New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Dangling Eric Bledsoe In Trade Talks?

June 25th, 2015 at 10:46am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 10:46am: Some within the Knicks’ organization want Bledsoe, but so far, the Suns are holding off on talks, Broussard tweets.

8:07am: Sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that there are no talks happening between the Knicks and Suns regarding Bledsoe and the No. 4 pick.

WEDNESDAY, 9:35am: The Knicks continue to mull the idea of trading for Bledsoe, along with the 13th pick, if D’Angelo Russell isn’t available to the Knicks at the No. 4 spot in Thursday’s draft, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears (Twitter link). Still, just how enthusiastic the Suns are about the notion is unclear, given the conflicting reports.

TUESDAY, 11:53am: Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders heard from sources close to Bledsoe and the Knicks who laughed off the idea of trade talks (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 2:15pm: The Suns have discussed Eric Bledsoe trade scenarios with other teams, including the Knicks, and are likely to continue to do so after the draft if they haven’t dealt him by then, according to sources who spoke with Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The No. 4 overall pick was also a subject of talks with New York, Deveney notes, adding on Twitter that the team has shopped Bledsoe to the Knicks and just about every team higher up on the lottery. It’s not clear whether he means higher than the Knicks or higher than themselves, as Phoenix is set to pick 13th.

Bledsoe is one season into a five-year, $70MM deal. That Phoenix would be willing, or even eager, to trade Bledsoe is somewhat surprising and represents an apparent shift in thinking from last summer. That’s when the team re-signed Bledsoe and signed-and-traded for Isaiah Thomas, banking that they and Goran Dragic would work in a backcourt that featured three highly skilled point guards. The Suns traded Thomas and Dragic at the deadline, as well as 2014 first-round pick Tyler Ennis, who’s also a point guard. The deadline moves did bring in Brandon Knight, who’s poised to become a restricted free agent next week.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson has indicated a willingness to trade the No. 4 pick, though Bledsoe would appear to be the most significant target yet to emerge. Still, it’s unclear what other assets, if any, New York would have to relinquish to acquire the Rich Paul client.

Bledsoe’s scoring output regressed slightly on the same 12.9 shots per game he saw last season. He put up 17.0 points in 2014/15 after notching 17.7 PPG in fewer minutes during 2013/14. Still, the 25-year-old bettered his assists, with 6.1 per game this year, and rebounds, with 5.2, again showing his versatility. Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby is moving into a reduced role with the club, though that shouldn’t have had too much of an effect on the team’s philosophy with GM Ryan McDonough still entrenched.

Draft Rumors: Hornets, Lakers, Russell

June 25th, 2015 at 9:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Hornets have been extremely active this week and sources have indicated to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that they’re probably not done. The Celtics and Suns, according to a source, have been the most ardent suitors of Charlotte’s No. 9 pick. The Suns have the No. 13 pick but want to move up to draft Frank Kaminsky, who they fear could be a target of the Heat at No. 10 or the Pacers at No. 11. The Celtics, meanwhile, have interest in Willie Cauley-Stein. If the Hornets stay at No. 9, Deveney believes they will want to add shooting, which could lead them to Kentucky guard Devin Booker.

Jahlil Okafor did not perform well in his second pre-draft workout with the Lakers, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. While Okafor had a drop-off from his first showing in Los Angeles, D’Angelo Russell flourished and knocked down his shots. Ding expects the Lakers to target Russell at No. 2 in Thursday night’s draft.
Oregon guard Joseph Young does not have a first round promise from the Lakers or anyone else, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News tweets. Young’s foot injury remains a concern and he’ll be reevaluated to see if he needs surgery.
The Lakers, Sixers, Knicks, Magic, Kings, Hornets, Pacers are all talking trades and could shake up the draft order, Chad Ford of ESPN.com tweets.
Richaun Holmes is drawing consideration from several teams picking in the 20s, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter). Holmes spoke with Hoops Rumors recently as a part of our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Atlantic Notes: Smith, Embiid, Thomas

