New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Alexey Shved Not Planning Return To Europe

March 6th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Zachary Links

When the Rockets dealt guard Alexey Shved to the Knicks at the trade deadline, the club did so believing that he was likely planning a return to Europe next season, an NBA source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. However, Shved, a pending free agent, says that’s not the case.

“I don’t know who said this,’’ Shved said regarding rumblings that he’d be heading overseas next season. “But I’ve never said this. I’m not thinking about that. I want to stay here.”

Shved, 26, didn’t get much playing time in Houston but he’s seeing decent minutes in New York (10.0 minutes per contest through six games) and he says he’d like to make a future with the Knicks. From the Knicks’ perspective, they have to be pleased with the 6’6″ guard’s skill set and his ability to succeed in the triangle offense. Shved obviously won’t be retained at his current salary of $3.5MM, but president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills will be evaluating him for the remainder of the year and could look to re-sign him at a more reasonable price.

In six games for the Knicks, Shved is averaging 10 points, 2.3 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per night. The Rockets sent Shved and second round choices in 2017 and 2019 to the Knicks for guard Pablo Prigioni last month.

Teammate Andrea Bargnani was also asked about his own level of interest in returning to Italy after the season and he made it clear that he wants to remain in the NBA, Berman writes.

“Absolutely, I don’t see this question at this point,’’ he said angrily. “What’s the point of the question at this point of season? But yeah, I want to play in the NBA.’’

Bargnani has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, playing just 119 games across the last four years and just eleven games this season. Still, the big man has scored at least 17 points in four of the last five games and hit for 25 twice, including Wednesday’s loss to the Pacers. Like Shved, Bargnani is slated to hit the open market this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Prokhorov, Bargnani, Smart

March 5th, 2015 at 10:20pm CST by Will Joseph

Nets CEO Brett Yormark told reporters, including John Brennan of The Record, that he does not “think anything’s gonna happen” and that “we have an ownership group that is very committed,” when asked about rumors of a sale of the team by Mikhail Prokhorov. Yormark also added to the pressures of the Nets, who dropped from the eighth seed to the 10th seed after Wednesday’s loss to the Hornets, by saying he wants the team to “own” New York City.

“This market is very competitive,” Yormark said. “As much as I say we don’t compete against the Knicks or the Garden, we do. That’s the reality of it. I’m opportunistic, right? They’re struggling, and – it’s going to be cyclical. So I want to own this city. That’s critical for us. I think the way you own it is by winning and getting to the playoffs this year.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Andrea Bargnani, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and who missed all but two of New York’s first 51 games with leg injuries, has stepped up in scoring for the Knicks with Carmelo Anthony out for the season, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. The veteran big man has averaged 17.8 PPG over his last five contests. Bargnani was a buyout candidate as the March 1st deadline for waived players to still be playoff eligible approached.
Citing Kevin Garnett‘s sharp statistical decline, Andy Vasquez of The Record opines the Nets are a better team since they traded the future Hall of Famer for Thaddeus Young. In his first seven games as a member of the Nets, Young is averaging 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per night. Garnett has made four appearances for the Wolves, contributing 8.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 19.3 minutes per game since the swap.
Marcus Smart, who was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February, is having a growing impact on the Celtics and as a result, Boston coach Brad Stevens’ confidence in the point guard has increased, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Jackson, Celtics

March 5th, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Zachary Links

Whether you’re scanning the pages of Hoops Rumors or Pro Football Rumors, one thing is clear: makeovers are very chic right now in the city of Brotherly Love. The Sixers are constantly making deals and the Eagles shipped LeSean McCoy to the Bills, leaving John Smallwood of the Daily News to wonder if the brazen moves will make the local teams soar or sink. Here’s more from the Atlantic..

