New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Monroe, Garnett, Draft Needs

June 14th, 2014 at 10:04pm CST by Cray Allred

Greg Monroe tells Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Stan Van Gundy getting success out of a Pistons frontcourt featuring Monroe, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond. Monroe is preparing to field offers as a restricted free agent, and would still be content to remain in Detroit. “Most people would rather, if possible, not to have to go through it and just re-sign with the team they are with so you can have some stability and be secure,” Monroe said. “Right now it’s like the draft process all over again. You don’t know if you will have to change cities or where you will end up. It’s a good thing that there are teams out there that want me. But at the end of the day, if I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either.” Here’s more from out East:

The Pelicans have inquired with the Pistons about a potential sign-and-trade for Monroe, a source tells Hogan. The Times-Picayune scribe doesn’t reveal whether Detroit was open to the discussion.
The Nets have been in contact with Kevin Garnett, and are operating under the belief that he will return next season, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
Adi Joseph continues his series on team draft needs with a look at the Nets, Hawks, Raptors, Wizards, and Heat.
In some of the day’s least surprising news, we passed along Amar’e Stoudemire‘s decision to decline his early termination option for the 2014/15 season.

Stoudemire Declines Early Termination Option

June 14th, 2014 at 8:39pm CST by Cray Allred

As expected, Amar’e Stoudemire has declined his early termination option for the 2014/15 season, a league source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Stoudemire will play out the final year of his five-year, $100MM contract with the Knicks. Stoudemire, the highest paid player on New York’s roster, will make $23.4MM, much more than he would have fetched on the open market had he opted to become a free agent.

After a standout first season with the Knicks in which the former All-Star averaged over 25 points and eight rebounds a game, injuries have curtailed his playing time and effectiveness every year since. He just turned in his least productive season since missing nearly all of the 2005/06 campaign, putting up just 11.9 points in 22.6 minutes a contest. Stoudemire did play better down the stretch, averaging over 16 points a game as the Knicks made an unsuccessful playoff push over the last 23 games of the season.

Had the Relativity Sports client exercised his early termination clause, it would have given the Knicks some much needed cap relief sooner than expected. Stoudemire’s contract combines with those of Andrea Bargnani, Tyson Chandler, and J.R. Smith in preventing New York from making any significant roster improvements as they try to convince Carmelo Anthony to stay in town. Stoudemire has been anxious to see his role increased since getting clearance from his doctors earlier this season, and he might get his wish next year, especially if Anthony bolts to join a contender.

Carmelo Anthony Leaning Toward Leaving Knicks

June 14th, 2014 at 11:19am CST by Cray Allred

Carmelo Anthony is leaning toward signing with a new team as a free agent this summer, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski’s sources tell him that the Bulls and Rockets are the front-runners to land the All-Star forward. Anthony has been expected to exercise his early termination option on the final year of his deal and become a free agent, but has previously stated an openness to remaining with the Knicks despite their disastrous season.

Last night, Anthony met with Knicks president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, and new coach Derek Fisher to hear their plan to build a contender around him, as first reported by Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The meeting wasn’t persuasive to Anthony, per Wojnarowski’s sources. Jackson has asked ‘Melo to consider sacrifice and patience in helping the team build toward the 2015 free agent class, when the severe cap inflexibility currently hampering New York will subside. It appears that Anthony finds the prospect of joining a contender for an immediate shot at a title more appealing than waiting at least another year to see if the same opportunity will materialize with the Knicks.

Wojnarowski’s sources suggest that Anthony has been turned off by Jackson’s public comments about his future with the team, and there is some doubt around Anthony’s camp and the league that Jackson genuinely wants the All-Star to stay in New York. Anthony is only willing to accept a reduced salary if it is directly tired to a significant, immediate acquisition of talent, writes Wojnarowski.

The Yahoo! scribe reports that the Chicago and Houston front offices are working diligently to arrange for a signing of Anthony, which would require significant maneuvers for both teams. If the Bulls are willing to amnesty Carlos Boozer, their path to clearing the necessary cap space is easier, since the other biggest piece for the Bulls to unload would be Taj Gibson, a valuable, starting-caliber power forward. The Rockets would likely need the Knicks or another team to find it agreeable to take on the expiring contracts of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin to make room for Anthony.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, McGary, Kings, Knicks

June 13th, 2014 at 9:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Nuggets‘ biggest draft needs. According to the article, the team has enough depth to afford to take a best-available approach, and may consider attempting to move up in order to get the elite-tier star their roster so desperately needs. Joseph also thinks the team needs to add help in the backcourt, and mentions Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Elfrid Payton, and Kyle Anderson as fits with the team’s system.

Heat Notes: LeBron, Carmelo, Allen, Anderson

June 13th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

It remains to be seen whether these are the last days that Miami’s star trio will spend as members of the Heat, but there seems little chance that the team’s run as NBA champions won’t come to an end soon. The Spurs have run the Heat off the floor twice in a row, and San Antonio has three chances to dethrone the champs. Here’s the latest on a downtrodden bunch from South Beach:

The outcome of the Finals won’t affect the thinking of LeBron James as he faces a decision on whether to opt out of his contract this month, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. That seems to indicate that he’s already made up his mind, though that’s just my speculation.
James said Thursday that he had no knowledge of reported plans to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Heat, as Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News details, and Anthony told TMZ Sports that the idea was news to him, too.
Ray Allen isn’t sure how much longer he’ll play, but while he can envision coaching at some point, he doesn’t want to jump right into the profession after he stops playing, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Allen said in February that though he wouldn’t rule out retirement this summer, he’s not planning on it.
Potential lottery pick Kyle Anderson worked out for the Heat this week, and was impressive in doing so, as Adam Zagoria notes via Twitter.