June 24th, 2015 at 9:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks president Phil Jackson would love to have big man Jason Smith back for the 2015/16 season, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Jackson is aware that it may not be possible to re-sign the unrestricted free agent if he is offered a deal by another team for more than the veteran’s minimum, Berman adds. New York may be willing to go above the minimum to retain the 29-year-old, but that is dependent on how the team’s pursuit of bigger ticket free agents goes, the Post scribe notes. The Zen Master has acknowledged that he may not be able to land a big man via the NBA Draft, and with the Knicks’ roster currently devoid of big men, as well as Smith relaying that he would indeed like to return to New York, the two sides could be a fit, Berman relays.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Raptors brought in Kentucky center Dakari Johnson for a workout on Tuesday, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun relays. Johnson is projected to be a second round pick in this year’s draft, and though Toronto doesn’t currently own any second-rounders, the team is considering trying to purchase one, Wolstat adds. “You always got to come into the opportunity and just make the best of it, no matter the circumstances, you’ve got to come in and work your hardest,” Johnson said. “That’s the type of person I am, I love to compete. I initially didn’t have this workout scheduled, but they added it on for me and I decided to come in and just compete. I just love to compete.”
Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil has indicated that additional doctors will evaluate the latest setback in the healing of center Joel Embiid‘s right foot, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “We’re still waiting,” O’Neil said. “We have another three doctors to come see him. The nice thing about jobs like these – you can literally get the best experts in the world. All you have to do is call and they love to see us.” Philly has legitimate concerns that Embiid could miss the entire 2015/16 campaign.
The Nets are pessimistic that they will be able to move up from the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com tweets.
The New York Liberty of the WNBA have suspended consideration of Isiah Thomas‘ application to become part owner of the team, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News relays (Twitter link). Thomas will remain in his duties as team president, but the ownership review process is expected to take an extended period, Berman notes in a separate piece. Both Jackson and GM Steve Mills had expressed concerns to owner James Dolan when he informed them he was hiring the former Knicks executive.

Latest On Heat’s Offer To Goran Dragic

June 24th, 2015 at 8:48am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:48am: Miami’s five-year offer to Dragic is expected to be for between $90MM and $100MM, Jackson reports. That would still likely be less than the max. The max won’t be known until the end of the July Moratorium, but based on an estimated starting salary of $18.96MM, the most Miami could give him over five years would be $109.02MM.

SATURDAY, 11:57pm: The Heat plan to make a five-year offer of more than $80MM to retain Goran Dragic, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though an amount in the vicinity of $80MM would be less than the max. The expectation in the immediate wake of Miami’s trade deadline acquisition of the former All-NBA Third Team guard was that the team would offer him the max to stay, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com wrote at the time, but Stein points to concerns over Dwyane Wade‘s potential free agency as one reason they’d offer somewhat less. The chances of Dragic leaving the Heat increase if Wade does, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported last month.

Dragic has a $7.5MM player option for next season that he’s said he’ll turn down to instead hit free agency. Miami is the only team capable of offering Dragic a five-year deal, since it has his Bird rights. Dragic can make as much as $85MM on a four-year offer from another team while a max offer from the Heat would top $100MM, Stein estimates. The precise figures won’t be known until the league sets its maximum salaries after the July Moratorium. It nonetheless appears as though the Heat are banking on Dragic’s affection for the Heat and the city of Miami as they seek to take advantage of the ability to spread a similar amount of money over an extra year.

Wade reportedly would welcome $20MM salaries if he is to turn down his $16.125MM player option, and he’s apparently open to leaving the Heat if necessary. The Heat would prefer that Wade opt in, according to Jackson, but a less lucrative offer to Dragic would offset all or part of the extra money the Heat would spend should Wade opt out and re-sign on a deal that pays $20MM next season. That savings would be particularly important with the Heat poised not only to pay the tax next season if they retain their existing players at market value, but also incur repeat-offender tax penalties for having been a tax team three out of four years.

The Lakers, whom Dragic reportedly saw as a “perfect fit” earlier this season, loom as likely suitors, as do the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings and Bucks, as Jackson reported. The Lakers, Knicks and Bucks all have the flexibility necessary under a projected $67.1MM cap to offer a four-year max contract to the client of Bill Duffy and Rade Filipovich.

And-Ones: Russell, Looney, Porzingis

June 23rd, 2015 at 11:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell has made a strong case for the Lakers to select him with the No. 2 overall pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. The young guard isn’t intimidated by playing alongside Kobe Bryant, and would embrace the chance if Los Angeles defies projections and selects Russell instead of Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, Wojnarowski adds. “If I went to the Lakers, I wouldn’t want anyone to hand me anything,” Russell told the Yahoo! scribe. “I wouldn’t expect Kobe to take me under his wing. I think he will want to see a resemblance of that hunger and fire that he came into the league with as a young kid. No one needs to be the nicest guy in the world, or pretend to be that. He will see through that, pick all that apart. I’ve got to be me.”

