New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Afflalo, Calderon, Thibodeau

March 25th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks’ decision to shift shooting guard Arron Afflalo to a reserve role was not a punitive one, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “This is not a punishment,” Rambis said of Afflalo’s demotion. “It’s more his natural position. All players want to start — I get that. I’m sure he’d rather be starting.” The team could be sending the veteran a message that if he chooses to exercise his player option for 2016/17, he will continue to come off the bench, Berman notes. The scribe also speculates that the team could be trying to reduce Afflalo’s market value as a free agent, thus making it easier to re-sign him.

Here’s more from New York:

The Knicks are thinking about using the stretch provision to part ways with Jose Calderon this summer, and the chances of that occurring would be greatly increased if Tony Wroten shows promise in summer league play as he makes his way back from ACL surgery, Berman notes in the same piece. Waiving Calderon would allow the team to open approximately $5MM in extra cap space for this summer.
Rookie Jerian Grant has replaced Langston Galloway as the first playmaker off the bench and has been working hard in practice to improve upon his woeful 19.7% shooting from three-point range, Berman adds. “[Grant] has been working on the shot all year,” Rambis said. “He knew it was something he had to work on to keep defenses honest. Hand placement. His balance. Just for younger players to learn to shoot from the NBA 3-point line. It’s different than college. He’s working hard on it. He knows it’s part of the game he has to get better.” The Post scribe also relays that the Knicks now view Galloway strictly as a shooting guard and believe that their efforts to convert him into a point guard have failed.
A number of Tom Thibodeau‘s former players on the Bulls have noted the coach’s affinity for New York, and while they stopped short of saying the Knicks are his preferred destination, their comments seem to indicate that he would jump at the chance to coach the team, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “That’s all we talked about is the New York atmosphere and how he’s had tough-minded New York teams,” Taj Gibson told Bondy. “And that’s something we talked about all the time and that’s what we tried to incorporate the last couple of years. All-around, he’s a good guy. Almost every day we talked about his time in New York. We talked about them battles the Knicks used to have. Just talk about Knicks stuff in general. He loves New York. He always had high praise talking about the Knicks.”

Dwight Eyes Magic Return But Prefers Rockets

March 25th, 2016 at 2:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard would prefer to re-sign with the Rockets this summer, but the Magic have heard that he’d entertain the idea of returning to Orlando, league sources told Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher for a video report (Twitter link). Howard is expected to turn down a player option worth about $23.282MM to seek a maximum salary deal that would pay him some $30MM next season. Previous reports have indicated his interest in the Bucks and Knicks.

A return to Orlando, where Howard spent the first eight seasons of his career and made his only Finals appearance, has seemed far-fetched ever since the team dealt him to the Lakers in August 2012. Magic GM Rob Hennigan was in his first offseason on the job when he traded Howard away, ending an acrimonious saga that dragged on over the final months of Howard’s tenure in Orlando. The Magic, with only mathematical hopes of a postseason berth this year, have yet to make the playoffs since.

Howard’s future plans have long been difficult to pin down. USA Today’s Sam Amick suggested earlier this week that the Rockets were merely a fallback option for the former All-Star, and Houston engaged in well-publicized trade talks with several teams about him before last month’s deadline. The 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick was in the midst of changing agents while the trade talk was going on, dumping Dan Fegan for Perry Rogers, the representative for fellow ex-Magic center Shaquille O’Neal.

The Rockets were reportedly in touch with the Mavericks, Bulls, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Heat, Bucks and Raptors about Howard as they engaged teams about their interest in him, but Houston found the market underwhelming. Howard is averaging 14.3 points and 8.8 shot attempts per game, his lowest numbers in either category since the 2004/05 season, when he was a 19-year-old rookie with the Magic.

