Knicks Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Trent, Anunoby, Poeltl, Batum, Knicks

November 17th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Down a pair of key players on Wednesday vs. Philadelphia, the Celtics got a boost from Derrick White – who scored 27 points – and Al Horford, who contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks while playing strong defense against Joel Embiid, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

As Bontemps notes, White and Horford have taken a step back in the Celtics’ pecking order this season due to the offseason acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. But with Porzingis and Jaylen Brown unavailable vs. the Sixers, White and Horford provided a reminder of their importance to the club.

“That’s the luxury that we have on our team,” Jayson Tatum said. “We have so many talented guys.”

It was a big night for Horford, in particular. While White has remained a permanent starter for the Celtics even after the offseason roster changes, Horford has been asked to come off the bench on a regular basis for the first time in his career. Coming into this season, he had been a reserve in just 10 of 1,013 regular season games. He has started only three of 10 this fall.

“We were we down a couple of guys so having to step up and create a spark plug was important for me to do,” Horford said, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “I feel like that’s kind of been what I do for the most part, if I have to guard in the perimeter, if I have to guard in the post, create energy in different ways, shoot threes. I’m trying to do whatever I can to help our group.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

While Gary Trent Jr. (foot) is expected to suit up for the Raptors on Friday after missing the club’s last three games, forward OG Anunoby is listed as doubtful. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN tweets, Anunoby – who has been out for the past two games – received stitches on his lacerated right index finger and can still only shoot and dribble with his left hand.
Eric Koreen of The Athletic doesn’t believe that the Raptors‘ decisions to give up a top-six protected first-round pick for Jakob Poeltl and then to sign him to a four-year, $78MM contract were bad ones in isolation, given that Poeltl is a quality NBA starting center. However, Koreen suggests that Poeltl’s fit with Toronto’s other frontcourt pieces hasn’t exactly been seamless so far. The team has a -9.9 net rating when Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes have shared the court this season.
Sixers forward Nicolas Batum, who has been away from the team for personal reasons, is out for Friday’s game in Atlanta but will likely be back for Sunday’s contest in Brooklyn, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Mark Jackson had been expected to call some Knicks games for MSG Network this season, but it seems that won’t happen after all, according to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. Knicks management objected to having Jackson travel on the team plane, Marchand explains, in part due to an old “quarrel” between the former Warriors head coach and current Knicks assistant Darren Erman, who worked under Jackson in Golden State and recorded meetings without Jackson’s knowledge.

Knicks Notes: LaVine, Rotation, Grimes, Perry

November 16th, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

If Zach LaVine gets traded, his representatives would prefer somewhere other than the Knicks, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. LaVine’s camp doesn’t see New York as a good fit for the high-scoring guard, Bondy adds, because the team already has RJ Barrett, another ball-dominant wing who is five years younger and has a less expensive contract. Bondy also hears that the Knicks wouldn’t have much interest in sending Barrett to the Bulls in a potential LaVine deal.

LaVine’s contract will be daunting for any team, as he’s still owed about $178MM, including a 2026/27 player option that’s worth nearly $49MM. He’s represented by Klutch Sports, which is a longtime rival of CAA, the former agency of Knicks president Leon Rose.

With reportedly just one more year left on his contract, Rose will have to acquire a big-name talent at some point, Bondy suggests. The Knicks have young players and a wealth of draft picks to offer, including up to four first-rounders next year, although picks from Washington and Detroit appear unlikely to convey right away. Rose has plenty of ammunition to pursue disgruntled stars, but it doesn’t appear he will make a play for LaVine.

There’s more from New York:

Coach Tom Thibodeau has a reputation for leaning on his starters, but he doesn’t seem to trust anyone on his current squad beyond his nine-man rotation, Bondy adds. In four games in which Barrett wasn’t available, Thibodeau cut that to eight players, with Miles McBride seeing the most playing time beyond that group with 13 total minutes.
The Knicks are saying a “bruised hand” caused Quentin Grimes to leave Wednesday’s game, Bondy states in a separate story. Grimes went straight to the tunnel when he suffered the injury with about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bondy notes, and he wasn’t in the locker room after the game. Thibodeau wasn’t sure if X-rays had been taken when he talked to reporters.
Chasing unhappy stars is a risky way to run an organization, former Knicks general manager Scott Perry tells Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I don’t have the arrogance necessarily to believe that a guy’s gonna come to our place and he’s gonna be happy just because,” Perry said. “I like when players and people in general try to figure out the situation they’re gonna be in. And when you look at these disgruntled stars, how many of them have left a situation where everything was catered around them and gone to the new situation, and it’s the exact same thing for them?”

