New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign First-Rounder Kevin Knox

July 5th, 2018 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are the latest team to lock up their first-round pick to his first NBA contract, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed Kevin Knox to his rookie deal.

[RELATED: 2018 Draft Pick Signings]

Like all other rookie contracts for first-round picks, Knox’s deal will be a four-year pact with two guaranteed years, followed by team options in years three and four. As our chart of rookie salaries shows, his earnings project to exceed $18.5MM if he plays out the full four-year contract.

Knox, the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft, won’t turn 19 years old until next month, but there’s already talk in New York about the possibility of him entering the team’s starting lineup in his rookie year.

In his lone season at Kentucky, the versatile forward averaged 15.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG with a shooting line of .445/.341/.774.

David Fizdale Aspires To Play More Positionless Basketball

July 4th, 2018 at 3:13pm CST by Austin Kent

While Knicks acquisitions Mario Hezonja and Kevin Knox are a far cry from the future Hall-of-Famers David Fizdale worked with as a member of the Heat‘s coaching staff, the head coach believes that those flexible wings can play similar roles to the ones Dwyane Wade and LeBron James filled in Miami. Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke with Fizdale about his desire to play more positionless basketball.

David Fizdale Expects Free Agent Splash Next Summer

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

New coach David Fizdale believes the Knicks will be in position to have a huge impact on free agency next summer, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Mario Hezonja represents the Knicks’ only major signing this year, but Fizdale gave a hint of what the organization expects 12 months from now.

Knicks first-rounder Kevin Knox is focused on conditioning prior to the start of summer league, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. There was concern about Knox’s energy level at Kentucky, and he admits some of it was justified. “I worked on my conditioning a lot this summer as far as getting in extra sprints, so I keep my motor up the whole game,” he said. “You’re going to get tired at some point during the game. It’s good we got a lot of guys that if I have to sub myself out so I can be on the court 100 percent playing with full energy.”

Knicks Sign Allonzo Trier To Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 3: The Knicks have officially signed Trier to his two-way deal, the team announced in a press release. He’ll join Hicks in New York’s two-way slots, with Kornet getting a promotion to a standard NBA contract.

JUNE 21: Arizona’s Allonzo Trier will join the Knicks on a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

New York is currently at its allotment of two-way players with Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, but both are on one-year deals, so Trier can be added when they expire at the end of June.

Trier, 22, missed part of his junior season after testing positive for a banned substance. He was second on the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game, trailing only tonight’s No. 1 pick, Deandre Ayton.

Knicks Sign Isaiah Hicks To Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

6:08pm: Hicks has officially signed his two-way contract, the Knicks announced on Twitter.

10:20am: Power forward Isaiah Hicks, who played on a two-way contract for the Knicks last season, is expected to sign a new two-way deal with the team soon, reports ESPN’s Ian Begley (Twitter link).

Hicks’ previous two-way contract only covered a single season, so the Knicks issued the 23-year-old a qualifying offer at season’s end, making him a restricted free agent. With former two-way player Luke Kornet poised to join New York’s 15-man roster, Hicks and Allonzo Trier, who reached a deal with the Knicks in June, are expected to fill the team’s two-way slots for 2018/19.

Hicks, who will turn 24 later this month, appeared in 18 games for the Knicks in his rookie year, averaging 4.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.3 minutes per contest. He saw more action for the Westchester Knicks in the G League, posting 15.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 37 games with the club.

The Knicks entered the offseason with 12 players under contract. Now that Kornet, Mario Hezonja, and Kevin Knox are poised to take roster spots and Hicks and Trier will fill the club’s two-way slots, New York projects to have a full regular-season roster. The Knicks can carry a 20-man offseason roster, but will need to eventually waive or trade a player if they intend to sign second-round pick Mitchell Robinson to a spot on their 15-man regular-season squad, Begley notes (via Twitter).

Enes Kanter Wanted Longer-Term Deal With Knicks

July 3rd, 2018 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

After opting into the final year of his contract, Enes Kanter said in an interview with MSG Network that he wishes he could’ve signed for longer, but is happy to remain with the Knicks (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ian Begley). It sounds like Kanter wanted to opt out of his deal in order to secure a long-term contract with New York, but the club wasn’t interested in adding long-term money to its books this offseason, preferring to maximize its cap flexibility for 2019.

Free Agent Rumors: Crawford, Ellington, Bjelica, Williams

July 2nd, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are interested in veteran free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Crawford could fortify a bench that has lost Ersan Ilyasovaand Marco Belinelli since the start of free agency. Crawford, 38, averaged 10.3 PPG in 20.7 MPG for the Timberwolves last season. The Pelicans, Cavaliers, Warriors and Nuggets are also reportedly in the mix for Crawford, who opted out of his contract with Minnesota and left $4.54MM on the table.

In other news regarding the free agent market:

Unrestricted free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has drawn significant interest but he’s viewed as a good bet to re-sign with the Heat, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets. Miami has a cap hold of $8.15MM on Ellington, who appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.2 PPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting 39.2% from long range.
The Jazz have a strong interest in Nemanja Bjelica, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The Timberwolves pulled their qualifying offer to the power forward in order to sign Anthony Tolliver, thus making Bjelica an unrestricted free agent.
The Knicks are interested in Alan Williams if he clears waivers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Suns waived the power forward/center on Monday. The Knicks have also reached out to free agent power forwards Amir Johnson and Trevor Booker, Berman adds.
Williams hasn’t ruled out a return to the Suns but his agent has already heard from a handful of teams interested in his services, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Williams, who appeared in only five games last season due to a knee injury, had a non-guaranteed salary of $5.5MM for next season and will likely get through waivers.
The Lakers have renounced their free-agent exception rights to guard Andre Ingram and power forward Travis Wear, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Lakers had a cap hold of $1.338MM on Ingram and $1.5MM on Wear. Ingram appeared in two games with Los Angeles last season, while Wear saw action in 17 games.
The Suns renounced their free-agent exception rights to center Alex Len, according to the RealGM transaction log. The Suns had a $7.96MM cap hold on Len. He appeared in 69 games last season but became expendable when they drafted Deandre Ayton.