Years before Phil Jackson arrived, Donnie Walsh was hired as the president of the Knicks and found a similar level of hype around his arrival. While Jackson is taking some heat, Walsh believes that the Zen Master is approaching the franchise’s latest rebuilding project the right way, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News writes. While some have been critical that his coaching skills haven’t or won’t translate into success as a GM, Walsh feels that his player evaluation skills are just as useful on both fronts. When it comes to the salary cap, he believes that Jackson is smart enough to navigate that and he pointed out that having GM Steve Mills on hand is an asset.
In his appearance on The Sports Hub, Celtics president Danny Ainge said that a playoff appearance will make his team more attractive to free agents in the offseason, Ben Rohrbach of The Sports Hub tweets. The Celtics are currently 2.0 games behind the Hornets for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, though they have the Pacers and Nets sandwiched in between.
Recently claimed off waivers by the Sixers, forward Thomas Robinson has a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove that he can stick somewhere, Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I’m tired of getting treated like a rag doll in this league,” Robinson said. “I just want to prove that I belong here. I’m tired of being treated like I’ve been treated in this league.” The former No. 5 overall pick has been traded three times and is now with his fifth team in the Sixers. Robinson has averaged 9.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 16.4 minutes of bench play in his four games with the Sixers, a significant increase from his career averages of 4.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG in just over 13 minutes of play.

And-Ones: Shaw, Caboclo, Pietrus

March 4th, 2015 at 10:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brian Shaw was Phil Jackson‘s second choice after Steve Kerr to become the Knicks‘ new head coach last summer, but Jackson was leery of the compensation it would take to pry Shaw away from Denver, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. While it’s doubtful that New York’s team president would part ways with Derek Fisher after inking him to a five-year deal this past offseason, adding Shaw as a veteran assistant on the Knicks’ coaching staff next season is entirely possible, Berman adds. A friend of the coach relayed that Shaw would have considered it an ideal opportunity to become the Knicks’ head man under Jackson had the Nuggets fired him after last season, the Post scribe relays.

Here’s more from around the league:

Raptors rookie Bruno Caboclo is now being represented by Relativity Sports, having parted ways with agent Eduardo Resende, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun reports (Twitter link).
Clippers executive and coach Doc Rivers said that the team would “most likely” sign Jordan Hamilton to a second 10-day contract when his initial 10-day pact ends this Thursday, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
It wasn’t surprising that Ray Allen announced that he wouldn’t play this season, Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets. Allen is reportedly content with living the life of a retiree, Mannix adds.
Former NBA player Mickael Pietrus has inked a deal in Puerto Rico with Mets de Guaynabo, Three Eye Sports reports (Twitter link). The swingman’s last NBA appearance was during the 2012/13 campaign when he appeared in 19 contests for the Raptors. In 557 career NBA games Pietrus has averaged 8.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. His career slash line is .425/.355/.665.
NBA teams are still trying to evaluate Emmanuel Mudiay, and decide if he is worth selecting with the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes in his profile of the 18-year-old guard. “The two guys with the biggest upsides in the draft are Mudiay and Karl-Anthony Towns,” one NBA GM told Ford. “Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell are more sure things, but neither of those guys have the ceiling of Mudiay and Towns. And of those four, Mudiay is the best athlete. I can understand a team taking any of those four guys No. 1. But if you’re asking me who has the chance to be a game-changer in the NBA, I think it’s Mudiay. Big risk, big reward.“

And-Ones: Divac, Okafor, Knicks

March 3rd, 2015 at 10:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have hired former NBA player Vlade Divac as their vice president of basketball and franchise operations, the team has announced. “With an unparalleled philanthropic track record that spans the globe, Vlade Divac is the epitome of our NBA 3.0 philosophy,” Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive said. “He has a unique perspective and global stature that will only further elevate our organization around the world.” In a career that spanned 16 NBA seasons, Divac averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Ranadive was the driving force behind hiring Divac, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee tweets.

Here’s more from around the league and abroad:

With the Guangdong Southern Tigers having been eliminated from the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs, Will Bynum, Jeff Adrien and Chris Daniels have become free agents and are eligible to sign with NBA teams, Enea Trapani of Sportando tweets.
The NBA has fined the Knicks for team president Phil Jackson‘s public comments regarding Ohio State freshman D’Angelo Russell, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Upon leaving Ohio State’s game last Thursday night, Jackson told reporters that Russell was a “great looking kid, [a] great prospect.” This is the second time in his brief career as an executive that Jackson has been fined for tampering. The first instance was for his comments regarding Derek Fisher last spring while Fisher was still a member of the Thunder.
Mike D’Antoni would be an excellent fit as the next coach of the Nuggets, Adi Joseph of USA Today opines. Joseph cites Denver’s personnel, who would be well-suited to D’Antoni’s style of play, as the main reason the former Knicks and Lakers coach could match up well with the Nuggets.
With the Knicks currently owning the worst record in the NBA according to Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings, New York has the best odds of snagging the top pick in June’s NBA draft. Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal examines the pros and cons of projected No. 1 overall pick Jahlil Okafor, and how the big man would fit in with the Knicks.
The Lakers intend to apply for a hardship exception once Ronnie Price misses his fourth consecutive game, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times reports. Los Angeles has lost Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Julius Randle and Price for the season. The Lakers have discussed the matter internally, but haven’t decided if they will use the exception if granted, Pincus adds.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Anthony, Bulls