Reaction To Talk Of LeBron-‘Melo-Wade-CP3 Team

March 24th, 2016 at 9:21am CST by Chuck Myron

A meeting between LeBron James and Cavaliers GM David Griffin and conflicting statements from Carmelo Anthony represented some of the fallout from the Wednesday publication of comments that James made shortly before the All-Star break about his desire to play at least one NBA season on the same team as Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul. James has spoken with Cavs management in the past to propose the idea of trading for Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, a source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, though it’s not clear when such talk took place. James and Griffin spoke in general terms Wednesday, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The conversation was “positive and productive,” with James striking an upbeat tone about the Cavs, Vardon writes.

Anthony echoed James’ assertion that he would take a discount to facilitate teaming with the other stars, though he hinted that if it happened, it wouldn’t take place in New York, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The Knicks have Anthony under contract until at least 2018, when he can opt out.

“Everybody has fantasies,” Anthony said. “We’d all have to take pay cuts. I’d take one. I think at that time we’d want to go someplace warm. Later — [close to] retirement.’’

Anthony re-signed with the Knicks in 2014, though he reiterated Wednesday, when the Knicks beat the Bulls, that he came “very close” to signing with Chicago that summer instead, notes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link). Still, Anthony once more restated his commitment to the Knicks during ESPN’s broadcast of the game, McMenamin notes.

“I came here for a reason, which was to win in New York,” Anthony said. “Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case thus far, but I feel like I have unfinished business to take care of. And I feel like, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, if I just get up and run away from something that I started, that I feel a part of and that’s not done yet, then I think I would carry that burden on my shoulders. That’s just me as an individual.”

James isn’t sure that having the four stars on the same team would fly with any owner, given the vast power the players would have in such a circumstance, a source told McMenamin. The former MVP tamped down the notion of playing with his high-profile friends in comments he made Wednesday, as McMenamin relays.

“It would definitely be cool if it happened, but we don’t know how realistic it could be to have us four,” James said. “If you got an opportunity to work with three of your best friends, no matter what, it’s not even about sports, it’s about being around guys that you don’t even have to say nothing, you automatically know. We just have that type of history. Can it happen? I don’t know if it can even happen but it would be cool.”

James had a lingering chat with Wade at halftime of Cleveland’s loss to Miami on Saturday while the Cavs were warming up, and James later apologized to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue for that, Vardon writes. Cleveland was down 21 at the time in a game the Cavs lost by that same margin.

“I just told him we can’t have that, being down like we were and him being the leader,” Lue said to Vardon. “Just me being a competitor, I didn’t like it. We had a long talk about it. It was good. He understood, he apologized, and he’s been great.”

Wade largely brushed off talk of playing with James, Anthony and Paul, as ESPN’s Michael Wallace relays in McMenamin’s story.

“I don’t know, man,” Wade said. “Yeah, I heard it. I read it. I’m not really jumping into the headlines right now. For me, I’m focused on my teammates in here. As cool as the headlines is, that has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do in here.”

Carmelo Anthony Tired of Having Loyalty Questioned

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony noted that the drama surrounding LeBron James and the Cavaliers this season is more trivial than what the Knicks are dealing with, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News relays. “Their drama is more comical,” Anthony said. “It’s more getting off of Twitter. You know what I mean? It’s always something that they blow up; him [James] unfollowing the organization. Him shutting his Twitter down. It’s always something there along those lines. Over here it’s, you know, drama … different type of drama over here.”

The small forward is growing tired with those who question his loyalty to the Knicks and the constant questions regarding if he would waive his no-trade clause this summer, Isola adds. “I know the reason why I [re-signed],” Anthony said. “And the people that really understand it know why I’m sticking out. I think it is odd to question loyalty at this point and time especially when I’ve shown time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization but to New York and vice versa. At this point I just go out and play basketball and try not to worry about it.”

