New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Internally Discuss Derrick Rose Trade

June 17th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Knicks eyeing backcourt upgrades this offseason, one potential trade target the team has talked about is Derrick Rose, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com. According to Begley, it’s not clear how serious New York’s interest in Rose is, but the team has internally discussed the possibility of a trade.

Point guard is an area of need for the Knicks, whose incumbent starter at the position is 34-year-old Jose Calderon. The team figures to be involved in the free agent market as it attempts to address the position, but Rose could be a solid fallback option if New York’s top free agent targets sign elsewhere.

There’s no guarantee that the Bulls will trade Rose this summer, but at least one recent report suggested that people around the league think it’s a real possibility. That same report indicated that Chicago will be much more inclined to move Rose rather than Jimmy Butler this offseason. Rose is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn a $21.323MM salary in 2016/17.

Of course, if Chicago does decide to move Rose, the team won’t give him up for nothing, and the Knicks aren’t exactly loaded with potential trade chips. With the salary cap expected to spike to $92MM+ this offseason, simply clearly Rose’s salary won’t be as advantageous for the Bulls as it might have been in the past, particularly since he only has one year left on his deal.

While Rose has been plagued by injuries since his MVP campaign in 2010/11, he managed to stay on the court for 66 games this past season, his highest mark in five years. In those games, he recorded averages of 16.4 points and 4.7 assists, shooting .427 from the floor.

Latest Draft News

June 16th, 2016 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held in Brooklyn, New York next Thursday:

The Nuggets have a group workout scheduled on Friday for Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova), Isaia Cordinier (France), Petr Cornelie (France) and Majok Deng (Louisiana-Monroe), the team announced via press release.
Denver held an individual workout today for swingman Timothe Luwawu, the team announced. The Frenchman averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 31.1 minutes for Mega Leks of the Serbian League this past season.
The Hornets have a group workout scheduled for Friday with Thon Maker (Australia), Marcus Paige (North Carolina), Joel Bolomboy (Weber State), Patricio Garino (George Washington) and Melvin Johnson (VCU), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
Former Auburn small forward Tyler Harris has a workout scheduled with the Raptors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (Twitter link).

Unsigned Draft Picks: Atlantic Division

June 16th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

As the 2016 NBA draft rapidly approaches the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team, it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.

While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal. Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks. Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.

Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics

Colton Iverson — Selected No. 53 overall in 2013.
Ben Pepper — Selected No.55 overall in 1997.
Josip Sesar — Selected No. 47 Overall in 2000.
Marcus Thornton — Selected No. 45 overall in 2015.

Brooklyn Nets

Christian Drejer — Selected No. 51 overall in 2004.
Juan Pablo Vaulet — Selected No. 39 overall in 2015.

New York Knicks

Guillermo Hernangomez — Selected No. 35 overall in 2015.
Louis Labeyrie — Selected No. 57 overall in 2014.

Philadelphia 76ers

Chukwudiebere Maduabum — Selected No. 56 overall in 2011.
Vasilije Micic — Selected No. 52 overall in 2014.
Dario Saric — Selected No. 12 overall in 2014.

Toronto Raptors

DeAndre Daniels — Selected No. 37 overall in 2014.
DeeAndre Hulett — Selected No. 46 overall in 2000.

Porzingis Is Fan Of New Coach Jeff Hornacek

June 16th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Power forward Kristaps Porzingis was surprised when the Knicks hired Jeff Hornacek, but believes the new head coach can maximize the talent that is on the team’s roster, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s a very smart coach. He knows how to use his players and that’s exactly what we need,” Porzingis said of Horncek. “And we’ll see if we can get some more players this offseason. But I think we have enough talent and having [Carmelo Anthony] makes everybody better. So if we know how to go from there, using Melo, myself and involving everybody, using everybody’s strengths and putting it all together, then we’ll be a different team. We’ll be able to succeed.”

Knicks Conducting Workouts, Eyeing Andy Greer

June 16th, 2016 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks don’t have a pick in this year’s draft, but they plan to acquire one, and continue to bring in prospects for pre-draft workouts. According to a pair of reports from Ian Begley of ESPN.com, New York worked out Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Cat Barber (N.C. State), and Chris Fowler (Central Michigan) on Wednesday.
New Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek is eyeing Raptors assistant Andy Greer as a potential addition to his staff in New York, says ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). According to Stein, Toronto is making a strong effort to hang onto Greer, who has also drawn interest from the Timberwolves.

