- Carmelo Anthony likes David Blatt, who’s drawing sincere consideration from the Knicks for their head coaching job, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Anthony likes and respects interim coach Kurt Rambis, but he has reservations about him and believes the ex-Cavs coach would be better for Kristaps Porzingis than Rambis would be, Berman hears. Blatt interviewed last month with team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills, but owner James Dolan wasn’t in the meeting, a league source told Berman.
- The Knicks are looking to trade for a second-round pick, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). New York is without a pick in either round.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s lack of urgency to settle on a new head coach is hurting the franchise as a number of solid candidates are already off the board, having filled other vacant posts around the league, opines Chris Mannix of The Vertical. The question also exists regarding just how committed Jackson is to his job, with the executive not a sure bet to finish out his five-year contract, Mannix adds. Jackson has the ability to opt out of his deal next summer.
J.R. Smith is having a strong playoff run for the Cavaliers, but he thinks back fondly on his time with the Knicks, as he reveals in a video for VICE Sports, pointing to his close friendship with Carmelo Anthony and the lure of Madison Square Garden (YouTube link). “Every person that plays in the NBA should experience playing in New York, at least once in your career,” Smith said. “To play at the mecca of basketball, at the Garden, every night, it’s probably the greatest decision I’ve ever made, to go to New York.” Smith, who can opt out of his contract this summer, spoke about his initial anger at the trade that sent him to Cleveland last January, but he also made it clear that he loves playing with LeBron James.
- Frank Vogel‘s representatives gave positive signals to the Knicks when the team reached out to gauge his interest last week, a league source told Marc Berman of the New York Post, who nonetheless adds that the Grizzlies are a much more likely match for the ex-Pacers coach. Vogel is widely believed to be the favorite to take the Memphis job, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal wrote.
Brian Shaw does not expect to interview for the Knicks head coaching job and speculates that interim coach Kurt Rambis will be retained, as Shaw said in an ESPN TV interview that was relayed by ESPN.com’s Ian Begley. The ex-Nuggets coach, who is considered a candidate for the Grizzlies’ head coaching opening as well as the Pacers’ job, told SportsCenter’s Hannah Storm that Rambis is a better fit. “Kurt Rambis is there,” Shaw said. “He’s very adept at running the triangle, and if Phil Jackson wanted a coach that’s going to run that system for him, he has a guy that’s there that he has confidence in. So I don’t see him bringing in somebody else who has the knowledge of that system when he already has somebody there.”
A major draft-related event takes place this week, as scouts, executives and these prospects will gather for the NBA combine in Chicago from Wednesday through Sunday. Teams will start working out players in earnest after that, though some auditions have already taken place. Here’s the latest on that front with the June 23rd draft little more than six weeks away:
- The workouts that former Indiana University point guard Yogi Ferrell has with the Lakers and Clippers are slated for May 16th and 18th, respectively, tweets Jonathan Goodman of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Ferrell will also work out for the Suns on the 20th, Jazz on the 22nd, Bulls on the 23rd, Hawks on the 25th, Mavericks on the 26th, Pistons on the 31st, Wizards on June 2nd, Nets on June 8th, and Knicks on June 10th, Goodman reveals. Ferrell is trying to work his way into the second round, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 66 while Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him only 99th.
- Massive UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye will work out for the Rockets and Lakers, Goodman tweets. Givony, who ranks him the 30th-best prospect among juniors, lists Ndiaye at 7’6″, while Goodman says he’s 7’5″. Ford, who also lists him at 7’6″, ranks him the 136th-best prospect overall.
- Utah State small forward Jalen Moore will work out with the Grizzlies on May 16th, the Timberwolves on the 18th and the Nets on the 23rd, as he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Moore is Givony‘s 69th-best junior and Ford‘s 190th prospect overall.
- The Hawks worked out Taurean Prince, Justin Jackson, Nigel Hayes, Pascal Siakam, Alex Hamilton and Wes Washpun on Saturday, a source told Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).