Lin Discusses Stoudemire Comments, Knicks

March 23rd, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jeremy Lin isn’t interested in discussing the pointed comments that Amar’e Stoudemire had made regarding some Knicks players being unhappy with Lin’s rapid rise to stardom during the 2011/12 season, Daniel Popper of The New York Daily News writes. “I can’t speak on behalf of somebody else talking about somebody else,” Lin told Popper. “When you talk about journalism or being a professional or whatever, that’s not really what I like to do. I don’t like to guess or assume or predict or whatever. So I’m just going to stay out of it.” The assumption was made that Stoudemire was referring to Carmelo Anthony, though Stoudemire later denied that he was talking about the small forward. For what it’s worth, Lin said his relationship with ‘Melo during their stint together was fine, Popper adds. “He was always nice to me. He took us out to eat,” Lin said. “I’ve hung out with him a few times and stuff. And so, like I’ve said for a long time, I’ve never had issues with him.”

Lin’s contract with the Hornets includes a player option for next season, and when asked if the chances of him opting out and returning to New York would increase if Anthony was no longer with the team, Lin told Popper that there were “many factors at play.” The point guard said his agent reached out to the Knicks last summer but was told the team had no interest, the Daily News scribe notes.

Knicks assistant Jim Cleamons is interested in the vacant head coaching position at the University of Pittsburgh, Paul Zeise of 93.7 The Fan relays (Twitter link). Cleamons previously coached college ball for Youngstown State in the late 1980s and owns a career NCAA mark of 12-44.

LeBron Longs To Play With Wade, ‘Melo, CP3

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is holding out hope that he can team with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul for at least one season before they retire, as he told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. James, 31, and Wade, 34, can hit free agency this summer, but the 30-year-old Paul’s locked in with the Clippers through next season and Anthony, 31, doesn’t have an opt-out in his deal until the summer of 2018.

“I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together,” James said to Beck just before the All-Star break last month in comments that Beck kept under wraps until today (Twitter link). “At least one, maybe one or two seasons — me, Melo, D-Wade, CP — we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.”

Each is probably powerful enough to force a trade, with most such chatter surrounding Anthony, who has a no-trade clause that he’s been reluctant to consider waiving. Rumors about a three-team deal involving the Knicks, Celtics and Cavaliers emerged before the trade deadline this year, but it never appeared as though Anthony was close to joining James in Cleveland. Anthony once more reiterated his commitment to the Knicks today, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.

“I know the reason why I stuck it out,’’ Anthony said. “People that really understand it know why I’m sticking it out. It’s odd to question my loyalty at this point in time, especially when you showed and I’ve showed time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization, but New York and vice versa.”

Still, commitments change. That was the case with Anthony and the Nuggets, a team ‘Melo believed in strongly enough in 2006 to resist what James admits were veiled overtures meant to convince Anthony to sign a shorter extension that would allow him to become a free agent in 2010, just as James and Wade did, as Beck details. That was the summer that James and Wade teamed up on the Heat while Anthony and Paul remained under contract in Denver and New Orleans, respectively.

Anthony told Beck in January that he was disappointed that the Pistons passed him up with the second overall pick in 2003, saying that he’d been told Detroit would take him. It’s not clear who told Anthony that the Pistons would draft him instead of Darko Milicic, the center the Pistons fatefully selected when the time came. Regardless, the bond between James, Anthony, Wade and Paul is strong, and it’s made an impression on Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, who’s mentored all of them with the USA Basketball program.

“I think they love one another,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s so damn genuine, and it’s so cool to see. … They have each others’ back, on everything.”

Do you think James, Wade, Anthony and Paul will all play together on an NBA team at some point? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Porzingis Struggles Not Unique Under Rambis

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The struggles that Kevin Love has endured in Cleveland vindicate Kurt Rambis to a degree for their failure to connect when they were together with the Timberwolves, but their history is nonetheless disconcerting now that Kristaps Porzingis is another young big man struggling under Rambis’ coaching, posits Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. The slump the Knicks rookie is in doesn’t speak well for Rambis as the Knicks decide on a long-term head coach, Bondy contends.

