- The Knicks have recalled rookie guard Damyean Dotson from the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). It figures to be the last time this season that Dotson is recalled, since the Westchester Knicks – New York’s affiliate – saw their season come to an end on Monday night. Dotson posted 20 points and five boards in the 92-80 loss to the Raptors 905.
Journeyman forward Michael Beasley would like to return to the Knicks, but several factors play into that equation, as Marc Berman of the New York Post examines. Beasley returns to the free agent market this summer and has expressed a desire to stay put. “I would love to be back definitely. A lot goes into that,” he told Berman. “We’ll assess the situation in summertime.” The Knicks would likely have to use a portion of their mid-level exception to retain him. However, they could opt to spend it on a younger player or save cap space for the following summer, Berman continues. Their desire to re-sign Beasley also hinges on who will be coaching the team next season, Berman adds.
Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Knicks assigned Damyean Dotson to their Westchester affiliate for its playoff game Monday against Raptors 905, the Knicks’ PR staff tweets. The rookie shooting guard out of Houston is averaging 18.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.5 APG in 13 games with Westchester. The second-round pick has appeared in 39 games with New York.
- The Hawks have assigned forwards Tyler Cavanaugh and Jeremy Evans to the Erie BayHawks, according to a team press release. The BayHawks face Fort Wayne in the playoffs Tuesday. Cavanaugh is averaging 14.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 11 G League, while Evans has posted averages of 15.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 39 games with Erie.
Knicks swingman Troy Williams has sustained a fractured jaw and will be sidelined for the rest of the 2017/18 season, the team announced today (via Twitter). Williams suffered the injury against the Pistons on Saturday.
Williams, who began his career with the Grizzlies in 2016/17, has bounced around the league since then, joining the Rockets for parts of the last two seasons before signing a 10-day contract with the Knicks this February. Williams parlayed that deal into a second 10-day pact, then signed a rest-of-season contract with New York that includes a partially guaranteed salary for 2018/19.
Williams has played some of the best ball of his young NBA career in 17 games with the Knicks, averaging 7.5 PPG and 3.5 RPG with a .490/.333/.704 shooting line. He had been spending most of his time at small forward in New York, so his injury should open the door for the likes of Lance Thomas and Damyean Dotson to pick up some extra minutes down the stretch.
Although it remains to be seen whether he’ll still be on the Knicks’ roster in the fall, Williams should be recovered from his jaw injury well before the 2018/19 season gets underway.
Jeff Van Gundy has been mentioned as a possible candidate if the Knicks make a coaching change, but his brother wonders how serious their interest is, relays Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
After his Pistons defeated New York Saturday, head coach Stan Van Gundy noted that the organization has only recently begun to acknowledge Jeff on the jumbotron when he comes to town to broadcast its games. He coached the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and took them to the NBA Finals in 1999. Stan compares Jeff’s situation to Patrick Ewing‘s.
“I used to walk in here and Patrick would be sitting next to me on the bench [as an assistant in Orlando] and they would put him up on the jumbotron and everyone would clap and then he could never get an interview for any freakin’ job they had,” Stan said. “That’s sort of fake appreciation in my opinion. I don’t know what it is in Jeff’s case. If it’s genuine appreciation then that’s great. If it’s just a way for them to appease their fans, a little bit different.”
There’s more today out of New York:
- The Knicks will regret trading young center Willy Hernangomez for a pair of second-round picks, Iannazzone writes in a separate story. Hernangomez got a measure of revenge this week with 12 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes against his former team. “He’s been so much better,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “What I’ve talked to him about is the team part. Everybody views player development as the shot, the post move, the one-on-one ‘iso’ play. None of that matters if the team can’t function when you’re out there.”
- Another 50-loss season is taking its toll on Lance Thomas, notes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Thomas, who was acquired in a January 2015 trade, has been with the Knicks longer than anyone on the current roster. He’s also a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn. “I hate losing,’’ he said after Saturday’s game. “Anyone who has God-given ability to make it to this level hates losing. Myself being the long-tenured Knick here, I’ve been part of some losing teams and it doesn’t sit well with me. I want to find a way to turn it around. I lose sleep when we lose.”
- Trey Burke‘s connections with Knicks GM Scott Perry helped him earn another shot at the NBA, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Perry is a Detroit native and former assistant coach at the University of Michigan, where Burke played two seasons. They bonded over their Michigan connections while Burke was preparing for the 2013 draft and Perry was an executive in Orlando, so Burke reached out to him earlier this season when he was looking for a G League contract. “I knew that he would give me a fair shot, fair opportunity to reinvent myself,” Burke said, “to come in and go through a process where I would have an opportunity to play consistent minutes at the highest level.”
Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek allowed Tim Hardaway Jr. to draw up a play against the Hornets this past Monday. Hornacek’s trust in Hardaway to man the clipboard — even for one play — was a boost to their relationship, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.
