New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

New York Notes: LaVine, DeRozan, Bogdanovic, Dinwiddie, DSJ

December 7th, 2023 at 9:17am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are searching for ways to upgrade their roster, but they haven’t engaged in serious trade talks with the Bulls about Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan or any other players, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. New York has been floated as a potential suitor for LaVine and reportedly explored a possible deal with Chicago prior to last season’s deadline. The Bulls are hoping to find a taker for LaVine, but his latest injury setback should cool any interest around the league, at least for a while.

Bojan Bogdanovic has also been a target for the Knicks in the past, but Begley’s sources say Detroit isn’t looking to move him right now. Bogdanovic recently returned from a calf strain, and the Pistons hope he can help snap an 18-game losing streak and get them heading in the right direction before considering any deals.

There’s more from New York City:

Recent frustration expressed by Knicks guards Josh Hart and Quentin Grimes is the result of a poorly constructed roster with too many redundant players, contends Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy points out that team president Leon Rose created a roster imbalance this summer when he traded power forward Obi Toppin to Indiana for virtually nothing and signed shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo. The move gave New York too many guards and wings, without enough playing time to keep them all satisfied. Grimes is unhappy about losing minutes to DiVincenzo, but Bondy notes that the same situation occurred last year when Evan Fournier was replaced by Grimes. Bondy’s solution is to either move Grimes to the second unit, which would give him more play-making duties, or to balance the roster with a long-rumored trade for another star.
Spencer Dinwiddie has been willing to adapt his role amid heavy injuries to the Nets‘ backcourt, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Ben Simmons, Dennis Smith Jr., Cam Thomas and Lonnie Walker have all missed time already, forcing Dinwiddie to spend more time running the offense, and he has posted one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the league. Dinwiddie will be a free agent next summer, and Lewis says there’s a belief in league circles that his next contract could top the $81MM over four years that Hart received from the Knicks.
Smith, who refers to himself as “a savage,” has been showing why the Nets were so determined to add him in free agency, observes CJ Holmes of The New York Daily News. Smith returned Saturday after missing six games with a lower back sprain, adding another level of toughness to Brooklyn’s scrappy lineup.

Knicks’ Grimes Expresses Frustration With Role

December 6th, 2023 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks swingman Quentin Grimes has scored just 16 points in his past seven games and has gone scoreless in three of those outings, including Tuesday’s in-season tournament quarterfinal loss to Milwaukee.

Following a game in which he had four times as many personal fouls (4) as shot attempts (1), Grimes expressed some dissatisfaction with his role in the team’s offense, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

“It’s just hard when you go the whole quarter without touching the ball, the whole second quarter without touching the ball, and then you get one shot and you got to make it,” Grimes said. “So it’s tough going out there and just standing in the corner the whole game. Then you got to make the shot when you shoot the ball one or two times per game. It is what it is.”

As Bondy notes, Grimes’ only field goal attempt on Tuesday came in the third quarter. Shortly after that missed three-pointer, he was removed from the lineup and – for a third consecutive game – didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter.

“It feels like if I don’t hit the shot, I’m coming out,” Grimes said. “So every shot I shoot probably weighs like 100 pounds if I don’t make it.”

Grimes started 66 games last season for the Knicks and is one of the team’s best defensive players. He was also a reliable part of the offensive attack in 2022/23, averaging 11.3 points per game with a .468/.386/.796 shooting line. This fall, he’s averaging just 5.8 PPG on .359/.345/.667 shooting and his usage rate has dipped to a career-low 11.7%.

Grimes has started all 18 games he has played this season, and head coach Tom Thibodeau has lauded the 23-year-old’s defense, indicating that he likes his fit with the starting five. But Grimes’ minutes are down and playing alongside ball-dominant players like Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and RJ Barrett means there are limited offensive opportunities for him.

“I just know last year RJ missed a lot of games. Jalen missed some games. So I had the ball in my hands a little bit more. I knew I wasn’t coming out,” Grimes said. “I knew I was going to be in there and get more shots, play the whole first quarter, the whole third quarter. I knew I had opportunities to get the ball and get my shots up. Now it’s just a matter if the ball come my way, really.”

While Grimes’ teammates sometimes don’t find him when he’s open, the third-year wing could also benefit from being more active on offense, suggests Fred Katz of The Athletic, who notes that a player like Donte DiVincenzo constantly cuts and relocates when he doesn’t have the ball. Grimes could look to do more when his defender sags off of him, Katz writes.