Shooting Concerns At Issue For Jerian Grant

March 22nd, 2016 at 2:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jerian Grant holds promise, as his 14-point outburst Sunday showed, but the concerns about his jump shot that kept him undrafted until the 19th pick this past year have manifested in just a 28.3% accuracy rate on jumpers this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post points out. His inconsistency has also been maddening, but Knicks coach Kurt Rambis remains faithful, as Lewis relays.

Eastern Notes: Jackson, LeBron, Bazemore

March 22nd, 2016 at 9:14am CST by Chuck Myron

Team president Phil Jackson won’t be coaching the Knicks in any fashion next season, as he told confidant Charley Rosen, who in turn told Marc Berman of the New York Post. There was talk that Jackson might coach at home and let Kurt Rambis coach on the road next season, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported last week. Even though the 70-year-old has lost weight and has more energy than usual, as Shelburne also wrote, coaching would be too physically demanding for Jackson, a league source told Berman. Carmelo Anthony didn’t seem too keen on the idea of the Zen Master coaching, leading Frank Isola of the New York Daily News to wonder if ‘Melo spiked the idea (Twitter link).

See more from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavaliers weren’t exactly comfortable with LeBron James‘ unexplained decision to unfollow their official Twitter account Monday, but a source who spoke with Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com said James told him he unfollowed the Cavs, among others, so that he could start to narrow his focus in advance of the playoffs. That still leaves several questions unanswered, as Vardon explores, pointing out that James skipped a media session Monday for the first time since he returned to Cleveland, barring occasions when he was sick or wasn’t playing. A healthy James posted a triple-double against the Nuggets on Monday night.
Kent Bazemore is a lock to get overpaid this summer when he hits free agency, contends Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The question is whether it’ll be Atlanta footing the bloated bill, as Lowe examines amid a larger piece on the Hawks. The team could open nearly $20MM in cap room if it lets Bazemore walk, but the Hawks speak highly of the value of continuity, Lowe writes.
The Bulls essentially spent five draft picks on Doug McDermott, considering the two first-rounders and a second-rounder they used to trade up for him and the two second-rounders they used to clear cap room in a related move, observes Mark Schanowski of CSN Chicago. The moves finally appear to be paying off, and it’s conceivable the team will use McDermott as a starter as soon as next season, Schanowski writes.

Knicks Eyeing Evan Turner?

March 21st, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks team president Phil Jackson is a “big fan” of Evan Turner, as Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports hears. Mannix, speaking in an appearance on Comcast Sportsnet Northeast (video link), said he expects the Knicks to pursue the swingman in free agency this summer and pointed to the relationship that Turner’s agent, David Falk, has with Jackson dating to Falk’s days as Michael Jordan’s representative. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and coach Brad Stevens earlier this month expressed their fondness for Turner, who’s indicated that his preference would be to stay in Boston.

The Nets were also reportedly fond of Turner, though that news came before the team removed Billy King from the GM job. Turner has started fewer games this season than in any since he became the No. 2 overall pick in 2010 and is shooting a career-worst 18.3% from 3-point range, but he’s carved out a niche as a sixth man in Boston and averages 27.4 minutes per contest. His 6’7″ size makes him an intriguing candidate for the Knicks, since Jackson has traditionally favored taller guards for his triangle offense. The Zen Master said around the time New York hired him that smaller guards were more useful now than in the past, however.

It’s unclear if Jackson is enough of a fan to see Turner as a starting-caliber player. Plenty of talk in recent days has surrounded the idea of Rajon Rondo signing with New York. Rondo, the NBA’s leading per-game assist-maker, would probably be a higher priority for the team, though Jackson has spoken about a desire to sign multiple players of consequence this summer. The team’s flexibility to do so likely hinges on what Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams decide to do with their respective player options, which total $12.598MM. The Knicks otherwise have about $55MM in guaranteed salary against a salary cap projected to come in between $90MM and $95MM. Turner is making almost $3.425MM this season, the last in a two-year deal he signed in 2014 after a poor finish to the 2013/14 season with the Pacers, so he seems destined to earn much more in what Mannix expects will be a robust market for him this summer.