MAY 2ND, 9:28am: The Rockets are expected to interview David Blatt, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, who hears from a source who says Blatt is still in the mix for the Knicks head coaching position. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported late Sunday that Blatt has an interview scheduled with the Kings, the other NBA team looking for a head coach. The Lakers had reportedly planned to interview Blatt before they instead moved quickly to hire Luke Walton.
The Knicks believe the 56-year-old Blatt will be a head coach somewhere next season, be it in the NBA or overseas, and they aren’t considering the 56-year-old Blatt for a job as an assistant to Kurt Rambis, as previous reports suggested they were, Berman hears. Blatt interviewed a week ago with Knicks team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills, but Rambis remains the front-runner, according to Berman, who adds that if the Knicks pass on Rambis for the head coaching job, they’d likely offer to make him an assistant to Blatt.
The Nets will be shopping for a point guard this summer and may have a better shot at landing Mike Conley now that coach Dave Joerger has been fired in Memphis, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Conley, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 assists this season and led the NBA in assists-to-turnovers ratio, has said he wants to see how the Grizzlies’ offseason plays out before deciding to re-sign.
Lewis foresees a point guard shakeup in Brooklyn even if the Nets can’t lure Conley. He expects Jarrett Jack, who started 32 games before tearing his ACL, to be released, allowing the Nets to save all but $500K of his $6.3MM salary. Shane Larkin has a June 29th deadline to decide whether to exercise a $1.5MM option for next season. New coach Kenny Atkinson has a reputation for developing point guards and worked closely with Jeremy Lin when both were with the Knicks. Lin could be an option if he opts out of a deal with Charlotte that would pay him only slightly more than $2.2MM. Lewis writes that Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Seth Curry and Jordan Clarkson could be other targets, along with overseas players such as Milos Teodosic, Nando De Colo, Malcolm Delaney and Sergio Rodriguez.
There’s more out of New York:
- The Knicks also have interest in Conley and might see their chances improving because of the events in Memphis, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. That’s especially true if GM Chris Wallace, a huge supporter of Conley, leaves the Grizzlies as well, Berman writes.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson may be repaying Kurt Rambis after costing him the head coaching job with the Lakers 17 years ago, Berman writes in a separate story. Rambis took over on the Lakers’ bench after Del Harris was fired in 1999 and expected to be named head coach after the season ended. However, late owner Jerry Buss hired Jackson, and Rambis’ coaching career was put on hold. Now the interim coach with the Knicks, Rambis is believed to be Jackson’s choice to lead the team next season.
- Nets rookie Chris McCullough showed a lot of promise late in the season, but he will probably be brought along slowly next year, according to NetsDaily. McCullough, the 29th pick in last year’s draft, missed most of the season while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered at Syracuse. A 6’11” power forward with an impressive vertical leap and 3-point range, McCullough gives Brooklyn hope for the future, but the author speculates that Atkinson will phase him in gradually and may even send the 21-year-old to the team’s new D-League team for occasional seasoning.
Kevin Durant, who is expected to be the most sought-after name on this summer’s free agent market, respects David West for passing up millions to pursue an NBA title, relays Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. West declined a $12.6MM option with the Pacers last year and signed with the Spurs for the $1.5MM veteran’s minimum. The move raised eyebrows around the league, but Durant found it admirable. “Money isn’t everything in this life,” Durant said. “I know we tend to think about taking care of your family and being financially stable, but from the outside looking in, it looked like he said, ‘I’ve been blessed enough to make X amount of dollars, and I want to be happy chasing something that is the grand prize in this league.’”
There’s more news from Oklahoma City:
- The Thunder are the favorites to keep Durant, but their chances would decline if they can’t get past the Spurs, writes Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. That largely falls in with a Friday report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Heisler expects Durant to sign a one-year deal with Oklahoma City or possibly a two-year pact with an opt-out clause for next summer. That will enable him to earn about $40MM more and time his free agency with Russell Westbrook‘s. “I think he’s going to test the water,” said former Thunder teammate and current Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie, “but at the end of the day, Oklahoma City is something dear to his heart.” In order, Heisler lists the Spurs, Warriors, Wizards, Clippers, Knicks and Lakers as the top contenders if Durant does decide to leave OKC.
