New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Ink Wesley Saunders

September 10th, 2015 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 4:10pm: The Knicks have announced that the signing is official.

JULY 29TH, 8:06am: The partial guarantee will be worth no more than $75K, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.

JULY 24TH, 8:16pm: The Knicks continue to fill out their roster, and are closing in on an agreement with undrafted free agent Wesley Saunders, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The full contract details are unknown at this juncture, but Charania notes the pact will include a partial guarantee.

New York could be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time by adding another former Harvard guard to its roster. Jeremy Lin had previously parlayed a successful 35 game run with the Knicks during the 2011/12 campaign into a multiyear deal from the Rockets. The addition of Saunders provides some much needed depth to the Knicks’ backcourt, though he’ll still likely be a longshot to make the regular season roster.

In 30 appearances last season for the Crimson, the 22-year-old averaged 16.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 34.4 minutes per contest. Saunders’ career numbers at Harvard were 12.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.2 APG to go along with a slash line of .481/.402/.755.

The Knicks were one of the teams on the predraft workout docket for Saunders, as he told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors. The Ivy League prospect spoke to Zach about several topics, including what it was like to balance Harvard academics with basketball.

Knicks Sign Darion Atkins

September 10th, 2015 at 4:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 4:08pm: The signing is official, the Knicks have announced.

AUGUST 7TH, 2:40pm: Atkins has signed the deal, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, though the team has yet to make an official announcement (Twitter link). That’s expected to happen next week, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

JULY 24TH, 5:57pm: The Knicks intend to sign undrafted forward Darion Atkins, Shlomo Sprung of SheridanHoops reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, but Sprung indicates the contract will include a partial guarantee.

The former Virginia Cavalier made 33 appearances during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. His slash line was .511/.000/.520. Atkins’ career numbers in four NCAA seasons were 4.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 0.8 BPG.

It is certainly a bit surprising to see team president Phil Jackson adding more depth at forward when the roster currently has only four backcourt players signed to deals. Atkins will join a crowded frontcourt in New York, and he’s likely a longshot to stick with the team when the regular season commences. The Knicks already have Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams, Kristaps Porzingis, Louis Amundson, Cleanthony Early, and Lance Thomas available to play power forward, and Carmelo Anthony will likely see some minutes at the four as well.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Curry, Teletovic, Huertas

September 10th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek expressed optimism about the potential for a resolution that would see Markieff Morris back off his trade demand, as Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com relays. Several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe that the Suns don’t seem especially motivated to make a move, despite the bluster from the power forward.

“I know Markieff,” Hornacek said. “I know that when he gets here and starts playing, he’s a competitor and he’s going to try to win. Hopefully, he can get whatever he has off his chest with us and get back to business and help this team win.”

Lowe speculates about potential trade scenarios involving several teams around the league, opining that the Knicks are among those who should look into trading for Morris and writing that while New York isn’t ready to talk about dealing away Carmelo Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, the team is getting closer to that point. While we wait to see what happens, there’s more on the Suns amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Seth Curry resisted overtures from overseas the past two years, but he and agent Alex Saratsis had planned for him to take one of those offers if he couldn’t find his footing in the NBA by this fall, writes Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. An impressive summer league in July drew NBA interest from the Pelicans, Hornets and Warriors, as well as the Kings, who made the best offer and signed him to a two-year guaranteed deal, as Jenkins details. Golden State would have given him the chance to play with his brother, MVP Stephen Curry, but Seth looked the other way. “I didn’t want to go to Golden State,” Seth said. “I didn’t want to go back in Steph’s shadow.”
Hornacek is high on the game of free agent signee Mirza Teletovic, who seems in line to start at power forward if Morris isn’t in Phoenix, but the Suns coach wants to see better conditioning out of the former Net, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic chronicles. “He can shoot the ball,” Hornacek said of Teletovic. “The big thing is he can also makes some plays and he’s got a good eye of the court and good court sense. He’ll drive in there a little bit on a roll and look one way and pass it another way. He understands how to set things up. He probably needs to get in better shape. I don’t think he was used to the running that we do here but he toughed it out and kept going. He just got off a plane the other day from Bosnia.”
The contract that Marcelo Huertas signed with the Lakers is for one year and non-guaranteed, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. It’s worth the minimum salary with limited injury protection, adds Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, so it appears that it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Knicks, Kaun