- As the Knicks tried to lure free agents to New York City, the messy breakup with Phil Jackson and the triangle offense was likely a hindrance to that goal, Hornacek told reporters, including ESPN’s Ian Begley. “I think it probably was,” Hornacek said. “I think we truly believed that we could blend it [into Hornacek’s preferred offense]. And we found out that probably wasn’t great.” Hornacek added that a healthy Kristaps Porzingis and a young core of talent will be the Knicks’ strongest recruiting pitch.
While Lin has been rehabbing his ruptured patella tendon in British Columbia, he’s been in touch with the Nets bench boss, a connection he’s had since his first taste of consistent NBA action with the Knicks back in 2011 (Atkinson was an assistant coach there from 2008-2012).
- The Knicks opted to bring Emmanuel Mudiay off the bench in favor of Trey Burke this week and the move is already paying dividends, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes.
Michigan State forward Miles Bridges is entering the 2018 NBA draft pool, he announced today (via Twitter). Bridges indicated that he’ll hire Rich Paul and Klutch Sports for representation, so the sophomore will officially forgo his remaining two years of NCAA eligibility.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
Bridges, a 6’7″ forward, was viewed as a possible lottery pick a year ago, but opted to return to Michigan State for another season rather than declaring for the draft after his freshman year. In 2017/18, the second-year Spartan didn’t take a significant step forward, but had another solid season, putting up 17.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.7 APG with a .457/.364/.853 shooting line.
Bridges’ spot on big boards hasn’t changed much over the last year — ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him at No. 11 for now, which was the exact same ranking Bridges had on Givony’s board when he announced his decision to return to the Spartans last April.
In his latest mock draft at ESPN.com, Givony wrote that Bridges’ lack of improvement as a ball-handler has limited his ascent up draft boards, but called the young forward “arguably the best athlete in this draft” and praised his ability to guard virtually any position on defense. Givony had Bridges coming off the board at No. 12.
The Knicks, who will have a lottery pick, are said to have interest in the MSU standout.
The feeling around the NBA is that Jeff Hornacek won’t return as the Knicks’ head coach for the 2018/19 season, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to Berman, people around the league view Doc Rivers and Mark Jackson as a pair of potential top targets for the Knicks if they seek out a new coach.
Hornacek’s spot on the hot seat is nothing new — since the Knicks fell out of playoff contention earlier this season, rumors have swirled about the possibility of a head coaching change in New York. Rivers and Jackson have even been mentioned as possible candidates before, including by Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News and Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Still, Hornacek’s hold on his job appears more precarious than ever over the last week, according to Berman, who points to a handful of recent incidents to illustrate that Knicks veterans probably don’t expect to be playing for the current head coach much longer. As Berman observes, Hornacek handing Tim Hardaway Jr. the clipboard during one timeout and Trey Burke waving off Hornacek’s attempts to call another timeout were both unusual moments that took place during Monday’s loss to the Hornets.
Additionally, Kyle O’Quinn screamed profanities at his head coach during Friday’s game in New York, and a confrontation between Hornacek and veteran center Joakim Noah earlier this season ultimately led to Noah’s dismissal from the team. According to Berman, big man Kristaps Porzingis also “cursed out” Hornacek during a practice late last season, not long before Porzingis skipped his exit meeting.
The Knicks are expected to wait until after the regular season to make any announcements regarding their coaching situation, but at this point, Hornacek’s days in the position appear numbered.
In his second start with the Knicks on Monday night, Trey Burke did something no Knicks point guard has done in nearly 13 years. The former lottery pick posted 42 points and 12 assists, the first Knick to post at least 40 points and 10 assists in one game since Stephon Marbury on March 29, 2005.
Burke has played well for New York since he was plucked from the G League, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.7 APG. The 25-year-old, whose deal with the Knicks includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2018/19, feels he has been provided with an opportunity to showcase his ability this year in a way that has not been available since his rookie campaign, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
“I think this is the first time since my rookie season where I’m in a situation where I can play extended minutes, I can play through mistakes,” Burke said. “I don’t make one or two mistakes and I’m snatched out of the game.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post relays that Burke, who changed his hairstyle to braids, resembles his hero, Allen Iverson, both aesthetically and on the court. Burke admits he patterns himself after the Hall-of-Famer but knows he has more work to do.
“I got a long way to go,” Burke said. “I know that. AI is a goal. Pound for pound, one of the greatest to ever play. I want to get there one day. I believe it.”
Check out more Knicks notes below:
- Knicks center Kyle O’Quinn was caught on camera yelling at head coach Jeff Hornacek during the team’s matchup against the Wolves last Friday. Hornacek has downplayed the incident and O’Quinn said he overreacted, per ESPN. “I’d be the first one to say that my wrong reaction was the wrong one,” O’Quinn said. “I shouldn’t have come back. Just because somebody is yelling at me, I shouldn’t yell back. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
- With a player option decision and possible foray into free agency looming, Knicks center Enes Kanter will hire new representation, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The agent in question, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, is highly regarded and Kanter said he wants to make more money off the court, which has been an issue due to his highly publicized international conflict with his native Turkey.
- As we relayed last week, Knicks point guard Ron Baker is out of his sling and is progressing with his rehab.