Here’s more from around the league:

UCLA forward Kevon Looney has a workout scheduled with the Spurs prior to the NBA Draft, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.
Indian big man Satnam Singh has worked out for a total of seven teams, including the Spurs, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (on Twitter).
Kristps Porzingis‘ workout scheduled for Tuesday with the Knicks had to be cancelled because the young Latvian was suffering from a muscle cramp, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal tweets.
The league’s share of each team’s playoff gate receipts will shrink from 50% to 25% under action the Board of Governors recently approved, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. That means less money will go into revenue-sharing, a negative for small-market teams that miss the playoffs, as Lowe examines.
The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky last week, and the former Wisconsin big man wouldn’t have scheduled the meeting if he didn’t believe that New York was seriously considering selecting him with the No. 4 overall pick, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Of course, the Knicks, who are considering trading down in the draft, could be looking at Kaminsky as a target later in the lottery as well, Deveney adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Alexander

June 23rd, 2015 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBPA is looking into the Sixers for any possible breach of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. During a meeting on Monday, the union informed agents that it will actively investigate Philadelphia’s salary distributions, use of the cap floor, and contract format loopholes, Charania notes. For the NBPA, the Sixers’ approach over the past several seasons may not be a technical violation of collective bargaining as much as it is one of the spirit of negotiating under the CBA, adds the RealGM scribe.

Over the past two seasons, Philly has compiled a 37-127 record, staying below the 90% salary floor for majority of the campaigns before making late season signings or trades to comply with the CBA rules, Charania writes. The Sixers frequently offering players four-year, non-guaranteed contracts has rubbed agents and the NBPA the wrong way, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers tweets.

Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are confident they can find value with picks No. 16 and No. 28 in the draft, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “There are a lot of good players that are drafted later than the top few in the draft every year,” Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “You have to have some good fortune. You have to do a good job scouting. But most importantly you have to develop players, and you have to continually do that.”
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri indicated that the team would consider purchasing a second-rounder in this year’s NBA Draft, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “[You] can never have enough young talent,” Ujiri said.
The Knicks are also looking to buy a second-rounder in the draft, according to team president Phil Jackson, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes (on Twitter).
Jackson says point guard and small forward are two positions that the Knicks have “kind of covered,” but he wouldn’t rule out selecting one during Thursday’s draft, Al Iannazzone of Newdsay relays. “We’re taking a really good player, we know that,” said the Zen Master. “We don’t know who’s going to fall in our direction and yet we have needs on this team. The positions we’re kind of covered is lead guard and small forward. But that doesn’t matter. We can still take the best player that comes along at that position at No. 4 if we have an extraordinary pick.“
Villanova swingman Darrun Hilliard worked out for the Sixers a second time on Monday, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link).
Kansas big man Cliff Alexander cancelled his workout with the Nets on Monday due to an injury, but he did meet with team executives, Josh Newman of SNY.tv tweets.

Latest On Ty Lawson, Nuggets, Kings

June 23rd, 2015 at 2:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:22pm: Karl is “enamored” with the notion of trading for Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler, Berger writes in another piece, presumably in a deal that sends out Cousins. The Nuggets are open to trading Lawson and Chandler, but the Poison Pill Provision attached to Faried’s recently extended contract would make the salary-matching cumbersome for any deal involving him before July, Berger adds.

TUESDAY, 10:45am: Karl would consider trading Rudy Gay for Lawson, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN in a story that centers on Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s unwillingness to allow any DeMarcus Cousins trades. That would seemingly throw Karl’s ability to engineer a Gay-Lawson trade through Kings front office chief Vlade Divac into question, though that’s just my speculation.

MONDAY, 5:24pm: The Nuggets and Kings have discussed a deal involving Ty Lawson, but the sides have found little traction, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Chad Ford of ESPN.com suggested as much in a recent chat. Sacramento has been pursuing Lawson from Denver with the sixth pick at the heart of would-be deals, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote in his NBA AM piece earlier today. Kyler nonetheless hears that Denver’s demands for Lawson are too high for the Kings and that Sacramento isn’t on board with giving up the No. 6 choice and future draft picks for Lawson.

Still, the Kings continue to make Nik Stauskas available, Berger reports, while the Nuggets are involved in a potential trade scenario that would send their No. 7 pick to the Knicks, an executive from another team told Berger. The Nuggets would also give up the right to swap first-rounders with the Knicks next year, one that they gained via the Carmelo Anthony trade, in such a deal, Berger adds.

Kings coach George Karl would reportedly love for the team to acquire Lawson, whom he coached with the Nuggets. Still, Denver was asking for multiple first-round picks for him at the deadline, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported.