September 9th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the main reasons that the Pacers decided to forge ahead with the purchase of the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants was the rising salaries of NBA players, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter links). Team owner Herb Simon said that the Pacers will need young players to go along with the higher paid players on the roster, and that those young players would need development, which purchasing the Mad Ants would help facilitate, Buckner adds.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks are unquestionably a better team than a season ago, but just about every other team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference also improved this offseason, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Facebook link). Bontemps also noted that he expects New York to struggle to compete for the final playoff spot in the East, which would result in the possibility that the team would look to deal small forward Carmelo Anthony to a contender at the trade deadline.
The majority of the Pistons‘ roster is now comprised of players acquired by executive/coach Stan Van Gundy, and this season’s focus will be in determining which of those players will have long-term futures with the team, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com in his 30 Teams, 30 Days series.
Sasha Kaun‘s two-year deal with the Cavaliers will see him earn $1,276,000 in 2015/16 and $1,333,240 during the final season, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Both seasons are fully guaranteed, Pincus adds. Reports initially conflicted on whether the contract would include a player option, and Pincus confirms that it does not.
Kendall Marshall will earn approximately $2.1MM this season courtesy of his deal with the Sixers, and his salary is fully guaranteed, Pincus tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Calderon, Okafor, Celtics

September 9th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jose Calderon says the strained left Achilles tendon that prematurely ended his 2014/15 season is fully healthy, and the Spanish point guard is a fan of the moves the Knicks made this summer, even though he tried and failed to lure countryman Marc Gasol to the team, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Two seasons still remain on Calderon’s deal, but the 34-year-old added that he hasn’t been concerned that the Knicks might look to unload him this year, in spite of speculation, as Berman relays.

“I was never worried,” Calderon said to Berman. “It doesn’t mean I know for sure, but I was told I wasn’t involved in those trades and people I trust tell me that. And I talked to [coach] Derek [Fisher] during their free-agent meetings so they were keeping me always in the loop.’’

See more from around the Atlantic Division:

No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor isn’t just the first Sixers top-10 pick of the past three years who’s healthy entering training camp, he’s also arguably the first truly foundational player that GM Sam Hinkie has added, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Facebook link).
The majority of ESPN’s Summer Forecast panel believes it’s likely the Celtics will pull off a splashy move this season, but Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com finds it tough to envision the team making a major acquisition, given the difficulty of finding a trade partner and the cap constraints on midseason swaps.
President of basketball operations Danny Ainge has done his due diligence to put the Celtics in position to acquire major talent, but the luck necessary to ultimately snag a marquee name just hasn’t been present, argues Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

And-Ones: Porzingis, Pistons, Harrington

September 7th, 2015 at 10:29pm CST by Will Joseph

Kristaps Porzingis has gained 11 pounds so far this summer after Knicks president Phil Jackson expressed concern over the rookie’s frame last month, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Jackson previously told ESPN.com’s Charley Rosen that he was concerned Porzingis may have trouble putting on enough muscle to play in the low post. Porzingis has shown a strong work ethic in trying to alleviate those concerns, Berman adds after speaking with Audie Norris, who coached Porzingis last season in Spain.