March 3rd, 2015 at 7:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that the Sixers have waived JaVale McGee, the team is paying a total of eight players this season who are no longer with the franchise, John Smallwood of The Philadelphia Daily News notes. Out of this group that includes Jared Cunningham, Eric Maynor, Ronny Turiaf, Marquis Teague, Chris Johnson, Jorge Gutierrez and Andrei Kirilenko, only McGee has actually appeared in a game for Philly this season, Smallwood adds. “One of the ways we are trying to build our team is to transact with other teams,” GM Sam Hinkie said, “to try to help other teams to solve their problems and help other teams with the issues they have as a way to try to build our future.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

New Kings coach George Karl said that if he had had Phil Jackson‘s job with the Knicks, he would make it a priority to pair Carmelo Anthony, his former player, with an elite point guard, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I would go get a great point guard and then find some good big guys. I think you have a stud scorer [in Anthony] — get me a brain, get me a quarterback and then fill in the pieces with maybe second-tier big guys,” Karl said. “The efficiency of big men in this league, there’s only about five or six of them.”
Karl, who coached Anthony for parts of seven seasons in Denver, says that Anthony is at his best when paired with a strong point guard. Begley notes. “We had the most success when we had Andre Miller and/or Chauncey Billups — when we had a point guard that kind of orchestrated the rhythm of the offense,” Karl said. “And I just think, I’ve said for two years now, I think the NBA is a lot like the NFL. You get a quarterback and a good coach and you win games. And then the other pieces, you figure it out. I think Melo is still top three, top four, top five. I don’t know, some people put him in the top three. I personally wouldn’t put him in the top three. If he has a good orchestrator, he’s going to be a helluva scorer for you.”
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said that Chicago is still exploring its options regarding adding another player, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Bulls currently have 14 players on their roster.

Atlantic Notes: Young, Datome, Chris Smith

March 3rd, 2015 at 5:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nets GM Billy King wants to keep Thaddeus Young beyond this season and make him a building block for the team, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. Young, who has a player option worth nearly $10.222MM for next season, is seeing fewer minutes per game since the trade to Brooklyn than in any season but his rookie year, but he’s nonetheless glad to be a part of the team’s plan for the future.

“It means a lot,” Young said. “It means that I’m definitely a player that has come into his own and being able to go out there and do a lot of things to help my team win basketball games. Sometimes I can go out there and be a game-changer with the energy I bring to the table.”

There’s more on the Nets amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics seem to want a long-term future with Jonas Jerebko, but while president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he likes Gigi Datome and that the Celtics aren’t looking to release or arrange a buyout with him, he also said that it’s unclear just how he fits with the team. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald has the details. The Celtics executive is focused more on player evaluation than wins and losses even as his team sits just a game and a half back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Bulpett notes.
A season of prolific roster turnover has challenged Celtics coach Brad Stevens, but he’s shined amid the team’s many moves, navigating the club into contention for a playoff spot, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines.
Deron Williams believes all the trade rumors surrounding him and other high-profile Nets before the deadline affected the performance of the team, which has played better since February 19th passed, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com observes.
KB Peja of Kosova has released ex-Knicks guard Chris Smith, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). The 27-year-old brother of J.R. Smith signed overseas last month but struggled to make an impact during his brief time playing in southeastern Europe.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Griffin, McGee, Dragic, Garnett

March 2nd, 2015 at 10:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

Clippers forward Blake Griffin could return as early as Sunday’s game against Golden State, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com tweets. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Griffin is running “full tilt” and participating in shooting drills, Markazi adds. Griffin has been sidelined since early February with a staph infection in his right elbow and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks. We’ll round up more from the league below..

