- Phil Jackson‘s tenure as Knicks president may have resulted in numerous controversies but his draft selections are not given enough credit, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Carmelo Anthony was not thrilled with the Knicks on draft night in 2015 as trading Tim Hardaway Jr. and drafting Kristaps Porzingis felt like a rebuild to him, Berman writes. Porzingis has emerged as one of the premiere talents from the 2015 NBA Draft and this year’s pick, Frank Ntilikina, has shown flashes of brilliance, too.
- Current Knicks president Steve Mills, a trusted confidant of Jackson during his reign as president, wishes he was more vocal during the dysfunctional period, Mills said to the Associated Press (via New York Daily News).
- While they still haven’t released a timetable for his return, Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has made progress in his recovery from a leg injury, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. The swingman can push off of his leg a little bit and will be re-evaluated again next week.
The NBA’s trade market was incredibly active throughout the 2017 offseason, with a total of 40 deals completed between the end of last season and the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
Of those 40 trades, several were blockbusters. Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Carmelo Anthony all changed teams, as did the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Some of the non-blockbuster deals are having a major impact this season too, with guys like Ricky Rubio, D’Angelo Russell, Brook Lopez, and Avery Bradley all on the move.
There are even a handful of trades made for monetary reasons that have been interesting to monitor — the Nets took on salary dumps like DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe and have turned them into key parts of their rotation, while the Bulls continue to get hammered for selling second-round pick Jordan Bell to the defending-champion Warriors.
We’ve written plenty about most of those trades already, so today we’re taking the opportunity to shine a light on a few deals that have flown somewhat under the radar. These trades seemed like relatively minor moves at the time, but are paying dividends for the teams involved. Let’s dive in…
Suns acquire Troy Daniels and a 2018 second-round pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for a top-55-protected 2018 second-round pick. With too many guaranteed salaries on their books heading into training camp, the Grizzlies dumped one by attaching a second-round pick to Daniels and sending him to Phoenix in exchange for a pick that won’t convey. The move saved Memphis some money, but the club probably could’ve used Daniels more than some of the players it kept. In his last 19 games for the Suns, Daniels has averaged 10.8 PPG and shot 44.3% on three-pointers. He has been particularly productive in the last couple weeks, scoring a career-high 32 points last Wednesday vs. Toronto, then hitting the game-winning shot to beat his old team last night.- Pacers acquire Cory Joseph from the Raptors in exchange for the draft rights to Emir Preldzic. Joseph was originally going to head to Indiana in a deal that would have sent C.J. Miles to Toronto. However, the terms of Miles’ contract made him ineligible to be signed-and-traded, so the Raptors signed him outright and sent Joseph to the Pacers in a separate move to dump some salary. Having essentially been traded for nothing, Joseph has been very solid as the Pacers’ backup point guard this season, making a career-best 43.0% of his threes and chipping in 7.7 PPG and 2.9 APG. Joseph isn’t the main reason the Pacers have exceeded expectations, but he has played a role in the club’s early success.
- Hornets acquire Dwayne Bacon and cash ($1.8MM) from the Pelicans in exchange for Frank Jackson. The Pelicans paid Charlotte $1.8MM in order to move up from No. 40 to No. 31 in the draft, having targeted Jackson. It’s unfair to judge Jackson’s NBA career so far, since it hasn’t even started — a broken foot has sidelined him since the start of September. Still, the Hornets have to be happy with how their side of the deal is working out so far. Bacon claimed a rotation role to open the season, and while he’s experiencing some growing pains as of late, he has shown plenty of promise. The extra $1.8MM that Charlotte picked up in the deal is just a bonus.
- Grizzlies acquire Dillon Brooks from the Rockets in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick. Not much has gone right for the Grizzlies this season, but the team has to be pleased with what Brooks has shown so far. The 21-year-old is currently Memphis’ starting small forward, and has held his own with a respectable .460/.368/.778 shooting line. Of the youngsters on the Grizzlies’ roster, Brooks has shown more long-term keeper potential than most. Meanwhile, the Rockets did okay in this deal too — the 2018 second-rounder they’ll receive will be the least favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s selections. All three of those teams have underperformed so far this season, improving the value of the pick.
- Knicks acquire the rights to Scott Perry from the Kings in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and cash ($400K). No players were involved in this swap, but it was technically a trade, with the Kings allowing the Knicks to poach one of their top front-office executives. It’s another deal that has benefited both sides. The Knicks’ front office appears to have finally stabilized since the arrival of Perry, who put a hold on the Carmelo Anthony trade talks in July, then eventually found a deal that has worked out well for New York. As for the Kings, they can’t complain much about securing cash and a future draft pick in exchange for an exec who worked in their front office for less than three months.
- Desperate to build enough strength to avoid injuries, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis has been working with famous personal trainer Carlon Colker, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. The doctor and former MMA fighter has worked previously with Shaquille O’Neal and, uh, Justin Bieber.
After a year of non-stop drama, there’s an air of optimism and hopefulness surrounding the Knicks that was noticeably absent during last season’s Phil Jackson vs. Carmelo Anthony standoff, writes Ian Begley of ESPN. While the Knicks have had played well, with a 16-14 record so far, their on-court success isn’t the only thing contributing to the positive mood within the organization, as one team source tells Begley.
“Everyone just seems a little lighter,” the source said. “The drama Phil created with Carmelo really affected the team and the joy factor.”
