New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Joakim Noah’s Suspension To Begin On Wednesday

March 29th, 2017 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Joakim Noah will serve the first game of his 20-game suspension on Wednesday night, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that an independent, NBA-approved doctor has medically cleared Noah. The veteran Knicks center received his suspension two games ago, but wasn’t eligible to begin serving it until he was deemed physically able to play.

Had it not been for the suspension, the Knicks likely would’ve been happy to let Noah take the rest of the season to recover from his left knee injury, shutting him down for now and focusing on getting him healthy for next season. In that scenario though, the 32-year-old would have had to serve all 20 games in 2017/18. By receiving medical clearance now, Noah will be able to serve eight games this season, leaving 12 for the fall.

Noah, who received his ban for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program, said this week that the substance for which he tested positive was intended to help with his rehab, but was not approved by the Knicks.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/28/17

March 28th, 2017 at 10:07pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Check out Tuesday’s D-League assignment and recalls from around the league:

The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet to the Raptors 905, per the team’s Twitter feed. Toronto has since recalled Van Fleet (Twitter feed).
The Knicks have assigned Maurice Ndour, Marshall Plumlee and Chasson Randle to the Westchester Knicks, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Each of the three players saw one minute of NBA action on Monday in New York’s win over Detroit.
The Bulls have assigned Cameron Payne to the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release. Payne, who was sent to Chicago in the Taj Gibson deal, has seen 140 minutes with the NBA club since arriving in town.

Knicks Notes: Noah, Anthony, Kuzminskas, Bliss

March 28th, 2017 at 12:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injured Knicks center Joakim Noah met with team doctors Monday before receiving clearance to practice today, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team knows Noah can’t play again this season, but it wanted him medically cleared so his 20-game drug suspension will start as soon as possible. NBA doctors will examine Noah, who had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in late February, before Wednesday’s game against Miami. If he gets league approval before tipoff, he will serve eight games of the suspension this season.

Noah apologized to teammates today for his androgen-related suspension and said he will accept the punishment “like a man,” tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Noah said the substance he took was intended to help with his rehab after surgery and was not approved by the Knicks’ medical staff, relays Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

There’s more news out of New York:

Carmelo Anthony, who returned to the lineup Monday after resting his knee on the final two games of a Western road trip, prefers “Chinese herbs, African herbs” to other supplements, Berman notes in a separate story. He won’t commit to playing both games of this week’s back-to-back. Anthony also says of fans who want the team to tank to improve its draft position, “They can come play,” tweets Begley.
A midseason slump by Mindaugas Kuzminskas could discourage the Knicks from letting him play for Lithuania in this summer’s European Championships, Berman writes in another piece. The competition starts in August, with training camp in late July. The Knicks are concerned that Kuzminskas is running out of steam after playing in the Olympics last year.
The Knicks’ Dave Bliss is part of a group of young assistant coaches who are making their mark in the NBA, according to Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Bliss, who played four years at Georgia before graduating in 2008, is a key part of the team’s player deprogram that has helped Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez and Lance Thomas quickly become productive players.

Knicks’ Offseason Priorities: Defense, Trading Carmelo

March 28th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks will emphasize defense in their offseason moves and are committed to shipping Carmelo Anthony out of New York, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

If they can find a deal for Anthony, and he agrees to waive his no-trade clause, the Knicks will focus on a defensive-minded small forward as his replacement. Begley says the team is interested in Josh Jackson of Kansas, who is expected to be one of the first players selected in the June 22nd draft. The Knicks hold the sixth spot in our latest Reverse Standings.

Along with its lottery pick, New York will have about $25MM in cap room to pursue free agents if it decides not to re-sign Derrick Rose. Anthony and Rose are both among the league’s worst players at their positions in Defensive Real Plus-Minus stats, which plays a major role in the team’s problems at that end of the court.

Coach Jeff Hornacek said Monday that the organization understands it needs to upgrade on defense.

“I think if you look at our defense this year, we can use some more defensive players,” he said. “[Management] will look at that. [General manager] Steve [Mills] and [president] Phil [Jackson] and those guys will look at whatever can help us out. We know we need some help there.”

The Knicks have been in the bottom third of the NBA’s defensive ratings all season and are currently seventh worst in points allowed at 108.5 per game. Adjusted for pace, they slip to fifth in the league.

Improvement will have to come outside of the current roster, Begley notes, as young front-line players Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez haven’t excelled at on-ball defense, although Hornacek said Hernangomez has been improving.

“He gives us different options,” the coach said. “He’s got quicker feet, so maybe we can pull him up on screens more often, that might help us out. Playing [Porzingis] at the 5, maybe with his length, if we keep him back. So we can be better from the inside.”

The Knicks were hoping they had found a defensive anchor last summer when they gave a four-year, $72MM deal to Joakim Noah. But injuries have limited him to 46 games and his poor offensive play led Hornacek to keep him on the court only about 22 minutes per night.

Jeff Hornacek Talks Defensive Struggles

March 27th, 2017 at 9:36pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Knicks‘ defensive inconsistencies have haunted them all season. Per “Defensive Efficiency,” a metric devised by John Hollinger of ESPN, the Knicks rank 26th in the league with a 108.9 rating. Jeff Hornacek has previously voiced frustration at his team’s defensive effort- in early January he conceded “we just must not be good enough defensively”- but he doubled-down on his criticisms prior to Monday’s match-up with Detroit.