Stauskas, whom Sacramento took eighth overall last year, became available as early as this past January, as Berger reported then. Knicks president Phil Jackson has expressed a willingness to trade back from the No. 4 pick, and speculation has resulted in numerous such scenarios.

Knicks Among Preferred Destinations For Cousins

June 23rd, 2015 at 1:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are on the list of teams that DeMarcus Cousins would like to play for, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who nonetheless suggests New York lacks the assets to make that happen. Agent Dan Fegan would like to see him on the Lakers, Berger adds. An earlier report from Sam Amick of USA Today indicated much the same about the desire of Cousins’ camp to see him in purple-and-gold, but Cousins likes Sacramento and has asked not to be traded, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson suggested to reporters today that the Knicks don’t have the assets necessary to make a credible offer for Cousins, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). The primary chip the Knicks would appear to have, aside from Carmelo Anthony, is the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, though Jackson today downplayed the idea that they’ll trade it. He told reporters that he’s listening to offers but “not soliciting so much” and pegged the chances of the Knicks moving down in the draft at only 5%, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays (Twitter links). Still, Sacramento would rather take back veterans, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported overnight.

The Kings appear to be a house divided, with Karl pushing for a trade and owner Vivek Ranadive insisting time and again, just as front office chief Vlade Divac has, that Cousins is not available for any swap, as Wojnarowski detailed. The Lakers are making a push, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Monday, also identifying the Nuggets as a likely suitor. The Celtics, another team reportedly likely to go after the All-Star center, appear to have the most to offer, as Berger notes.

New York can’t trade its No. 4 pick until after the draft, and absorbing Cousins’ salary would be easier after the July Moratorium. The same is true of the Lakers and their pick, so a Cousins trade to either destination would appear unlikely to become official for at least another couple of weeks, even if the clubs might reach an agreement in the interim.

And-Ones: Thunder, Grizzlies, Antic

June 22nd, 2015 at 11:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have been shopping Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Steve Novak, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Oklahoma City, which has $78.26MM in guaranteed salary commitments for next season, is seeking financial relief but it is also seeking a draft pick, Mannix adds. The Thunder already have picks at No. 14 and No. 48.

In other news around the league:

The Knicks, Kings and Hornets are the teams most likely to trade out of the Top 10 in the draft, Mannix reports in a separate tweet.
Guards Andre Hollins and Deville Smith and forwards Nino Johnson and Aaron White worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday, completing the team’s predraft workouts, according to Grizzlies.com.
R.J. Hunter, Anthony Brown, Olivier Hanlan, Christian Wood, Sir’Dominic Porter and Mouhammadou Jaiteh will work out for the Wizards on Tuesday, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. (Twitter link).
Fenerbahce of the Turkish League is interested in signing Hawks free agent center Pero Antic, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Draft Notes: Porzingis, Kings, Pacers

June 22nd, 2015 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks held a private workout for Kristaps Porzingis on Monday morning, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. The Knicks were impressed by his workout in Las Vegas two weeks ago and wanted to take a second look at the Latvian power forward, Isola continues. D’Angelo Russell is still the Knicks’ likely choice at No. 4 if he’s available and they do not trade the pick, Isola adds. Marc Berman of the New York Post, who also reported the workout, notes that team president Phil Jackson said he is trying to draft a starter with the fourth pick, which would make Porzingis an odd fit. “He’s absolutely not a starter on a good team next season and maybe not [on] a bad team,’’ one NBA scout told Berman. “He’s not physically ready. I’d be shocked if they took him.’’

In other draft news around the league:

Officials from many teams sense that the interest the Sixers have in Porzingis is overstated and a ruse to convince competitors to trade up for the pick, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress writes in his latest mock draft.
Many believe that the Grizzlies, at pick No. 25, are the team that’s made the reported promise to Jarell Martin, Givony writes in the same piece.
Willie Cauley-Stein would not make sense with the Kings’ lottery pick because he wouldn’t be a good fit alongside DeMarcus Cousins, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee tweets. Multiple scouts told Voisin that Cauley-Stein would clog the lane and limit the spacing for Cousins in the low post. In contrast, the Kings are intrigued by the pairing of Frank Kaminsky and Cousins, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Kaminsky had a strong workout with the Kings on Monday, Mannix adds.
The Celtics are trying to move up in the draft and have had discussions with at least one team in the Top 10, Mannix writes a separate tweet. Mannix quotes a rival executive that Boston is being “aggressive, one of the few teams thinking big.”
The Pacers could trade out of the lottery and into the late teens or early 20s of the first round if the player they target at No. 11 is taken ahead of them, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.