In an in-depth piece for ESPN, Begley revisits that Jackson-and-Anthony saga, highlighting some of the incidents and confrontations that ultimately led to both men leaving the franchise. Begley’s feature is worth checking out in full, especially for Knicks fans, but here are a few highlights:
- Some members of the organization knew back in summer 2015 that they wanted to trade Anthony, and by the following year, that sentiment was shared by virtually all of the Knicks‘ top decision-makers, says Begley. “The feeling in meetings was almost unanimous: They felt he just wasn’t a winning player,” one source said. “They thought they could turn everything around if they just moved him.” Anthony was aware of this stance, despite some of those execs insisting they were still on his side, which was a big reason why he soured on the organization.
- Jackson regularly interrupted Knicks practices and overrode Jeff Hornacek‘s instructions to ensure that the triangle offense was being implemented properly, despite two veteran players telling him directly that the system wasn’t working, per Begley.
- Jackson presided over mindfulness meditation training with the Knicks during his last year in New York, as he had done with his previous teams. However, some Knicks players didn’t take it seriously — during the final sessions, Anthony would sometimes pretend to be asleep when Jackson told the players to open their eyes, witnesses told Begley.
- During a March 12 loss to the Nets last season, Anthony and assistant Kurt Rambis blew up at each other during halftime. Anthony told Rambis that “this place is a f—ing joke,” and Rambis questioned Carmelo’s effort (in equally colorful language), according to Begley.
- After Kristaps Porzingis skipped his exit meeting in the spring, Jackson discussed possible trades involving the young big man. While those discussions were framed by some as Jackson teaching Porzingis a lesson, there were members of the front office in favor of moving the Latvian at the time, sources tell Begley.
- For a portion of the summer, Anthony strongly believed that he’d end up in Houston, expressing a belief that LeBron James would eventually join him and Chris Paul on the Rockets. Although the Rockets tried to make a deal, discussing one three-team iteration that would’ve involved Jabari Parker and the Bucks, it ultimately didn’t work out, resulting in the trade that sent Carmelo to the Thunder.
4:24pm: Asked today about the situation, Kanter called Erdogan a “maniac” and indicated that the threat of jail won’t stop him from speaking out against the current regime in Turkey, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Knicks center also joked that he had expected Turkish prosecutors to pursue a stronger sentence.
“I was like, ‘That’s it? Only four years?’” Kanter said. “All the trash I’ve been talking?”
Although he downplayed the indictment, Kanter expressed concern for his family still in Turkey, noting that he can’t communicate with them because of the repercussions they would face.
10:08am: Turkish prosecutors are seeking more than four years in prison for Knicks center Enes Kanter for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Kanter, who was detained in Romania in May after his Turkish passport was canceled, has been extremely critical of Erdogan in the past, comparing him to Adolf Hitler. The AP’s report notes that the indictment prepared by the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office cites a series of tweets published by Kanter in May and June of 2016.
Kanter was eventually able to return to the United States after being detained in May, at which point he expressed a desire to become a U.S. citizen. Shortly after that incident, Turkey issued a warrant for Kanter’s arrest.
Assuming prosecutors move forward with this case, Kanter would be tried in absentia, per The AP. No matter what the outcome is, the 25-year-old is extremely unlikely to return to Turkey anytime soon. Kanter’s family has disowned him as a result of his support for Fethullah Gulen, who was blamed by Turkey for last year’s attempted military coup.
After an entire season of uncertainty under former Knicks team president Phil Jackson, head coach Jeff Hornacek has the freedom to coach his team without interference, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis said that without Jackson in the way, Hornacek — and even the team itself — feels more relaxed and capable of running the offense and defense efficiently. Last season, it was widely reported that Jackson insisted that Hornacek run a triangle offense; at one point, Jackson reportedly sat in on Knicks practices to make sure the offense was being implemented.
“He just has more freedom,’’ Porzingis said of the Knicks’ head coach. “He’s running the stuff he wants to run. He’s more comfortable and balanced. You also feel that confidence from [the coaching staff] in what they’re doing. Players always feel that. There’s a difference between last year, definitely.”
Entering play on Tuesday, the Knicks sport a record of 16-14, tied with the Wizards for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Offseason predictions were that the Knicks would not sniff the postseason picture but a strong start has propelled the team into playoff discussion.
- Knicks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. was reevaluated today, but there’s still no set timetable for his return. According to the club (Twitter link), Hardaway will advance his rehab and court work, and will be evaluated again next week.
Kristaps Porzingis missed his second straight game tonight when the Knicks traveled to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. Porzingis also missed Saturday night’s win over the Thunder in the return of former teammate Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple. Porzingis has now missed six of the team’s first thirty games and while, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reports, Porzingis understands that it’s a long season, his frustration is growing.
Porzingis is expected to return to the Knicks lineup for Thursday’s game against Boston at Madison Square Garden.
- In other Porzingis news, Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal reports that the Knicks‘ star will continue to be represented by his brothers Janis and Martins after former agent Andy Miller relinquished his NBPA certification in the fallout from the FBI’s investigation into college basketball. Per Janis, “Now that Andy does not have his license anymore, not much is changing.”
Two months into the 2017/18 NBA season, the Knicks are one of the most impressive turnaround stories. One of the major reasons why is that the club is learning to trust one another, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes.
- The Knicks and Nets, with rosters jam-packed with promising young players, have set about rebuilding the right way, no small feat in the superteam era, a Nets Daily report opines.