“Defensively, we’ve got a lot of work,” Hornacek told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. “We’ve got to try to figure out what’s going to be best for us. The personnel, we were trying to mix things up a little bit, see if we can find something that worked. We never really found anything. But going into next year we need to really stay with one way and keep practicing until we get it right.”

Hornacek alluding to next season is a recent development. Only in mid-March, when the Knicks were already 6.5 games out of the eighth seed, did Hornacek acknowledge “the playoffs may not be in reach.” (Daily News link) Hornacek’s job security appears to be intact, per a March 16 report from Marc Berman of the New York Post.

With Hornacek at the helm for a second season, however, the Knicks will have to make roster adjustments to improve on each end of the court. As Bondy points out, Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, and Carmelo Anthony have all had bottom-35 defensive ratings around the league.

“We can use some more defensive players. They’ll look at that. Steve (Mills) and Phil (Jackson) and the front office will look at whatever can help us out. We know we need some help there,” Hornacek said.

Latest On Joakim Noah’s Suspension

March 27th, 2017 at 6:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Joakim Noah will be re-evaluated by team doctors to determine if he’ll be able to practice this week, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Noah is looking at a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy, but his suspension can not begin until he is “eligible and physically ready to play.” Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (via Twitter) that the league would want to see Noah go through a whole practice without complications before the suspension starts.

The center underwent microscopic knee surgery last month. He was expected to miss most, if not the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign. The Knicks have nine games remaining this season, including tonight’s tilt with the Pistons. Noah won’t be cleared for tonight’s game, but he could be cleared before the team’s game against Miami on Wednesday. That would allow him to serve eight of his 20 games this season and serve the remaining dozen games at the beginning of the 2017/18 campaign.

Before undergoing surgery, Noah was having a down year by his standards. He was averaging 5.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while sporting 15.2 player efficiency rating.

Pau Gasol Was Surprised Not To Get FA Call From Knicks

March 27th, 2017 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Pau Gasol received plenty of interest in free agency last summer before signing with San Antonio, but he was surprised not to receive a call from the Knicks, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Knicks president Phil Jackson coached Gasol in Los Angeles years ago, but Jackson had “tunnel vision” when it came to free agent centers last summer, pursuing Joakim Noah without seriously considering Gasol, Berman writes.
Although the Knicks hope to identify a long-term answer at point guard this offseason, they aren’t a lock to take one with their first-round pick, a source tells Berman. Depending on where New York’s pick lands, it could make more sense for the club to grab a prospect like Kansas forward Josh Jackson.

Knicks Notes: Hernangomez, Noah, Anthony, Draft

March 26th, 2017 at 9:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Willy Hernangomez is making a strong case to be the Knicks’ starting center next season, regardless of Joakim Noah‘s suspension, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Hernangomez had another impressive game Saturday with a career-best 24 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to the Spurs. He has been the primary starter since February 4th, when Noah was sidelined by a hamstring injury. The rookie center is signed through the 2019/20 season.

Coach Jeff Hornacek isn’t ready to commit to a starting center for next season, but he admits Hernangomez will be in the mix. “It’s probably too early,’’ Hornacek said. “We still look at [Kristaps Porzingis] at the five sometimes, and Willy at the 4. And the way the league is going, we’re going to find one of those two guys if we play these teams that have a 6-7 4-man. One of those two guys is going to have to guard him.’’

There’s more this morning out of New York:

Noah could start serving his 20-game suspension as early as Tuesday if he is medically cleared to return to practice, Berman adds in the same story. That would knock eight games off the suspension for this year and leave him out of action for the first 12 games of next season. Noah had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late February.
Carmelo Anthony was held out for his second straight game with a minor knee issue, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The Knicks played six rookies Saturday as they dropped to 27-46 and are now tied with the Magic for fourth place in our latest Reverse Standings.
Even though the Knicks need backcourt help in the draft, they could take a long look at Kansas forward Josh Jackson, according to Neil Best of Newsday. Jackson is considered a top five pick, and Jayhawks coach Bill Self believes he has the versatility to succeed as a pro. “In the NBA they talk about skill sets,” Self said. “Does he have an NBA skill? I think Josh has multiple NBA skills. He’s a guard that can obviously play much bigger than that. You could almost play him at four spots offensively, and he’s big enough and quick enough that he could almost guard four sports defensively.” With Kansas being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament Saturday, Jackson is expected to declare for the draft soon.

Knicks Should Consider Kentucky's Monk, Fox

March 25th, 2017 at 10:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Steve Serby of the New York Post examines Kentucky’s backcourt and believes both Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox would be good fits for the Knicks. Both players are expected to be top-10 picks and New York currently owns the No. 5 spot in our Reverse Standings.

Atlantic Notes: Long, VanVleet, Marks, Porzingis

March 25th, 2017 at 2:50pm CST by Milo Taibi

Shawn Long has seized his opportunity with the Sixers; most recently scoring 18 points with seven rebounds in Friday’s win over the Bulls. Coach Brett Brown spoke with Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly about Long’s emergence in the absence of Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel.

“I think that Shawn Long has really grabbed his brief opportunities and been more than serviceable,” Brown said. “He’s shown reasons why he should be considered a genuine NBA player. Opportunity uncovers different qualities in people.”

While Long’s contract is partially guaranteed over the next two seasons, the 24-year-old has asserted his role in the league over the last nine games.