Zach LaVine Rumors: Lakers, Heat, Sixers, DeRozan, More

November 15th, 2023 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, Heat, and Sixers are among the teams expected to have a “level of interest” in Bulls guard Zach LaVine, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on The Rally (Twitter video link). Charania reported on Tuesday that the Bulls and LaVine have become increasingly open to exploring the possibility of a trade after Chicago got off to another slow start this season.

The Lakers’ big three experiment with Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t work well, with the team eventually moving off Westbrook in favor of reliable depth around its two superstars. It’s unclear how eager Los Angeles would be to sacrifice some of that depth to bring in another ball-dominant, offensive-minded guard like LaVine.

The Heat, meanwhile, were linked to Damian Lillard for much of the offseason and would perhaps view LaVine as an intriguing alternative, though he’s not the play-maker that Dame is. As for the Sixers, the belief is that they want to turn some of the assets they received for James Harden into another impact player, but the emergence of Tyrese Maxey has lessened the need for another guard. A report on Tuesday downplayed Philadelphia’s interest in LaVine.

In addition to monitoring LaVine, teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on DeMar DeRozan in case the Bulls decide to make him available as well, according to Charania.

“The sense around the league is whether it’s LaVine or DeRozan or both, there could be movement in Chicago sooner than later,” Charania said.

Here’s more on LaVine:

The Lakers are among five destinations that Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype believes make sense for LaVine, but his other four suggestions are teams not mentioned by Charania: the Magic, Pistons, Hornets, and Mavericks. Dallas may not be an ideal fit for LaVine after adding Kyrie Irving earlier this year, but the Mavs have reportedly had interest in the Bulls guard in the past, Gozlan notes.
In a mailbag for The Athletic, Kelly Iko makes the case that the Grizzlies would be an ideal fit for LaVine, contending that pairing him with Desmond Bane on the wing would help the team in the short term and open up space for Ja Morant to operate when he returns from his suspension.
Steve Popper of Newsday doesn’t view the Knicks as a likely suitor for LaVine, suggesting that it wouldn’t make sense to give up RJ Barrett as part of a larger package for the Bulls guard, since LaVine is five years older, significantly more expensive, and has been more injury-prone.
As good as LaVine has been as a scorer in recent years, his best hasn’t been good enough for the Bulls, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, who suggests that it might be in both sides’ best interest to go in a new direction.

Atlantic Notes: Oubre, Simmons, Dinwiddie, Towns

November 14th, 2023 at 10:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers forward Kelly Oubre is back with the team and in “good spirits,” head coach Nick Nurse told The Associated Press and other media outlets. Oubre suffered a broken rib, lacerations and other assorted injuries when he was struck by a vehicle near his residence on Saturday.

Oubre will be re-examined at the end of the week and a timetable for his return could be set at that time, the AP report adds.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn labeled Ben Simmons‘ latest ailment a “bump in the road,” Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. “This is just a bump that’s in his road right now that happened. Its not like he wanted it to happen,” Vaughn said. “He was playing well and this happened. Everybody’s body is different. This is what he’s dealing with and we’ll support him while he’s dealing with it.” Simmons will be out at least another week due to a nerve impingement in his back.
Prior to Simmons being sidelined, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie was struggling with his new role of playing off the ball. “He’s still wrapping his head around how he fits into the different lineups he’s been in, which is definitely understandable,’’ Vaughn said. “But that’s a part of growing together as a team. We’ll continue to learn about the best position to put him in. But he has an extreme ability to impact second group, first group, small and big lineup.’’ An unrestricted free agent after the season, Dinwiddie is averaging 10.7 and 4.8 assists per game this season, compared to 16.5 points and 9.1 assists after Brooklyn re-acquired him last season.
Would the Knicks be better off pursuing a Karl-Anthony Towns trade this season rather than down the road? The New York Post’s Jenna Lemoncelli relays comments made by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst during a recent podcast, which noted that Towns’ salary jumps from $36MM this season to $49MM in the first year of his extension next season with ascending salary figures in future years.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Sixers, Porzingis, Poeltl

November 14th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Ben Simmons will remain sidelined for at least a little while longer due to a nerve impingement in the lower left side of his back, according to statements from the team and agent Bernie Lee (Twitter links via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

As Lewis observes (via Twitter), Simmons required surgery in 2022 on multiple herniated disks on the right side of his back, then dealt with a nerve impingement. However, this issue is affecting the other side of his back and isn’t nearly as severe, Lee says. The club indicated an update on Simmons’ status will be provided in a week.