Josh Hart registered some similar complaints about his own role last week and has been on a hot streak since then (13.0 PPG, .656 FG%), with his teammates ribbing him about his usage rate, according to Katz. The Knicks are hoping to get Grimes going too.

“He has a hard job, a tough role,” Randle said. “But we’ve gotta do a better job of trying to get him better looks, make him feel more included for sure.”

“He’s going to get the ball so sometimes when the confidence is low it seems like the end of the world,” Brunson added. “But as teammates we need to pick him up and make sure he gets back on track

Tournament’s Final Four Set, Regular Season Schedule Finalized

December 6th, 2023 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks and the Lakers earned quarterfinal victories on Tuesday night, joining the Pacers and Pelicans as the final four teams that will head to Las Vegas to compete for the championship in the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament.

Milwaukee pulled away from New York in the second half in Tuesday’s early game, with superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combining for 63 points in the 146-122 victory.

In the late game, the Lakers benefited from a generous timeout call in the closing seconds (Twitter video link) and eked out Phoenix in a 106-103 nail-biter, led by LeBron James‘ 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, and five steals.

The schedule for Thursday’s semifinals at T-Mobile Arena is as follows:

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers (4:00 pm Central time)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm CT)

The winners of those semifinal matchups will square off in the in-season tournament final at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday at 7:30 pm CT.

Players on standard contracts with the Bucks, Pacers, Lakers, and Pelicans have now secured bonuses worth at least $100K (two-way players will earn half that amount). A semifinal victory would increase those bonuses to at least $200K, while the champs will earn $500K apiece.

The Celtics, Knicks, Kings, and Suns, meanwhile, will come away with bonuses worth $50K per player for making the knockout round, but won’t get the opportunity to head to Vegas for the tournament’s final stage.

Instead, the Knicks will travel to Boston on Friday, while the Kings will visit Phoenix on the same night. Those newly added regular season contests represent the 82nd game on each team’s schedule. Thursday’s semifinals will also count toward the NBA’s regular season standings, but Saturday’s final won’t, since that will be the 83rd game on those teams’ schedules.

New York Notes: DiVincenzo, Grimes, Walker, Finney-Smith

December 5th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

After making 7-of-9 three-point attempts in Friday’s win over Toronto, Knicks sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo has converted 43.4% of his tries from beyond the arc this season, which would easily be a career high. Julius Randle says DiVincenzo has made New York “a more dynamic team,” while head coach Tom Thibodeau expressed appreciation for what the veteran wing has brought to the club, per Peter Botte of The New York Post.

“I think he complements our primary scorers great, because he can stretch the floor and he does a little bit of everything,” Thibodeau said. “He handles the ball, he makes plays, he rebounds the ball well for his size. So he’s done a really good job, but it’s that entire [second] unit that’s really done a good job.”

DiVincenzo, who signed a four-year contract during the 2023 offseason, is one of two Knicks players who will become trade-eligible on December 15, but there have certainly been no indications that the team will look to move him this season.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Knicks wing Quentin Grimes is off to a slow start this season, having averaged just 6.2 points per game on 36.3% shooting. However, Thibodeau remains comfortable with Grimes as part of the starting five because the group as a whole is performing well, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “To me, it’s not about individuals. It’s about, how is the unit performing?” Thibodeau said. “And if the unit is performing well, then you’re fine, right? And if you’re open, you shoot it, and if you’re guarded, you make a play. He can help a lot, and he does. He’s guarding a lot of different players for us. That’s a very important role for our team.”
After missing Saturday’s win over Orlando, Lonnie Walker underwent imaging on his left hamstring strain and is expected to remain sidelined for several more games, head coach Jacque Vaughn said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post). “Lonnie’s situation is he will not travel with us to Atlanta (for Wednesday’s game) and all signs pointing towards him not playing on the West Coast trip (which runs from Dec. 11-18) and having some more information about that after we get back from the West Coast trip,” Vaughn told reporters.
On the plus side for the Nets, Dorian Finney-Smith, who was also unavailable on Saturday due to right foot/knee soreness, practiced on Tuesday and is “back in action,” according to Vaughn (Twitter link via Lewis).
Although the Nets‘ 10-9 record isn’t a major surprise, their strong offensive production has been a little unexpected, Braziller says for The New York Post. Seven different Nets are averaging double-digit points per game and Brooklyn’s 117.5 offensive rating ranks sixth in the NBA. The club is also second in the league with a 39.0% three-point rate, Braziller notes.

De’Aaron Fox, Julius Randle Named Players Of The Week

December 4th, 2023 at 2:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Knicks forward Julius Randle have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter). Fox won for the Western Conference, while Randle won for the East.