Western Notes: Kerr, Fernandez, Draft

June 12th, 2014 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Money wasn’t the issue for Steve Kerr when he chose the Warriors over the Knicks, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report hears that New York would have met whatever salary demand he made, as Beck said on the Knickerblogger Podcast. Robert Silverman of KnickerBlogger.net provides the transcription.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Randle, Machado, Lue

June 12th, 2014 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Derek Fisher believes that Carmelo Anthony can thrive in the triangle offense, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. According to the article, Fisher also believes the team can build a contender around Anthony. Fisher said, “I believe Carmelo can and will thrive in the triangle system. He’s actually the prototypical triangle player because of his versatility we can use him in all five positions on the floor. That’s the beauty of the system — being able to put players around on different spots on the floor. I believe [Anthony] can be great and that’s why I believe we can be great right away. Because we have that guy that we can anchor that system around to make the game easier for him but also allow for all of our team to be impactful and to give us something every single night.”

Carmelo Anthony Still Plans To Opt Out

June 12th, 2014 at 2:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony is still planning to hit free agency this summer in spite of Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s request that he opt in for the final season of his contract, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Jackson said last month that the star forward was thinking about going back on his longheld intention to turn down his player option for next season, but apparently Anthony is forging ahead with his original plan to become a free agent next month. He has until June 23rd to formally decide on the option.

Anthony has throughout the last several months repeated his desire to opt out, having first expressed that intention in October. The Heat are reportedly among several teams planning a pursuit of the 2012/13 scoring champion, though it’s unclear just how motivated they are to sign him. Anthony and Miami’s trio of stars have reportedly discussed the idea of playing together, and Jackson is pitching Anthony on the idea of recruiting LeBron James to play with the Knicks in 2015. ‘Melo also appears to have has the Bulls, Rockets and Mavs in his sights. More and more people around the league believe Anthony will leave the Knicks this summer, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said today on SportsCenter (transcription via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv), even though the most lucrative path would probably involve remaining with the Knicks.

Jackson has expressed a desire for Anthony to remain “true to his word” about a willingness to accept a discount to remain with the Knicks, but Anthony could make more than $23.333MM if he opts in for next season, a higher 2014/15 salary than he can make in any other scenario. The most he could earn in starting salary on a new contract would be close to $22.5MM, but the Knicks have an advantage over other teams in that regard, too, since they can offer a five-year deal instead of four.

Northwest Rumors: Love, Abrines, Nuggets

June 12th, 2014 at 9:08am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love‘s comments Wednesday painted a gloomy picture for the Timberwolves, but he did have some encouraging remarks about Flip Saunders, as Andy Nesbitt of Fox Sports details. Love spoke in response to Saunders’ assertion that the star power forward doesn’t have a right to feel frustrated about Minnesota’s lack of success.

“What some people don’t know is that Flip and I have a great relationship, and we’ve been constantly speaking about my situation,” Love said. “Flip is going to be a tremendous coach again for the Timberwolves; he did a great job last year with our team, even throughout all the injuries and different things that we had. But that’s the way of Flip of getting people motivated, whether it’s me or people you don’t even know about. Am I happy he said those things? I think he’s supposed to come out and say that because it’s a team game, not about one singular player.”

There’s more on Love amid the latest Northwest Division news:

An executive from a team other than the Timberwolves suggested to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that there’s been some “chatter” involving Love and the Heat (Twitter link). Wolfson doesn’t give much weight to the notion that Miami is pursuing Love, but he believes there is a team in the mix that has yet to be reported.
The Jazz are reportedly interested in Thunder “draft-and-stash” prospect Alex Abrines, the 32nd pick in last year’s draft, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman, who nonetheless categorizes the prospect of the Thunder sending him to Utah as a longshot. Mayberry, whose piece examines possibilities for the Thunder’s $6.5MM trade exception, speculates that a deal involving Iman Shumpert is the most likely scenario.
The Nuggets would like to sign 2013 second-round pick Joffrey Lauvergne this summer, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. Agent Misko Raznatovic confirmed the interest from Denver to Djordje Matic of Novosti (translation via Carchia). Last year’s 55th overall pick is under contract with KK Partizan in Serbia for next season, and the European club’s financial trouble could make it tough for Denver to strike a buyout agreement, Carchia adds.
It seems unlikely that the Thunder will end up re-signing Caron Butler, Mayberry writes in a separate article, pointing to Butler’s postseason shooting slump and the way his minutes cut into the playing time of Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III.

Latest On Kevin Love

June 11th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Charlie Adams

It seems all but inevitable that Kevin Love will be traded prior to the start of the 2014/15 season. The big man spoke on ESPN’s SportsNation today and revealed his primary concern is playing for a winning team. When he was asked if he wanted out of Minnesota, Love stopped short of saying yes but replied:

“My agent is handling everything at this point … I’m hoping that everything works out for all parties involved.”

Here’s more on Love:

In the same segment, Love spoke to the appeal of playing under Phil Jackson with the Knicks: “I think any time you have Phil Jackson involved in any organization, you’re going to definitely look at it and it’s definitely intriguing. The Knicks are definitely a place where anybody would like to go.”
In a separate interview with Fox Sports, Love referred to the Wolves as “they” and didn’t sound enamored with the organization, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
Love shot down the notion that he wouldn’t be interested in a trade to the Cavs during a Q&A session with Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead. “I don’t think the Cleveland [trade rumors] are outlandish at all,” said Love. “They have a great young foundation.“
The Rockets are losing faith that they have a shot at trading for Love, and the general belief within the organization is that other clubs can put together much better packages than anything Houston can offer, notes Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).