Western Notes: Conley, Bogdanovic, Jazz Arena

June 14th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There is growing concern in the Grizzlies‘ front office that point guard Mike Conley might leave the team in free agency this summer, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old will be the top point guard on the market after spending nine years in Memphis. Begley says Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake will appear in a video presentation trying to convince Conley to remain with the team. Begley presents the item as possible good news for the Knicks, but it’s equally positive for all the teams planning to pursue Conley, and very negative for Memphis, which is hoping to keep the core of its perennial playoff team together. The Grizzlies still have the advantage of being able to offer Conley a five-year contract worth about $124MM, while other teams are limited to four years in the neighborhood of $92MM.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

The Suns will negotiate with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic now that his Turkish League season is over, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. This is the last season that Bogdanovic would be required to sign a rookie contract that would give him a salary of about $5.7MM over four years. If he waits until next offseason, Bogdanovic is free to negotiate any amount, starting with his draft year’s rookie salary scale.
A request for $22.7MM in public funding for renovations to Utah’s Vivant Arena was approved today by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, writes Jasen Lee of The Deseret News. The money, which will be awarded though tax increment financing over the next 25 years, makes up 18% of the total cost of the proposed $125MM project. It will include safety and security improvements, heating and air conditioning upgrades, a new solar panel system and plaza, concession, seating and premium suite improvements.
The Mavericks are planning a free agent camp June 22nd with Arnett Moultrie, Bobby Brown, Dominic McGuire and Nick Minnerath among the players invited, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who played two games for the Knicks this season, also received an invitation but has not confirmed that he will attend the camp (Twitter link).
The Spurs will hold a free agent camp Wednesday, Kennedy tweets, with Chris Copeland, Adonis Thomas, Victor Rudd, Scott Suggs, J.J. O’Brien and Darius Adams among those expected to attend.
The Timberwolves have had workouts for several veteran free agents, including Jimmer Fredette, Phil Pressey, Marquis Teague, Ryan Boatright, Mike James, Ra’shad James, Mark Lyons and Aaron Craft, tweets international journalist David Pick.

Ognjen Kuzmic To Play For Knicks' Summer League Team

June 14th, 2016 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Ognjen Kuzmic, a former Warriors second-round pick who played 37 games with the club from 2013 to 2015, has agreed to play for the Knicks at the Orlando Summer League, his agent tells international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link).

Hornacek: Carmelo Anthony Is Still In His Prime

June 12th, 2016 at 12:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek believes Carmelo Anthony still has the ability to carry the team, though he needs some help, Hornacek stated on the Boomer and Carton radio show via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “I think [Anthony] just turned 32, so he’s right at that prime time for him,” Hornacek said. “He’s going to help to carry this team but we can’t put it all on him. The other guys have to step up and if he’s having a tough night the other guys are able to fill in.”
Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell displayed a good shooting touch in workouts with the Nets and Knicks last week and may have boosted his draft stock, sources told ESPN.com’s Ian Begley. The Knicks don’t have a draft pick but are hoping to acquire one, according to Begley. The Knicks have worked out several prospects in recent days with an emphasis on the triangle offense, Begley adds. Ferrell is currently ranked No. 80 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board and No. 63 by Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony.

Hornacek Talks Afflalo Option, Free Agency

June 10th, 2016 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek was asked about Arron Afflalo‘s player option decision during an appearance on WFAN, and while Hornacek said the team hasn’t been informed yet of Afflalo’s decision, he expects the veteran guard to opt out “to see what’s out there” (link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
Asked during the same interview about the chances of the Knicks signing a max player in free agency, Hornacek said that’s “absolutely” in play (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv).

Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Conley, Whiteside

June 9th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler examines a few of this year’s top free-agents-to-be, taking stock of their situations and passing along the latest notes and rumors he’s heard on each player. Here’s a round-up of some of the key info from Kyler’s piece:

Even though Kevin Durant is considered most likely to return to the Thunder, he’s expected to take meetings, and Kyler hears that the Warriors and Spurs are “planning big pitches.” The belief around the NBA is that Durant will return to OKC on a deal that allows him to opt out in a year so that his free agency will line up with Russell Westbrook‘s and Serge Ibaka‘s in 2017.
Sources close to Mike Conley‘s camp have suggested recently that Conley is “more open to new situations” than the Grizzlies would like. According to Kyler, those sources believe that the point guard wants to see signs that Memphis is serious about fortifying its roster with other pieces before committing to the team for the long term. Kyler identifies the “dark horse” in the Conley sweepstakes as the Spurs, who are believed to be willing to make some changes to their core if it means landing another high-level player.
Hassan Whiteside is expected to land a maximum-salary contract, with the Lakers and Celtics among the teams believed to be interested. The Heat remain the favorites for the big man, but if they “try to play games,” Whiteside will shop around for other offers, according to Kyler.
The Raptors and Knicks are among the clubs with interest in Nicolas Batum, but Batum will likely be in line for a max contract or something close to it, and the Hornets are viewed as the team most likely to accommodate such a deal.
DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a near-lock to return to the Raptors on a max deal.
Assuming they don’t land Durant, the Warriors sound prepared to keep their current roster intact, even if that means matching a “crazy offer sheet” for Harrison Barnes, writes Kyler.
The odds of RFA-to-be Jordan Clarkson ending up with any team besides the Lakers are slim, but it’s possible his camp will seek out an offer sheet from another club if necessary, in order to get more favorable terms.