New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Waive Trey Burke, Two Others

October 14th, 2017 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have announced three roster cuts, confirming today in a press release that they’ve waived point guard Trey Burke, guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, and forward Nigel Hayes.

Burke is the most noteworthy player of the group. The former ninth overall pick signed a contract with the Knicks earlier this week, and given the team’s uncertain point guard picture, it looked like there may be an opportunity for him to sneak onto the regular season roster. That won’t happen after all.

Rathan-Mayes and Hayes look like good bets to land with the Westchester Knicks as G League affiliate players. Burke could also end up in the G League, though he’ll likely exhaust his NBA opportunities first, and overseas league may be an option for the former Michigan standout too.

As for the Knicks, they’re still carrying 16 players on their NBA roster, but don’t necessarily need to make any additional cuts before the season begins. Joakim Noah is in the midst of serving a 20-game ban and will open the year on the suspended list, giving the Knicks the chance to add a 16th player until Noah returns. Jarrett Jack – the only non-guaranteed player left on the roster – appears to be the beneficiary.

Frank Ntilikina Impresses With Eye For Xs And Os

October 12th, 2017 at 10:18pm CST by Austin Kent

The Knicks have been impressed with Frank Ntilikina‘s eye for Xs and Os, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. The guard apparently picked up on new plays that Jeff Hornacek added to the rotation while watching a preseason game from home as he nursed a knee injury.

Could Trey Burke Win The Knicks’ Starting Point Guard Spot?

October 11th, 2017 at 11:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Trey Burke may have a unique opportunity to showcase his ability and make a case to stay on the Knicks’ roster for the season despite only signing with the team just days before final cuts are due.

New York currently has 15 players on the books with guaranteed salaries for the upcoming season and by virtue of not being one of those players, Burke is on the outside looking in. However, Joakim Noah will be suspended for the first 12 games of the season, meaning the team will have an additional roster spot available for those contests.

[RELATED: Knicks Sign Trey Burke]

It was reported earlier today that the Knicks view Burke as a potential G-League player. Still, the former no.9 overall pick is confident that he’ll stick with the team during Noah’s suspension and force New York to cut a player on a guaranteed deal once the big man returns.

“I believe in myself. I’m looking forward to coming out here every day and proving myself,” Burke tells ESPN’s Ian Begley (via ESPN Now link). “Obviously I want to make this roster. We know nothing is given. For me, my faith took me a long way. So I believe that I will make the roster even if no one else does so we’ll see what happens.”

Should the club trade Courtney Lee, something it appears willing to do, and choose not to take back a player in the deal, Burke would have a better shot at making the opening night roster. His main competition for the 12-game audition is veteran Jarrett Jack, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with the club last month. Absent of a trade, it seems there’s a battle between an aging veteran and a former lottery pick who never reached his potential.

Jack came to New York’s training camp looking to prove that he’s healthy after a knee injury ended his 2016/17 campaign. The point guard hasn’t had any setbacks during the team’s three preseason games. He scored 22 points and dished out 12 assists over 69 minutes of action.

Projected starting point guard Ron Baker missed a couple of preseason games with an ankle injury and No. 8 overall pick Frank Ntilikina hasn’t been able to suit up yet because of a knee ailment. The injury woes likely compelled the team to bring in another option to run the point.

None of the team’s point guard options make a particularly strong case to start. The Knicks appear willing to take things slow with Ntilikina. Baker is likely best-suited for a reserve role; same with Jack if he makes the squad, though both players are capable of running the show, especially considering New York’s lack of stellar expectations this season. New addition Ramon Sessions got a pair of starts this preseason, though he didn’t exactly light the world on fire, tallying just 11 assists over 56 minutes of action.

The Knicks have one more preseason game remaining (Friday against the Wizards) and if Burke shines, he could find himself on the opening night roster. With that comes a dozen games to prove he belongs not only on the team, but also in the first-unit alongside his former college teammate Tim Hardaway Jr.

Burke faces an uphill battle to win a starting spot. However, the Knicks’ lack of top-notch options, coupled with Burke’s presumed familiarity with the team’s second-highest-paid player, give this former National Player of the Year award recipient a chance to become the franchise’s top floor general.

Will Burke make the opening night roster and will he be able to carve out a role with the Knicks?

Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

Knicks Sign Trey Burke

October 11th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have signed former lottery pick Trey Burke to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move increases New York’s roster count to 20 players, the preseason maximum.

Burke, who will turn 25 next month, was the ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft, but has struggled to make an impact during his first four NBA seasons. After three up-and-down seasons in Utah, the former Michigan standout joined the Wizards for the 2016/17 season.

While his shooting numbers in Washington (.455/.443/.759) were the best of his career, Burke was also only playing 12.3 minutes per contest, easily a career low. The Wizards opted not to tender him a qualifying offer at season’s end, which made him an unrestricted free agent. Last month, Burke appeared to have a deal in place with the Thunder, but reportedly backed out of it in search of another opportunity.

The Knicks currently have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, and Burke won’t have much time to make an impression on the franchise before the regular season begins, so it’s not clear if he’ll have an opportunity to earn a regular season roster spot.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com suggests (via Twitter) that Burke may battle Jarrett Jack for a spot on the 15-man squad, and Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that the Knicks will actually be able to carry a 16th player early in the season while Joakim Noah serves his suspension.

Still, Marc Berman of The New York Post – who notes that the Knicks also have interest in John Jenkins – indicates (via Twitter) that the team likely views Burke as a potential G League player.

Kristaps Porzingis' Disappointing Preseason Is Alarming

October 10th, 2017 at 8:44pm CST by marksuleymanov

Kristaps Porzingis has performed poorly in the preseason and was called out on it by MSG announcers on a hot mic. He’s also having trouble lifting his leg as he deals with a hip injury, according to head coach Jeff Hornacek. It’s a concerning start to the season for the man the Knicks view as a franchise linchpin, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes.
Caris LeVert returned from an ankle injury to face the Knicks in the preseason and his energy, defense, and improvements impressed Nets officials, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes.

Knicks Notes: Cap Space, Lee, Noah, Porzingis

October 10th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks need to concentrate their rebuilding efforts on the draft rather than free agency, writes Ian Begley of ESPN. If Enes Kanter, Ron Baker and Kyle O’Quinn all exercise player options for next season, New York will have about $10MM available and almost all of that will be consumed by a $9.8MM cap hold for Doug McDermott. The Knicks have a Monday deadline to reach a rookie-scale extension with McDermott, but sources tell Begley that’s unlikely to happen. New York also has to factor in the cost of what is expected to be a high draft pick. Frank Ntilikina, who was the eighth overall selection this year, has a starting salary of $3.5MM.

The outlook is somewhat brighter for 2019, as the Knicks will enter that summer with about $50MM in guaranteed salaries. The team could give Kristaps Porzingis a rookie extension by then, which would add about $27MM, but with the Latvian star having a $17.1MM cap hold, it may make more sense to work out a deal in 2019. Add in a $4.8MM option that is expected to be picked up on Ntilikina, plus $1.6MM options on Damyean Dotson and Willy Hernangomez in addition to another draft pick, and Begley estimates about $19.5MM in available cap space, which isn’t nearly enough to compete for an elite free agent.

There’s more today out of New York:

One way to open cap space is through trades, and the Knicks’ front office seems willing to deal Courtney Lee, Begley notes in the same story. With three years and $55MM left on his contract, Joakim Noah is considered virtually untradable, but former team president Phil Jackson tried to include him when he talked to teams about Porzingis deals earlier this year.
Teams have contacted the Knicks about O’Quinn and Lance Thomas during the preseason, Begley adds. New York has a surplus of big men after acquiring Kanter from the Thunder in the Carmelo Anthony trade.
The Knicks aren’t making much effort to hide their desire to tank this season, with coach Jeff Hornacek comparing himself to Sixers coach Brett Brown, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. There is some concern that rebuilding will take its toll on Porzingis and may affect his desire to sign an extension in New York. “We’re building something and want to move forward as a team. We’re far from a championship right now,” Porzingis said. “We need to have a progression and move forward as a team and get better every year. I don’t know how long, if we do all the right things and grow, we’ll be there one day.’’
The Knicks unveiled Squarespace this morning as the new team sponsor, according to The New York Daily News. They are the 17th NBA team to add an official sponsor, and the uniform patches will debut in Friday’s game.