- Because he was drafted with a pick the Thunder received in the James Harden trade, Steven Adams has been dealing with huge expectations from the start of his NBA career, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Adams averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year while splitting time at center with Enes Kanter. Before the start of last season, Oklahoma City picked up Adams’ $3,140,517 option for 2016/17. “He’s not easily impressed, he doesn’t take things too seriously,” said teammate Nick Collison. “I think that’s the culture from his background. He’s all about, ‘Get over yourself.’ He didn’t grow up with the dream to play in the NBA, and it shows.”
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
Coaching Search
It doesn’t appear that team president Phil Jackson is feeling any particular urgency to finalize his decision on who will lead the team next season, with a number of top candidates already landing new posts seemingly without any push from New York to schedule formal interviews. Jackson is said to favor retaining interim coach Kurt Rambis, who is intimately familiar with the triangle offense, a move that would fail to inspire much excitement given Rambis’ career coaching record of 65-164. The team is also reportedly considering former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, who met with the Knicks this week.
New York’s coaching search could become a point of contention between the front office and star forward Carmelo Anthony, who has publicly called for the team to at least listen to candidates other than Rambis. Anthony reportedly preferred Tom Thibodeau, who’s since become the coach and chief front office executive for the Timberwolves. Jackson was nonetheless disinterested in Thibodeau, and the Knicks didn’t contact him, as ESPN’s Ian Begley reported.
Carmelo Anthony’s Future
It would appear that we are entering a make-or-break offseason regarding Anthony and his future with the franchise. The small forward has thus far rebuffed any talk of him waiving his no-trade clause in order to be dealt to a contender this summer, though things could change in a hurry if the Knicks strike out in the free agent market. Anthony reportedly made it clear to the team in his exit interview that it needs to take advantage of the “window that he has” when making personnel moves this offseason.
If New York is unable to land a star player to pair alongside Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, who is arguably a bigger draw for potential free agents than ‘Melo nowadays, then it may be in everyone’s best interests to try and find a new team for the small forward. ‘Melo is 31 years old and has entered his decline phase, so finding a way to get him and the remaining three years and approximately $78.7MM of his contract off the books could be an attractive option for New York, especially given the projected quality of the 2017 free agent class.
Free Agent Targets
The Knicks’ biggest need is for a competent point guard who can take some pressure off Anthony and Porzingis, preferably one who can stretch the floor with his outside shooting. Jackson has minimized the importance of a traditional playmaker in the triangle offense, but with today’s guard-oriented NBA, having a solid point guard is vital to any team’s success. The top two point guards available via free agency are Rajon Rondo and Mike Conley, either of whom would be a major upgrade over the cast of characters New York has trotted out at the point the past few seasons.
Conley, 28, is the younger of the two, and he’s arguably a better option for the Knicks than Rondo is. The Knicks aren’t as high on Conley as they were during the season, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, who noted Jackson’s lack of emphasis on the one spot and the executive’s belief in Tony Wroten, who has yet to play a minute for the Knicks since being signed. Conley is no lock to leave Memphis, but even if he does, his nagging Achilles concerns should give the team pause when thinking about handing out a max deal to the talented playmaker. Rondo would bring with him a new set of concerns, chiefly his lack of outside shooting, advancing age and reputation for being difficult to coach. If New York could swing a short-term deal with Rondo, he would be an intriguing option, though his addition would need to be supplemented with a backcourt mate who can consistently nail his outside shots.
Potential Trades
Outside of Anthony, and assuming Porzingis is untouchable (as he should be), the Knicks don’t have much in the way of tradeable assets. Jose Calderon could be a valuable bench player on a contender, but teams likely won’t be lining up to ship anything of substance to the Knicks in return for the aging guard whose production has steadily been in decline since he arrived in New York.
If the Knicks are unable to sign a point guard this summer, the team could look to acquire one, with the Hawks’ Dennis Schröder and Jeff Teague as well as the Kings’ Darren Collison being prime targets. It’s doubtful New York has enough assets to land either of Atlanta’s playmakers, but Collison is perhaps within the team’s means to obtain. The Knicks have reportedly discussed the possibility of making a play for Collison, but it is difficult to gauge what the Kings’ plan is for anyone on the roster until Sacramento names its new head coach.