In other news around the league:

Eric Griffin, who reportedly agreed to a deal with the Pistons, expects to see some minutes in Detroit, Seth Ferranti of Slamonline.com writes. It won’t be easy for the 25-year-old to remain on the roster for the beginning of the regular season, however. Detroit currently has 18 players on its roster aside from Griffin.
Croatia’s Dragan Bender is the most highly-touted international player in the 2016 draft class, according to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. The 7’1” power forward has a nice mix of back-to-the-basket moves and outside range and could be a top five pick, Brigham continues. Bender is expected to play in a battle of Euroleague powers in two exhibition games on American soil next month. Shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz of Turkey could also be a lottery pick, according to Brigham, who writes that Korkmaz plays with a swagger and can shoot from virtually anywhere on the floor.
Longtime NBA power forward Al Harrington is still looking for work as a coach, J. Michael of the Wizards Insider reports. Harrington had a brief stint with the Nuggets late last season, serving under interim coach Melvin Hunt, but was not retained when Michael Malone was hired as head coach. Harrington last played in the NBA with the Wizards two seasons ago.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this report.

Eastern Rumors: Haslem, Pistons, Smart

September 5th, 2015 at 11:23am CST by Dana Gauruder

Udonis Haslem is unlikely to be part of the Heat’s rotation this season, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. Winderman points out that Hassan Whiteside, Chris Andersen and Amar’e Stoudemire are Miami’s top options at center while Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts should receive a majority of the minutes at power forward. Haslem could see his role expand if the Heat trade either Andersen or McRoberts, Winderman adds. Haslem’s spot on the roster is secure, as he is signed for a guaranteed $2.9MM.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Platinum Equity founder and Pistons owner Tom Gores is buying his firm’s stake in the team, which would give him 100% ownership of the franchise, sources with knowledge of the transaction have informed Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News (story hosted by The Detroit News). Gores, who currently owns 51% of the franchise, is the founder and CEO of the company he’s purchasing the shares from, so his level of control is not likely to change significantly as a result of the deal. The league has already approved the transaction, though it has yet to be officially announced, Soshnick adds.
Celtics point guard Marcus Smart has been named in a lawsuit filed by former Oklahoma State guard Stevie Clark, accusing Smart of “hazing and disrespect,” A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Clark alleges that head coach Travis Ford put him on drugs, without his consent, after he expressed frustration to Ford about the alleged hazing from Smart, Blakely continues. The complaint also names the university, its Board of Regents and Ford, Blakely adds.
The Knicks’ 17-win season in 2014/15 has affected their ticket sales for the upcoming season, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. According to a Madison Square Garden spokesman, season tickets were renewed at an 87% rate, compared to 92% last summer, Berman continues. If the Knicks get off to a poor start, their 201-game sellout streak could be in danger, Berman adds.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this report.

Atlantic Notes: Valanciunas, Celtics, Knicks

September 3rd, 2015 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors feel confident that center Jonas Valanciunas, who signed a four-year, $64MM extension with the team this offseason, will continue to develop and that he will justify the long-term commitment from the franchise, Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com writes. “JV is 23 years old,” Toronto GM Masai Ujiri said. “The contract gives him some security and lets him now concentrate on playing basketball and winning. It’s big for us, but we feel he made progress. He’s a great kid. Loves the city, loves the fans, loves everything about Toronto and that’s what we want to embrace here. He showed us a lot on the basketball court and we think he’ll get better.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes that the team’s roster continuity from the 2014/15 campaign will lead to improvement this coming season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays. “[Continuity] should be a benefit. Again, I think my phrase will be, ‘Time will tell,’” said Stevens. “I mean, we’ll see. I think my curiosity lies in how we go to work, how we come together, how much we’re willing to sacrifice for one another and see how this thing plays itself out. But I think you’d rather have guys for a longer period than not and that continuity is a good thing. We have basically nine guys back from our roster that played quite a bit. That’s a good thing, too.“
The Knicks are still in a state of flux because they still lack a second star player, even a borderline one, to team up with Carmelo Anthony, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes in his preview of the team. Powell does praise team president Phil Jackson for not overspending on second-tier free agents this Summer after New York’s top targets signed elsewhere.
In his look ahead at the Celtics‘ 2015/16 season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines that Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas, and Jonas Jerebko are all poised to have breakout seasons for the team.