“He’s not experiencing anything similar to what he’s gone through in the past,” Lee said of his client, per Lewis (Twitter links). “And this is something that the expectation is that with the proper kind of rehab he’ll be able to resume his season in a short period of time without any issue.

“It definitely should be on the shorter side of things. It’s really a day-to-day kind of evaluation situation. What has to happen is the area has to calm down. Once it calms down there’s a period of reactivity that’s built into things.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Having acquired a handful of draft assets in their James Harden trade, how are the Sixers looking to use those assets on the trade market? President of basketball operations Daryl Morey spoke in a recent appearance on The Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast about what type of player the team would like to add. “I would say first off, they need to be pretty solid on both ends,” Morey said, per Marc Stein at Substack. “As you get into the playoffs, it gets very hard for your top guys to be elite one way. … The other thing would be we probably need them to have a bit of play-making — sort of connector, ball-movement aspects. We are a little short on that and it becomes more important in the playoffs as well.” As Stein notes, it’s perhaps no surprise, based on that description, that Raptors forward OG Anunoby “keeps coming up” as a potential 76ers target.
Rumors surfaced during his time with the Knicks that Kristaps Porzingis would be unhappy if he wasn’t treated as the “face of the franchise,” but the Celtics big man is satisfied with being a secondary option in Boston and says he was never focused on being the go-to guy. “Maybe it was falsely pushed,” Porzingis said of the old narrative, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I never felt that way because today’s league is, other than [Nikola] Jokic and [Joel] Embiid, it’s a guard league. It’s mostly guards and small forwards. So I knew that if I want to win, you’re going to have to play with somebody… It was never an issue for me.”
Raptors center Jakob Poeltl spoke to Oren Weisfeld of Yahoo Sports Canada about his first stint in Toronto, the experience of watching the team win a title without him in 2019, and what it’s been like to rejoin the franchise several years later.

Knicks Notes: Quickley, Thibodeau, DiVincenzo, Second Unit

November 12th, 2023 at 2:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Despite seeing his minutes take a dip thus far in 2023/24, Knicks reserve shooting guard Immanuel Quickley is still hoping for a hyper-efficient shooting season with New York, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post.

Quickley played 28.9 minutes per contest in 2022/23, en route to finishing second in the league’s Sixth Man of the Year voting. This season, he’s averaging 24.1 MPG.

“I want to try to get over 40 [percent] from 3, for sure,” Quickley said. “Overall [from the field], I want to be over 50 [percent]… If you set a goal for yourself, you’re going to try to get it. So I’m going to try to get it.”

Through his first six contests this year, the 6’3″ wing is averaging a career-high 15.1 PPG on .473/.326/.864 shooting.

There’s more out of New York:

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau believes that three of his key reserves have starter potential, and has applauded their willingness to play off the bench for New York, Braziller adds. “The one thing we ask everybody is to sacrifice,” Thibodeau said. “You could make a case that Quick is a starter, Donte [DiVincenzo] is a starter, Josh [Hart] is a starter. They’re sacrificing that for the team.” Fewer minutes means fewer touches, and thus lower stats, and a reserve role also can reflect negatively on a player angling for his next deal. It’s a testament to the team’s buy-in that these wings are open to the gig.
New Knicks guard DiVincenzo is adjusting splendidly to his new role on the team’s bench, opines Braziller in a separate piece. “I think that’s pretty special,” teammate Quickley said of DiVincenzo’s fit on the New York bench. “When you can have guys connect and gel right off the bat without much time together is always a sign of something that can be special.” The 6’4″ wing is averaging 7.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.0 SPG in 19.4 MPG.
The Knicks have benefited from terrific production from their second unit, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. New York has been playing starter RJ Barrett alongside Quickley, DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein. That lineup has compiled a +24.0 net rating across 20 minutes together. “I feel like no matter who’s in there… we have a system as far as what we do,” Quickley said. “And whoever’s in there, we all understand how we want to play. And that’s fast, get stops and run. That’s when we are at our best.”

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre

November 11th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).

As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong national impression in last season’s playoffs, dominating the paint in New York’s first-round series against the Cavs, who feature a “heavily hyped” two-big lineup.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau is always eager to discuss how well Robinson has been playing, specifically pointing to his net rating, Popper adds. The Knicks are plus-7.6 when Robinson is on the court vs. minus-1.3 when he’s off, for a net rating differential of plus-8.9 — the second-best mark on the team among rotation regulars.