Hornacek Set Up For Failure With Current Roster

October 9th, 2017 at 9:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The current Knicks roster puts head coach Jeff Hornacek in a no-win situation, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News argues. The front office has stressed improvement in effort and stops but recent acquisitions Tim Hardaway Jr., Michael Beasley, Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott won’t improve the defense, Bondy continues. Hornacek will have the unenviable task of trying to develop a system to mask those defensive shortcomings, Bondy adds.

Summer With Spanish Team Helped Willy Hernangomez

October 8th, 2017 at 8:31pm CST by Austin Kent

The Knicks have a glut of centers on their roster and this season could go a long way toward figuring out who their big man of the future might be. A solid summer with Spain’s national team has helped 23-year-old Willy Hernangomez shore up his case for the position, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

Hernangomez will presumably compete with Enes Kanter for the Knicks’ starting gig but teammates Kyle O’Quinn and Joakim Noah have value in their own ways as well. The Spanish import and close friend of franchise star Kristaps Porzingis, will look to build upon a rookie season in which he averaged 8.2 points and 7.0 boards in just 18.4 minutes per game.

Pistons Notes: Drummond, Ellenson, Johnson, Jackson

October 8th, 2017 at 12:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Many teams remain interested in trading for Pistons center Andre Drummond, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis talked to several talent evaluators around the league, who say that at age 24, Drummond still has the potential to become a successful big man despite questions about his energy and defense. Teams don’t seem reluctant to take on Drummond’s contract, which will pay him more than $105MM over the next four seasons.

The people Ellis spoke with don’t believe the Pistons are currently shopping Drummond, athough they were over the offseason and before February’s trade deadline. However, he cites two potentially interested parties in Knicks GM Scott Perry, who was an assistant GM in Detroit when Drummond was drafted, and Clippers executive VP Lawrence Frank, who coached the Pistons when Drummond was a rookie.

There’s more this morning out of Detroit:

Henry Ellenson‘s impressive preseason could mean more minutes for the second-year big man, Ellis adds in the same piece. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Ellenson is “playing at a high level” after he scored 16 points in 17 minutes Friday. He is competing with Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer and Anthony Tolliver for playing time at power forward.
The competition at power forward will keep Stanley Johnson at small forward, which may not be his best position, Ellis writes in a separate story. Many observers believe Johnson would excel as a stretch four, but Van Gundy expects nearly all of Johnson’s minutes this season to come at small forward. “We just don’t really have a need for another [power forward],” Van Gundy said. “There may be some defensive things late in the game where teams go small and we could go small with him, but we’ve got enough stuff we could run without having him to spend a lot of time there. I’m not going to confuse him and have him having to work and know all the sets at [power forward].”
Point guard Reggie Jackson is ready to take on a larger leadership role this season, Ellis writes in a another story. Now one of the oldest players on the team at 27, Jackson wants to erase the nightmare of last year when knee problems forced him to miss the start of the season and the team wasn’t able to incorporate him smoothly once he returned. Part of the problem was physical, as assistant coach Tim Hardaway says Jackson never fully recovered. “He’s the catalyst,” Hardaway said. “He wants to come out here and be the man. He can be the man, but first he has to be healthy. Once he’s 100% and shape, everybody’s going to see a different Reggie because last year he was hurt all the time.”

Chasson Randle Set To Play In Spain

October 7th, 2017 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 7, 4:24pm: Randle has signed a one-year deal with Real Madrid, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

OCTOBER 2, 9am: A week after being waived by the Knicks, point guard Chasson Randle appears to have secured a new job. According to a report from Spanish outlet Gigantes (English link via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando), Randle will sign with Real Madrid for the coming season.

Randle, a former Stanford standout, went undrafted in 2015 and began his professional career with a Czech team in 2015/16. Last season, Randle bounced around between a pair of Atlantic division clubs. After spending the preseason with the Knicks, he was waived and later caught on with the Sixers. When Philadelphia waived him, the 24-year-old returned to the Knicks to finish the year.

In 26 total NBA games last season, Randle averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.3 APG in 11.5 minutes per contest. He had been set to open camp with the Knicks, but when the club acquired two players in exchange for Carmelo Anthony last week, an extra roster spot was required, and Randle was cut.

If and when Randle finalizes a deal with Real Madrid, he’ll be playing alongside former NBA players like Anthony Randolph, Gustavo Ayon, and Jeffery Taylor. He’ll also be teammates with top prospect Luka Doncic.