Eastern Notes: J.R. Smith, Wizards, Contracts

September 3rd, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith‘s new two-year contract with the Cavaliers has an unusual structure that includes partial guarantees for both this season and next, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter links). This year’s salary, worth $5MM, is guaranteed for only $2MM, and next year’s salary, a player option, has a $2.15MM partial guarantee on the full $5.4MM value, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (All four Twitter links). However, this season’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if the team keeps him through Monday, Pincus adds. That’s almost certain to happen, but the reason that clause is in the contract is so that his 2016/17 salary can become fully guaranteed if he sticks on the roster through the same date next year, in a structure similar to the deal that Kostas Papanikolaou signed with the Rockets last year, Pincus explains. The Cavs formally announced Smith’s signing Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Smith revealed that he would be rejoining the team.

See more from around the Eastern Conference:

Coach Randy Wittman likes the grit that Wizards camp signee Toure’ Murry has shown in the past, but the shooting guard will have to make quite a convincing case for the Wizards to keep him over one of the 15 players on their roster with a fully guaranteed contract, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Jaleel Roberts, the other Wizard with a non-guaranteed deal, won his training camp roster spot more so by his performance at Tim Grgurich’s private camp than through his play with the Wizards summer league squad, Michael hears. Still, Roberts is more likely to make the regular season roster in 2016/17, when the team will ostensibly have greater flexibility, than he is this year, according to Michael.
Kelly Dwyer, Ben Rohrbach and Eric Freeman of Yahoo! Sports weighed in on which 2015 NBA draftee ended up in the best situation to succeed next season. Dwyer chose the Knicks‘ Kristaps Porzingis, while Rohrbach tabbed Justise Winslow of the Heat, and Freeman’s pick was the Nuggets’ Emmanuel Mudiay.
The Cavs had possessed one of the most tradeable contracts in the league in Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed pact, which they had dealt to the Blazers at the end of July. Pincus, in a separate post, ran down some of the most desirable trade chip contracts around the NBA , including Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko of the Celtics, the Wizards‘ Kris Humphries and Martell Webster, as well as Ersan Ilyasova‘s deal with the Pistons.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Latest On Ricky Rubio

September 3rd, 2015 at 9:45am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves no longer believe in Ricky Rubio as the long-term solution at point guard and have surveyed the trade market for him, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher hears (video link). They’re not engaging in trade talk about him now, Bucher adds, nonetheless suggesting a decent chance exists they again explore the subject when the season starts. The dispatch comes despite Rubio’s continued insistence that he would prefer to remain in Minnesota and a recent report from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that the Wolves weren’t shopping him.

Bucher said that the Nets, Mavericks, Knicks and, most of all, the Bucks make sense for him as a trade destination, though that appears to be speculation. The Knicks “tested the waters” to see if they could trade Jose Calderon, according to Bucher, though it’s unclear if he’s referring to the team’s reported attempts to deal Calderon before the trade deadline this past winter or if he’s heard of more recent efforts on that front.

Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders made mention of Rubio in June when he listed some of the team’s cornerstone players, referring to him as “a great point guard,” so that would run counter to the idea that the Wolves are ready to move on from the former fifth overall pick. Reports in May conflicted on whether Rubio’s camp, which includes agent Dan Fegan, was trying to convince the Wolves to trade him, but Rubio came out shortly thereafter to deny that he wanted out of Minnesota, and Rubio’s most recent comments reiterated that.

The incentive-laden four-year, $55MM extension that Rubio signed last fall kicks in for this coming season, when he’s slated to make $12.7MM. The 24-year-old who turns 25 next month is the highest-paid player on the Timberwolves. He played in a career-low 22 games this past season, chiefly because of injuries to his left ankle.

Do you think the Wolves should part with Rubio or keep him? Leave a comment to let us know.