“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said. “Excellent pick-and-roll defender. Rim protection. Defensive rebounding. Multiple effort guy. Really come a long way.

“It’s been steady growth. I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating tells you impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Payton Pritchard signed a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension just before the season started. The Celtics guard has been struggling to make shots early on in 2023/24, but head coach Joe Mazzulla assured him that he’ll continue to receive minutes as long as he’s impacting the game in other ways, and Pritchard finally had a breakthrough performance in Friday’s win against Brooklyn, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He’s found a way to make a big impact the whole year, and to me, he changed the game for us tonight,” Mazzulla said. “And what we see is, like, it’s easy to look at the scoring of the bench and be like, ‘We’re not producing.’ But there’s so much other stuff that those guys do for us on a daily basis.”
Backup point guard Malachi Flynn struggled to find minutes under former head coach Nick Nurse, but that has changed under Darko Rajakovic, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Flynn, who could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Raptors give him qualifying offer, admits he was pressing his first handful of games as a rotation regular, but Rajakovic’s patience in him appears to be paying off, Grange notes. “I think the first couple of games I was still kind of like hesitant, not being assertive,” Flynn said. “But I feel like the last maybe three or four games — and not even going off makes or misses, just going off how I’m feeling and how I’m playing — I think I’m a lot more comfortable and playing confident.”
Sixers wing Kelly Oubre made a strong defensive impression in last night’s win over Detroit, limiting Cade Cunningham to a subpar second half after he started the game strong, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s what I bring to the game,” Oubre said of his defense. “That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” Oubre will be a free agent again next summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the 76ers.

Largest Trade Exceptions Available This Season

November 10th, 2023 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

As the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline approaches, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal.

As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception (plus $250K) is the amount of salary the team is permitted to take back without salary-matching – either in a single deal or in multiple trades – for one year.

For instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception could acquire a player earning $4MM and a player earning $6.25MM without having to worry about sending out any outgoing salary.

In recent years, sizable traded player exceptions have served as wild cards that helped accommodate both pre-deadline and offseason deals. For example, after creating a $17MM trade exception when they sent Davis Bertans to the Thunder and moved down a couple spots in the 2023 draft lottery, the Mavericks used that TPE to acquire Richaun Holmes along with an additional first-round pick later in the night.

Many trade exceptions expire without being used, but as our tracker shows, there are many sizable ones available this season that could be useful when trade season begins in earnest.

Here are the 20 most valuable trade exceptions around the NBA for now, along with their expiry dates in parentheses:

Atlanta Hawks: $23,019,560 (7/8/24)
Brooklyn Nets: $19,928,571 (7/8/24)
Brooklyn Nets: $18,131,946 (2/9/24)
Washington Wizards: $12,354,400 (6/24/24)
Washington Wizards: $9,800,926 (7/8/24)
Miami Heat: $9,450,000 (7/8/24)
Portland Trail Blazers: $8,778,377 (9/27/24)
Portland Trail Blazers: $8,300,000 (2/9/24)
Memphis Grizzlies: $7,492,540 (7/8/24)
Miami Heat: $7,243,842 (7/8/24)
Philadelphia 76ers: $6,831,413 (11/1/24)
New York Knicks: $6,803,012 (7/8/24)
Brooklyn Nets: $6,802,950 (7/8/24)
Phoenix Suns: $6,500,000 (7/17/24)
Boston Celtics: $6,202,500 (7/12/24)
Washington Wizards: $5,379,250 (6/24/24)
Phoenix Suns: $4,975,371 (2/9/24)
Dallas Mavericks: $4,953,980 (7/8/24)
Miami Heat: $4,700,000 (2/7/24)
Houston Rockets: $4,510,000 (10/17/24)

Those Hawks and Nets trade exceptions are big enough to be genuine assets, but I wouldn’t expect either club to make full use of them during the season. Both Atlanta and Brooklyn are about $8-10MM away from the luxury tax line and would move even closer to becoming taxpayers if certain players on their rosters earn bonuses currently considered unlikely.

Neither team is close enough to title contention to warrant becoming a taxpayer this season unless it’s for a major, major acquisition, so don’t count on either the Hawks or Nets using a TPE to bring in a $15MM role player with no outgoing salary.

The luxury tax looms as an issue for some of the other teams on this list as well, but there are some intriguing TPEs to keep an eye on. Would-be contenders like the Sixers, Celtics, and Suns may consider using their exceptions to try to fortify their benches ahead of the postseason, while a rebuilding team like the Wizards – with nearly $30MM in breathing room below the tax – could be a dumping ground for an unwanted contract — as long as that contract comes attached to a draft asset or two.