New York Notes: Harris, Davis, Nets, Hezonja

July 2nd, 2018 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

Before he agreed to a two-year, $16MM deal with the Nets, free agent sharpshooter Joe Harris fielded competitive offers from rival suitors. However, he tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic that his priority was remaining in Brooklyn.

“I had some offers for longer-term deals, but ultimately from the get-go, I had basically said that I wanted to stay in Brooklyn and however we could come to an agreement on that,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, the Nets’ other noteworthy July 1 move involved reaching a contract agreement with Ed Davis, who will ink a one-year, $4.4MM contract with the club. According to Scotto, Davis received interest from the Warriors, Sixers, Thunder, and Trail Blazers before striking a deal with the Nets.

Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two New York teams:

The Nets are not actively shopping anyone on their roster in trade talks, a league source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That includes Jeremy Lin, who has a $12.5MM expiring contract in 2018/19 and will be part of a point guard rotation that also includes Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell.
Within his report on Mario Hezonja‘s agreement with the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes that the forward chose New York over seven other teams, including the runner-up Trail Blazers. “The main reason is David Fizdale. He sold him,” a source told Berman. “The goal is to be here long term and finish his career. He was a fan of the team growing up.” Hezonja’s deal significantly reduces the odds of Michael Beasley returning to the Knicks, Berman adds.
Nets restricted free agent Milton Doyle has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and an Eastern Conference team, among others, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). A two-way player last year, Doyle could sign an offer sheet with another club, but Brooklyn would have the chance to match it.

Free Agent Rumors: Favors, Ellington, Tolliver

July 2nd, 2018 at 12:01am CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have already met with free agent big man Derrick Favors, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Favors met with club general manager Dennis Lindsey and head coach Quin Snyder for three hours today to discuss his future.

Marc Spears of The Undefeated, also reporting on the meeting, tweets that the forward is expected to make a decision on Monday. Favors – like the Jazz in general – enjoyed a pleasant surprise of a 2017/18 season and meshed with center Rudy Gobert in ways that he hadn’t previously.

That successful year has breathed new life into Favors’ future with the franchise that he’s played for since 2011. Favors averaged 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season, a notable improvement from the 9.5 and 6.1 he posted in 2016/17.

Both the Timberwolves and Mavs were previously linked to the 26-year-old.

There’s more from around the league tonight:

With LeBron James suddenly a Laker, the Sixers can entertain other free agent possibilities. One option, on a notably smaller scale, is 3-and-D specialist Wayne Ellington, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Timberwolves have also shown interest in the 39.2% three-point shooter.
There has been no shortage of players the Timberwolves are said to be interested in this summer but Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News adds Vince Carter to the list. The 41-year-old veteran played last season with the Kings.
The Clippers have sent their top brass to Dallas to meet with Pistons forward Anthony Tolliver at his home, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Tolliver drew praise in 2017/18, establishing himself as a reliable stretch four and a respected veteran presence.
While he’s still open to returning to play with the Warriors, forward Kevon Looney has been in touch with the Clippers. Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times tweets that no deal is imminent.
After carving a minor role for himself in the Hornets‘ rotation last season, undrafted guard Treveon Graham is drawing interest from the Wizards, Pistons and Timberwolves, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post tweets. Graham is a D.C. native.
Although he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Knicks, small forward Mario Hezonja turned down multiple multi-year offers, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. Scotto cites head coach David Fizdale and the potential for Hezonja to grow his role with the franchise as reasons why the free agent forward chose New York.

Knicks Sign Mario Hezonja To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2018 at 8:09pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 6: The Knicks have officially signed Hezonja, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

JULY 1: The Knicks have agreed to a one-year, $6.5MM pact with small forward Mario Hezonja, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 23-year-old comes off of a career-best season in which he averaged 9.6 points in 22.1 minutes per game for the Magic.

Prior to the 2017/18 season, the Magic elected not to pick up the 2015 fifth-overall pick’s fourth-year option and the Croatian swingman responded with a notable increase in production. In 11 February contests, for example, Hezonja averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

As we relayed earlier today, Marc Berman of The New York Post had reported that the Knicks had put an offer on the table for Hezonja worth a portion of the club’s $8.641MM mid-level exception. These reported terms would fall in line with that, leaving enough of the MLE available for New York to ink second-round pick Mitchell Robinson, something the club had been set on doing.

While Hezonja had reportedly been seeking a multiyear deal, the Knicks want to retain as much cap flexibility as possible for the 2019 offseason, and only plan on offering one-year guarantees this summer.

The buy-low addition of Hezonja, a young, recent lottery pick, will add depth to New York’s rotation. Hezonja will compete with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee for minutes on the wing, assuming the latter remains on the roster.

The move will give the Knicks three of the top seven draft picks from 2015. Kristaps Porzingis (No. 4) and Emmanuel Mudiay (No. 7) were also top selections in that draft.

According to a subsequent Wojnarowski tweet, the Blazers, Kings and Grizzlies were also in the mix for Hezonja’s services.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.