Draft Outlook
The Knicks are without a pick this June, which is the final penance the franchise will need to pay from its ill-advised trade with the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani back in 2013. New York’s pick is currently projected to be No. 7 overall, though the Nuggets will swap their pick for the Knicks’ if New York’s ends up higher than Denver’s after the lottery. Toronto gets whichever pick the Nuggets don’t take. Jackson could look to buy a second-round pick, but it’s doubtful that would yield an immediate rotation piece.
Option Decisions
Much of the Knicks’ offseason cap flexibility depends on the decisions made by Arron Afflalo ($8MM) and Derrick Williams ($4,598,000), both of whom possess player options on their respective deals. If both opt out, the Knicks could ink two upper-tier free agents instead of just one. Afflalo is likely to opt out given his dissatisfaction with being relegated to a bench role and the team’s indication that he would again be a reserve if he returns next season. Williams has signaled that he would like to remain in New York, though it isn’t clear if he intends to exercise his option to do so or decline it and attempt to sign a new deal with the team.
Final Take
To say this is a pivotal offseason for the Knicks franchise is an understatement. If Jackson is unable to score big on the free agent market this summer, it could mean the end of Anthony’s tenure in New York and usher in a complete rebuild of the team. Although, that may not be the worst thing that could happen, given that the Knicks, barring some unexpected turn of events, are unlikely to become true contenders before age and wear begin to take a significant toll on Anthony’s game. Whiffing on landing a noteworthy free agent haul could also push Jackson out the door sooner than intended, though given his seemingly laissez-faire approach, that also could be a boon for the franchise in the long run.
Guaranteed Salary
- Carmelo Anthony ($24,559,380)
- Robin Lopez ($13,219,250)
- Jose Calderon ($7,708,427)1
- Kristaps Porzingis ($4,317,720)
- Kyle O’Quinn ($3,918,750)
- Jerian Grant ($1,643,040)
- Total: $55,366,567
Player Options
- Arron Afflalo ($8,000,000)
- Derrick Williams ($4,598,000)
- Total: $12,598,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Tony Wroten ($1,050,961)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Langston Galloway ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Cleanthony Early ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Totals: ($3,905,434/$3,905,434)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Arron Afflalo ($9,600,000) — Pending player option
- Derrick Williams ($5,280,000) — Pending player option
- Kevin Seraphin ($3,376,800)
- Lance Thomas ($2,127,895)
- Lou Amundson ($2,126,119)
- Sasha Vujacic ($980,431)
- Total: $23,491,245
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Waiving Calderon via the stretch provision, a maneuver that’s been the subject of much speculation, would reduce his salary for next season to $2,569,475.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
The Knicks have contacted the representatives for former Pacers coach Frank Vogel regarding their vacant head coaching position, Marc Berman of The New York Post reports. The team has yet to request a formal interview, Berman notes, categorizing the talks as exploratory in nature.
GM Steve Mills is doing his due diligence in reaching out to Vogel’s representatives, Berman writes, though team president Phil Jackson has yet to make a definitive decision on how the franchise will proceed with Vogel. The main purpose for New York is to gauge whether or not Vogel would have interest in the vacant coaching post, and according to Berman, the coach is indeed willing to discuss the position. “I think the Knicks wanted to see where Frank’s head is at,” a league source informed Berman.
Vogel doesn’t exactly fit what the Knicks are said to be seeking in their next coach, which is someone who is familiar with the triangle offense the team is still attempting to implement. The former Pacers coach was criticized by team executive Larry Bird for not being willing to adapt his offense to a smaller lineup, so it remains to be seen just how amenable Vogel would be to running a completely foreign system. The disagreement over small ball versus traditional lineups is one of the contributing factors that led to Vogel being dismissed from the Pacers.
The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job, his first in the NBA, when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien in January 2011. That record doesn’t include Vogel’s 31-30 postseason mark. Indiana made back-to-back conference finals under his watch in 2013 and 2014. The Rockets are also reportedly interested in interviewing Vogel.