7th, 2018 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

The 2018/19 season has yet to begin, but oddsmakers are already looking ahead to 2019 player movement. As NBC Sports Boston relays, the Celtics and Knicks have been installed by one bookmaker as the early favorites for Kyrie Irving‘s free agency.

Charlie Ward Is High On Rookie Kevin Knox; Win/Loss Odds

August 5th, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by clarkcrum

Former Knicks guard Charlie Ward, a Florida State football teammate of the father of rookie Kevin Knox in the early ’90s, believes New York’s 2018 first round pick has the mentality to become the Knicks’ next superstar, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.

In order to become that superstar, Knox will likely need to help lead the Knicks to the playoffs eventually. The Knicks haven’t made the playoffs for five straight seasons and have only won a single playoff series since 2001.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has set its initial win totals for NBA teams during the 2018/19 regular season. The Atlantic Division looks like this: Celtics – 57.5; Raptors/Sixers – 54.5; Nets – 32.5; Knicks – 29.5.

Thomas Likes What He Sees From Rookies

August 4th, 2018 at 11:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks forward Lance Thomas is very impressed with draft picks Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson, Jordan Pandy of Newsday relays. Thomas expects both of them to make an impact in their rookie years. “You can just tell from the Summer League they were really going after it,” Thomas said. “Those guys were playing like they were playing for contracts even though they already have guarantees. I like to see that. I love the toughness, I love the grit, and that’s what it takes to survive in New York.”

How Non-Bird Rights Impact Promotions For Two-Way Players

August 2nd, 2018 at 9:08pm CST by Luke Adams

When NBA teams sign undrafted free agents or second-round picks to contracts, those clubs need to have cap space or a mid-level exception available to lock up those players for longer than two years or to pay them more than the minimum salary.

While most teams make sure to earmark some cap room or a portion of their mid-level exception to use on those players – particularly second-rounders – that’s not always the case. The Grizzlies, for instance, used their entire mid-level exception on Kyle Anderson‘s offer sheet, meaning they could only sign 32nd overall pick Jevon Carter to a two-year, minimum-salary deal.

This offseason though, a new tool has come in handy in allowing teams to sign players to longer-term or more lucrative contracts than the minimum salary exception would allow, without having to use cap room or the mid-level exception to do it. The catch? Those players had to have finished the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the club.

When a player is on a two-way contract, a new kind of deal introduced in the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, he’s not technically on a club’s 15-man roster, but he accrues Bird rights just as a player on the roster would. That means that any player who finished last season on a two-way deal had Non-Bird rights this summer.

Non-Bird rights don’t allow teams to give players major raises — Non-Bird deals can only start at up to 120% of the player’s previous salary or 120% of his minimum salary, whichever is greater. However, they do allow for contracts of up to four years, which has paid off for some teams and players this summer.

Consider the case of Georges Niang, who was on a two-way contract with the Jazz last season. Buoyed by an impressive Summer League showing with Utah last month, Niang earned a three-year contract with the club. Typically, to go up to three years, the over-the-cap Jazz would have had to dip into their mid-level exception, but that wasn’t the case for Niang — his Non-Bird rights allowed for a three-year deal.

While Niang’s contract is only worth the minimum, Non-Bird rights do allow for slightly larger salaries, as noted above. For example, the Knicks re-signed former two-way player Luke Kornet to the maximum allowable salary using his Non-Bird rights. Instead of earning his minimum salary ($1,349,383), Kornet will make 120% of that amount ($1,619,260). Without his Non-Bird rights, New York would have had to use its mid-level or bi-annual exception to give Kornet that kind of raise.

Non-Bird rights haven’t paid off for every team with a two-way player who’s getting a promotion. For instance, the Nuggets moved Torrey Craig to their standard roster by giving him a new two-year, $4MM contract. Denver had to use part of its mid-level exception to complete that signing, since it exceeded the salary Craig could’ve earned with Non-Bird rights. The Nuggets did take advantage of the Non-Bird rules with their other two-way player though, giving Monte Morris a new three-year contract.

Two-way contracts remain in their relative infancy, so it’s interesting to see how teams are taking advantage of the rules surrounding them. Players like Niang, Kornet, and Morris are among the first group of two-way players to be promoted to standard contracts via Non-Bird rights, but they certainly won’t be the last.

Here’s the full list of two-way players whose teams have promoted them to standard contracts this offseason:

Ryan Arcidiacono (Bulls)
Jabari Bird (Celtics)
Antonio Blakeney (Bulls)
Torrey Craig (Nuggets)
Derrick Jones (Heat)
Luke Kornet (Knicks)
Monte Morris (Nuggets)
Georges Niang (Jazz)

Note: Jamel Artis, Danuel House, Daniel Hamilton, and Kadeem Allen have signed or agreed to standard NBA contracts with new teams after finishing last season on two-way deals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Fizdale Impressed Brass With Porzingis Visit

July 30th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks’ brass is thrilled over coach David Fizdale’s five-day visit with star player Kristaps Porzingis in Latvia, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. The front office has been impressed by Fizdale’s ability to connect with the young players, Berman continues. No one in the Knicks’ front office visited Porzingis in Europe last summer and there were lingering concerns about his feelings toward the organization after his fallout with previous team president Phil Jackson, Berman adds.