New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Carmelo Anthony Talks Free Agent Decision

June 23rd, 2014 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony has opted out of his contract with the Knicks for next season and will hit free agency, as has been the plan since October. The Leon Rose client opened up in a video interview with Vice Sports about his thinking as he considers where he’ll sign next month, as Marc Berman of the New York Post and RealGM transcribe. We’ll share some of ‘Melo’s most noteworthy quotes from the interview, which was taped on June 3rd:

On his desire to help shape the roster of his team:

“As far as player personnel goes, I would love to be involved in that. At the end of the day, you’re creating a family.”

On the practical implications of his decision:

“The average person sees the opportunity to say ‘Melo should go here, ‘Melo should go there, he should do this, I think he should do that. They don’t take in consideration the family aspect of it. Where are you going to be living at? Do you want your kids to grow up in that place or that city? Do I want to stay the rest of my career in that situation and city? All that stuff comes into play.”

On how his family will come into play:

“My son goes to school and loves it here. To take him out and take him somewhere else, he has to learn that system all over again. He has to get new friends. I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age, having to work to make friends and fit in and try to figure out the culture in that area. As far as basketball goes, it’s hard to just say OK I’m going to go there. Everybody is affected by it.”

On the importance of the 2014/15 season:

“The average person is looking at it next year — like it’s one year — you can win a championship if you go here. We’re looking at the big picture. You’re looking at the next six to eight years of your career.”

Carmelo Anthony Opts Out, Will Hit Free Agency

June 23rd, 2014 at 10:33am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 10:33am: Agent Leon Rose confirms that Anthony has opted out, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports via Twitter.

“Carmelo loves being a Knick, he loves the City and the fans,” Rose said. “At this stage of his career he just wants to explore his options.”

SUNDAY, 1:01pm: Knicks star Carmelo Anthony will file paperwork tomorrow to notify the Knicks that he will be opting out of his contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal (on Twitter) hears that Anthony actually submitted his formal early termination option letter on Friday stating his intentions to hit the open market.

It has long been expected that Anthony would exercise his ETO in order to explore free agency beginning on July 1st. Tomorrow marks the official opt-out deadline for Anthony, one of the league’s very best scorers, and it appears he will forgo a guaranteed $23.5MM from the Knicks to see what else is out there.

The Knicks, of course, can offer Anthony more money than anyone with a five-year, $125MM+ contract. However, Anthony is said to be intrigued by the opportunity to win right away with a team like the Bulls or Rockets. Phil Jackson may have a plan to turn the Knicks into contenders over the next few years, but it seems highly unlikely that they can vault themselves into the title mix in 2014/15.

It was reported last week that the Bulls are the frontrunners for the former Syracuse star, though it’s not clear if that means Chicago is ahead of New York in the running or if they’re just the top option outside of the Knicks. Anthony forced the Nuggets to trade him to the Knicks just three-and-a-half years ago and this summer there has been rampant speculation that Anthony is ready to take his talents to a third team.

Signing with the Bulls, Rockets, Mavs, or any other club would mean a maximum contract of $90MM over five seasons for Anthony. However, it has been rumored that Anthony is open to sacrificing dollars, and maybe even taking less than the max, to help his club add more talent. Both the Bulls and Rockets will have to do some shuffling before they can sign Melo to such a deal, however.

Knicks Consider Trading Iman Shumpert

June 23rd, 2014 at 9:22am CST by Chuck Myron

9:22am: Grantland’s Zach Lowe suggests the Heat, who have the 26th overall pick, are in play for Shumpert.

8:40am: Iman Shumpert was a frequent subject of trade rumors for much of last season, but it appeared that the arrival of Phil Jackson had ended such talk, as his name was on a list of Jackson’s favorites and a report indicated that he was in the team’s long-term plans. Still, Jackson’s Knicks have explored the idea of swapping Shumpert for a late first-round pick, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Knicks have apparently been aggressively seeking a first-rounder, but they have only $1.8MM in cash to dangle instead of the full allotment of $3.2MM because of the Andrea Bargnani trade.

The Knicks came close to a deadline deal that would have sent Shumpert to the Clippers, and they rejected another proposal from the Thunder around the same time. That deal with Oklahoma City reportedly would have involved one of their two 2014 first-round picks. The Thunder have picks Nos. 21 and 29, and the Clippers hold No. 28, but it’s unclear if either team would be willing to give those picks up at this point for Shumpert or another player the Knicks could offer.

Shumpert, who turns 24 on draft day, averaged 6.7 points on 37.8% shooting this past season, both career lows. Still, his calling card is on the defensive end, and he still has one season left on his rookie scale contract, at slightly less than $2.617MM.

And-Ones: Austin, Melo, Celtics, Cavs

June 22nd, 2014 at 10:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Isaiah Austin‘s decision to jump to the NBA was questioned by scouts but strangely enough, it’s the NBA’s medical tests that may have saved his life, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Earlier today we learned that the Baylor center won’t be able to play in the NBA after being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. Here’s more from around the league..

Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) expects Carmelo Anthony to take a pay cut regardless of where he lands, even if it’s a return to the Knicks. To Beck, it’s not a matter of if, but how much Melo is willing to lop off.
Beck (Twitter links) doesn’t see a sign-and-trade as being all that likely for the Knicks if Melo leaves. The Knicks would be interested in expiring deals and draft picks, but it’s hard to see them taking on any salary commitments beyond 2014/15 that would handcuff their flexibility.
Celtics assistant Ron Adams is heading west to join the Warriors‘ staff, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
The Cavs‘ hire of David Blatt as head coach might seem like a bit of a gamble, but Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio is all for it. Vinny Del Negro wouldn’t have been a bad hire for Cleveland, but Blatt represents a bold, out-of-the-box choice for the club.
The Pacers will work out Mike Moser, Roscoe Smith, Eric Moreland, Tyler Stone, David Stockton, and Nick Kellogg on Monday, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.

Knicks Have Just $1.8MM To Offer For Pick

June 22nd, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks, like their crosstown rivals, are without a pick heading into Thursday night’s draft and would like to acquire one, preferably in the first round. However, that could be easier said that done given what they have to work with. The Knicks can offer only $1.8MM to another club in a trade thanks to the $1.4MM they gave the Raptors in the Andrea Bargnani deal, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com in an update to yesterday’s column.

Just $1.8MM in cash compensation wouldn’t be enough to buy a first-round pick off of a club in a thin draft, let alone one of the deepest in NBA memory. Teams are placing a high value on those late first-round picks and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) surmises that they might not be able to even land an early second-round choice with that amount of money. The silver lining for Knicks fans, however, is that they probably couldn’t have landed a first-round pick even with the max $3.2MM at their disposal (link).

During his first season in New York, Bargnani only appeared in 42 games, averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 29.9 minutes per game. To land the former top pick, the Knicks gave up a future first-round pick, two second-round picks, and – as we learned today – a nice chunk of change that could hurt their flexibility this offseason.

Bargnani Informs Knicks He’s Opting In

June 22nd, 2014 at 12:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In a move that shouldn’t come as a surprise, Andrea Bargnani has informed the Knicks that he intends to exercise his player option and opt in for next season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com has reported. This news was also confirmed by Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Bargnani had until Wednesday to make this official.

Bargnani joins Amar’e Stoudemire in exercising his option to remain with the team. Bargnani is set to make $11.5MM next season, after pulling in a salary of $11,862,500 during the 2013/14 campaign. During his first season in New York, Bargnani only appeared in 42 games, averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 29.9 minutes per game.

The Knicks appeared to play better with Bargnani out of the lineup, evidenced by their record of 15-27 when he was healthy, versus going 22-18 after he suffered a season-ending elbow injury. The team also scored 6.8 points more per 100 possessions when Bargnani was on the bench compared to when he was on the court. On defense, they gave up one fewer point per 100 possessions when Bargnani was playing compared to when he was on the bench. Overall, the Knicks were 7.9 points better per 100 possessions without Bargnani on the floor.

Western Notes: Hairston, Suns, Thompson

June 22nd, 2014 at 11:26am CST by Eddie Scarito

P.J. Hairston is this draft’s best-kept secret, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Hairston has already caught Knicks president Phil Jackson’s eye, and the Knicks are desperately trying to find a way into the first round in order to have a chance to grab him, notes Dempsey. But Dempsey believes that the Nuggets should consider selecting Hairston with the 11th pick, citing his lottery-level talent and the added experience of having already played in the NBA D-League.

Berger’s Draft Notes: Cavs, Saric, Magic

June 21st, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs are leaning towards selecting Jabari Parker with the first-overall pick, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He cites Parker being more NBA ready as the reason behind that pick.

Eastern Notes: Hornets, Draft, Bulls

June 21st, 2014 at 8:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets‘ top priority this offseason is finding players who can shoot from the outside, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte GM Rich Cho said, “I think shooting is hard to find – especially mid-range shooting. You don’t see a lot of kids practicing that. Shooting is at a premium now because a lot of teams want to take threes instead of long twos, just from an efficiency standpoint. In an ideal world you want a shooter who can also really defend. But in the real world, there’s not a lot of that.”

Contract Details: Knicks, Pelicans, Heat, Bulls

June 21st, 2014 at 7:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

August 1st will be a key date for many teams and players in the NBA, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports details in the latest update to his salary database. Knicks guard Shannon Brown and Melvin Ely of the Pelicans have their minimum-salary contracts fully guaranteed if their respective teams don’t waive them by the end of that day, Deeks reports. It’s also the day when Justin Hamilton of the Heat earns a partial guarantee of $408,241 and Bulls big man Lou Amundson has his deal partially guaranteed for $300K if they’re not waived, according to Deeks. The salary data guru has a few more revelations, as we note below:

Hamilton’s partial guarantee increases to $612,362 should the Heat elect not to waive by the end of December 1st.
Lamar Odom‘s deal becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the Knicks roster past September 10th.
The Knicks have another deadline to consider on September 15th, the final day they can waive Jeremy Tyler without owing him a $100K partial guarantee.
Jorge Gutierrez receives a $25K partial guarantee if he sticks with the Nets past September 26th.
Jarvis Varnado‘s deal with the Sixers is already partially guaranteed for $75K.