Waiving JaVale McGee, who has one year and $12MM remaining on his contract, is a good indicator the Sixers will not pursue any top free agents next season, Tom Moore of Calkin Media tweets. McGee was released by Philadelphia on Monday, meaning he’ll still have the opportunity to sign with a playoff contender.
Suns management believes that Goran Dragic‘s representatives spent part of the All-Star break convincing the point guard to push Phoenix into trading him, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The BDA Sports client nonetheless insists his motives were his own, as Coro notes.
Doc Rivers called Kevin Garnett‘s allegiance to the Timberwolves “almost nutty loyalty,” recalling that KG twice held up being traded to Boston during his first stint playing in Minnesota since he didn’t want it to appear he was “bailing” on the Wolves. Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press has the full story.
The 2014/15 season has been a memorable one for the Knicks, but not for the right reasons. Still, Derek Fisher is confident that New York will have a chance to lure quality free agents this summer, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post details.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: McGee, Pistons, Wittman

March 2nd, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

A third of the league is showing interest in JaVale McGee, whom the Sixers waived late Sunday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Most of those 10 teams are playoff contenders, Spears adds, though their identities remain shrouded in mystery. The Clippers don’t appear to be one of them, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times hears they’re “not very” interested in the 27-year-old center (Twitter link). The teams that are in the mix for him envision him as a third-string center and wouldn’t shell out more than the minimum, a league source told John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. There’s more from Gonzalez on McGee’s Sixers tenure amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers were reluctant to waive McGee immediately after trading for him last month because they wanted to have a first-hand look to see if they would come away with a more positive impression of him than other teams have, a league source told Gonzalez for the same piece.
The Pistons recalled Quincy Miller from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 19.7 minutes per contest during two games on his D-League stint, which began Friday. That was the day Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he and his staff were leaning toward re-signing him to a second 10-day contract, notes Dave Pemberton of the Oakland Press (on Twitter). Today is the final day of his first 10-day pact.
There’s increasing pressure on Randy Wittman and others involved with the Wizards amid the team’s slump, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes in his weekly power rankings. Still, Wittman is in no immediate jeopardy, Stein cautions, and the team isn’t thinking about a coaching change, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote this weekend.
Lou Amundson hopes his stay with the Knicks will be “somewhat permanent,” in the words of Fred Kerber of the New York Post, who examines the positive effect the midseason addition has had. The pact he signed with New York after inking a pair of 10-day contracts runs only through the end of the season.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Robinson, Jackson

March 1st, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Isaiah Thomas has opened eyes with his three point shooting, but there is another aspect of his game that has impressed the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The newly acquired guard, who came to Boston from Phoenix in a deadline-day deal, has eight three-pointers in his first three games as a Celtic. Coach Brad Stevens said his ability to space the floor is just as valuable. “We started the season playing very skilled at the 4 and the 5,” Stevens said, “but I think the ability to get in the paint, again, off of his (Thomas’) creation — but then the next guy getting into the paint because of it — is probably the key.” More from the Atlantic Division..

The 76ers grabbed Thomas Robinson off waivers to spite the Nets, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. They needed another contract on the books since they’re at the salary floor and wanted to take a closer look at the forward, but GM Sam Hinkie also knew that they playoff-hopeful Nets were interested in his services. Hinkie was at odds with Nets GM Billy King over the handling of Andrei Kirilenko, who was traded from Brooklyn to Philly with the belief that he would be bought out. Instead, the 76ers demanded that he report to the club and then eventually waived him.
One year later, there are still questions about whether Phil Jackson can build the Knicks into a contender, Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News writes. Jason Kidd‘s young and athletic Bucks, less than a year into Kidd’s time in Milwaukee, are closer to being a real contender for the title than the Knicks are, or might be anytime soon. Knicks fans clamored for the Zen Master in 2014, but it’s now unclear if he’s the answer for them or whether Derek Fisher has what it takes to be a successful coach.
In a video interview, new Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that he is enjoying his “fresh start” in Boston. He has averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games since being traded from the Pistons. “I appreciate Detroit and all they did for me, but it was time for me to move on,” Jerebko said. “I feel great in this new situation. It’s a great organization and I’m honored to play for the Boston Celtics.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.