It’s the second weekly award thus far in 2023/24 for Fox, who led Sacramento to a 2-1 record last week. The 25-year-old averaged 31.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.7 steals in his three games (38.7 minutes per night). The Kings host the Pelicans tonight in the quarterfinal of the league’s inaugural in-season tournament.

Randle, meanwhile, averaged 24.7 points, 13.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists in guiding New York to a perfect 3-0 record last week (36.0 minutes). As Tommy Beer tweets, Randle joins Jalen Brunson — who won two weeks ago — as the first pair of Knicks teammates to win the weekly award in the same season since 2012/13, when Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith were honored.

The Knicks will play the Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday for their quarterfinal matchup.

According to the NBA, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic and Shaedon Sharpe were nominated in the West, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Patrick Beverley, Mikal Bridges, Donovan Mitchell, Franz Wagner and Coby White were nominated in the East (Twitter links).

Barrett Still Trying To Find Form

December 4th, 2023 at 1:29pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks forward RJ Barrett had a strong start to the 2023/24 season interrupted by migraines, which caused him to miss three games, and he’s still trying to regain his prior form, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The 23-year-old is shooting just 34.4% from the field and 25.0% from long distance over the past seven games. “Having a week where you don’t play, it’s not ideal,” Barrett said. “But at the end of the day, I’ve also had a [few] weeks where I’ve been playing. No excuses; I’m kind of getting back to it.”

Brutal Schedule Upcoming This Month

December 3rd, 2023 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks are 12-7 but their December schedule will be a major test, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes. They have to play Milwaukee three times and nine of their remaining 12 December games are on the road. Phoenix and both Los Angeles teams will be part of a West Coast trip and the last three road games including up-and-coming clubs Oklahoma City, Orlando and Indiana.

New York Notes: Randle, Brunson, Vaughn, Simmons, DSJ

December 3rd, 2023 at 4:28pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Two-time Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle continues to thrive for New York despite dealing with lingering knee soreness, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. He has played in all 19 of the team’s games thus far this season after appearing in 77 of 82 last year.

“You almost come to expect that from him. If he can go, he’s going,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And I love that about him. He wanted to get out there, and he warmed up early to see how he would feel. And then he got with the medical people. But Julius, he gives you what he has. He doesn’t take days off.”

New York even wanted Randle to rest the knee earlier this week, Bondy notes, but Randle rejected the idea. He’s averaging 20.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 5.5 APG for New York.

“[I’ll play] all the time,” Randle said. “I think it’s more we just love to play. It’s not really about load management. We just love to play basketball. Me personally, I love to play basketball, so if I can play I’m going to play.”

There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:

Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson has developed a gift for drawing charges, writes Bondy in a separate piece. He has already drawn 30 offensive fouls thus far this season. Bondy notes that he could be en route to a new NBA record. “Obviously I’m not meeting anybody at the rim. So I know I can impact the game that way,” Brunson told Bondy. “So whatever it takes to win, honestly. I find myself in that position and if I bail out, I’m bailing out on my teammates. So I got to be willing to take the contact and pray for the best.”
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is helping a young, talented team develop at a pace that’s perhaps quicker than pundits may have anticipated, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber exclusive). Third-year shooting guard Cam Thomas is enjoying a breakout season and looks like a potential candidate for Most Improved Player honors if he can keep this output up. He’s currently averaging 26.1 PPG on .464/.343/.846 splits, along with 3.9 RPG and 2.3 APG.
Oft-injured Nets forward Ben Simmons is still weeks away from returning to the lineup for Brooklyn, but reserve point guard Dennis Smith Jr. has returned, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Simmons has missed 12 straight contests with a lower back impingement. Smith had been dealing with a strained lower back for six games.

And-Ones: In-Season Tournament, Point Differential, Cole

December 3rd, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

While most of the league has gotten back to business as usual, the eight teams that advanced in the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament are focused on the knockout round and a trip to Las Vegas for the semifinals and title game, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Single-elimination games will start Monday with the Pacers hosting the Celtics and the Pelicans meeting the Kings, and will continue Tuesday with Knicks-Bucks and Lakers-Suns matchups.

“I just want to make every appeal I can to our fans that we need the loudest building possible,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “To show you that no good deed goes unpunished, we draw the team with the best record in basketball. But we do get to play them at home. So that’s something important. We need our building to be as loud and raucous as it possibly can and we need to throw a game out there that’s exceptional.”