Teams like the Lakers and Pelicans, who are just narrowly over the tax threshold and could duck below by trading a single player, are potential trade partners to watch for Washington.

It’s worth noting that some of these exceptions may be used in a deal that could otherwise be completed using salary matching. For instance, a team with a $10MM trade exception that swaps one $8MM player for another could use the exception to take on the incoming player and create a new $8MM exception using the outgoing player.

Eastern Notes: Randle, Johnson, Jaquez, Bouknight

November 9th, 2023 at 9:16pm CST by Rory Maher

After averaging 25.1 points per game on a .459/.343/.757 shooting slash line and earning a third-team All-NBA berth last season, Knicks forward Julius Randle got off to a very slow start in 2023/24, averaging just 13.7 points in his first six games, with an abysmal .271/.225/.618 shooting line.

Multiple sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Post that Randle, who dealt with a couple left ankle sprains late in 2022/23 which later required arthroscopic surgery, was playing through ankle pain during that tough stretch and refused the team’s requests to rest.

“He’s too proud to sit,” a source told Bondy.

However, Randle’s ankle recently started to feel better, which has coincided with an uptick in production — he’s averaging 25.0 points on .425/.357/.786 shooting over the past two games, both victories. As Bondy writes, the 28-year-old will have three days of rest before the Knicks play again on Sunday.

Here are a few more notes from the Eastern Conference:

Nets forward Cameron Johnson is on the verge of returning to action after missing the past seven games with a left leg injury. He’s probable for Friday’s matchup in Boston, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Meanwhile, on the Run Your Race podcast with Theo Pinson, Johnson revisited the February trade that sent him from Phoenix to Brooklyn, as Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily relays.
First-round pick Jaime Jaquez is earning an increased role with the Heat, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who notes that more playing time could be available with Tyler Herro expected to miss multiple weeks with a Grade 2 right ankle sprain. In Wednesday’s matchup with Memphis, Jaquez played the entire fourth quarter, providing the team solid defense and recording eight points on 3-of-3 shooting, including a three-pointer that sealed the win late. “I just keep trying to make him trust me more,” Jaquez said of head coach Erik Spoelstra. “Keep making him proud. Try not to mess it up. That’s kind of where I’m at right now.”
Hornets guard James Bouknight has been cleared for basketball activities after a positive follow-up exam, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bouknight, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last month, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 after the Hornets declined their fourth-year team option on the former lottery pick.

Knicks Notes: Embiid, Barrett, Robinson, Storylines

November 8th, 2023 at 10:49pm CST by Rory Maher

With all of their own first-round picks and swaps, plus some additional draft capital, the Knicks have been linked to multiple stars over the past year-plus, including Joel Embiid. The reigning MVP’s former Sixers teammate, P.J. Tucker, says Embiid is well aware of the rumors, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

“Of course, he hears it,” Tucker said Monday. “But you never know with these situations and how it’s going to play out, what guys are thinking, what’s happening behind closed doors. You never know.”

As Bondy notes, Embiid would have to request a trade for there to even be a remote chance of him landing in New York, and with the 76ers off to a 6-1 start, there’s certainly no indication that’s in the cards anytime soon. Tucker says any outside perception of dysfunction in Philadelphia is misguided.

“It wasn’t like that all,” he said. “The media is going to spin it how you want. But Philly has got a good team. We had a good team. … I think all the noise was just that: just noise.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

RJ Barrett has played well in each of the past two games since returning from a left knee injury, which the team has called patellar tendinopathy. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes, Barrett says he’s going to have to play through some soreness “for a little bit,” with the injury a result of wear and tear rather than a specific incident. “I’m going to have to live with the pain,” Barrett said. “Got to be mentally tough, fight through it.”
Center Mitchell Robinson is averaging a career-best 12.4 rebounds through eight games, drawing praise from head coach Tom Thibodeau in the process. “I think the big thing is it’s not just the offense. He’s added the defensive rebounding, he’s been a monster on the boards,” Thibodeau said, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I think he’s the best offensive rebounder, we already established that. And then now he’s fourth in the league in rebounding. Every night he’s got bodies on him and he’s done a great job for us.”
Robinson’s incredible offensive rebounding prowess and improved “discipline and physicality” on defense are among the early-season storylines explored by Fred Katz of The Athletic, with Barrett also earning a spot due to his evolution as a decision-maker. Robinson’s defensive effort on Victor Wembanyama during Wednesday’s dismantling of the Spurs was particularly noteworthy, writes Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).

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