The new tournament falls at a perfect time on the NBA calendar, notes Sam Amick of The Athletic. It brings added stakes to numerous early-season games and ends six days before December 15, which marks the unofficial start of trading season as most free agents who signed during the summer become eligible to be dealt. Ten days later marks the Christmas Day showcase, which Amick points out is when much of the general public typically starts paying attention to the league.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The NBA may have to address the point-differential issue before next year’s tourney, Amick adds in the same piece. Having it as the primary tie-breaker led to unusual strategy in several late-game situations on Tuesday, and Knicks guard Josh Hart said it “messes with the integrity of the game a little bit.” Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose team needed a 13-point win at Sacramento to reach the final eight, talked with reporters before the game about a scenario where it might be advantageous to let the Kings force overtime and try to dominate the extra session. He also made it clear that he wouldn’t pursue that strategy. “I’ll let (commissioner) Adam Silver answer,” Kerr said. “He gets to decide what we should do. I don’t know. It’s a very interesting question.”
The Athletic’s NBA staff examines the most pressing concerns for all 30 teams, from the top of the league, where the Celtics have to be worried about frontcourt depth in light of Kristaps Porzingis‘ injury history, to the bottom, where the Pistons might be forced into upending their roster sooner than expected.
Veteran guard Norris Cole has joined the G League Ignite, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Cole, 35, won two titles with the Heat but has been out of the NBA since 2017.

Latest On Knicks’ Lawsuit Against Raptors

December 2nd, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Since resigning from his Board of Governors committee positions, owner James Dolan and the Knicks launched a lawsuit against the Raptors seeking more than $10MM in damages over an issue that would typically be arbitrated by the NBA.

The suit, which alleges that a former team employee illegally took “confidential” files with him to his new position in Toronto, accused commissioner Adam Silver of bias due to his friendship with Raptors chairman Larry Tanenbaum and Tanenbaum’s position as chairman of the Board of Governors.

As Baxter Holmes writes in an in-depth story for ESPN, Dolan also has a lengthy history with Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Back in 2011, when Ujiri was Denver’s lead basketball executive, he traded Carmelo Anthony to New York — a deal in which Dolan was later criticized for giving up too much on a player who wanted to sign with the Knicks in free agency.

Ujiri had another famous trade with the Knicks a couple years later while he was running the Raptors, Holmes notes, sending Andrea Bargnani to New York for Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and multiple first-round picks. Bargnani only played 71 games over two seasons with New York.

Dolan reportedly nixed a deal between Toronto and New York that same year — 2013 — that would have sent Kyle Lowry to the Knicks because he “didn’t want to get fleeced again by Masai,” a source told The New York Daily News.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported a few years ago that Ujiri was Dolan’s “dream candidate” to run the Knicks, but he wound up returning to the Raptors on a long-term deal in 2021.

As far as the ongoing lawsuit, legal experts, analytics staffers and rival executives alike are skeptical and “generally dismissive” of the Knicks’ claims, according to Holmes.

“If you were concerned about privacy and the loss of proprietary information, the last place you would be pursuing that is in a court proceeding seeking only monetary damages — because whether it’s actually proprietary is going to be an issue,” said Robert Boland, a professor of sports law at Seton Hall University Law School who also maintains a practice focused on sports labor and governance issues.

“You have to prove your damages in this circumstance and you’re going to have to tell the court, and by extension the public, what they took from you and what its value was. So more of that becomes public, which likely means the Knicks don’t care about it. I’m assuming by the time we get through the court hearings, all this information will be out of date. I’m not sure the subject matter is proprietary or that it’s even timely anymore.”

Executives in particular cited Dolan’s “litigious reputation,” Holmes adds.

“I think this is a complete middle finger from Dolan to Larry Tanenbaum — and I think it’s nothing more than that,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN.

According to Holmes, the Raptors are expected to file a response to the Knicks’ latest filing on December 11. Boland — one of the legal experts Holmes spoke to — is unsure what will happen next.

“I don’t see a settlement in this case, but I don’t know if the Knicks are going to win,” said Boland, an admitted Knicks fan. “I don’t really see a clear strategy. I think the attention is the desired outcome.”

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic is also named in the lawsuit. He once again defended himself amid the allegations and said he’s looking forward to the case being resolved, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

“Support from the beginning was just fine because we talked about it, we explained what happened or what did not happen. I know who I am, I know my integrity, I know who I represent,” Rajakovic said. “I represent one amazing organization and people in the front office and the players. I’m really looking forward for all of this to be solved and for everybody to find out the truth. I’ve got nothing to worry about.”