New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Derrick Rose Staying Positive Despite Diminished Role

December 20th, 2022 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Rose isn’t upset about losing his rotation spot with the Knicks and is content to serve whatever role coach Tom Thibodeau asks of him, he told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Rose has only played a total of 17 minutes this month, as Thibodeau has chosen to play younger guards. Rose feels the situation could change down the road and he’s fine with mentoring his teammates as New York pushes for a postseason berth.

“For one, I’m very appreciative to understand my role. I’m not here for entitlement, I’m not here feeling like I need minutes or anything like that,” Rose said. “I’m just here to win and try to help the young guys out. I never thought I’d be in this position. I never thought I’d be playing this many years. I’m waiting for my chance, for sure, but I can’t complain. Being in this position. I’m taking advantage of it. I’m looking at it where I’m saving my body, and you never know in the playoffs when I could be used.”

Rose addressed a number of other topics during his interview with Charania:

He feels appreciated by coaches and teammates and maintains a positive outlook: “I’m not in the locker room trying to (screw) up the vibe of the team by having a messed up attitude like that.”
He’s giving all the guidance he can to starter Jalen Brunson: “He listens, so that’s half the battle when you’re dealing with someone like that. He’s a hell of a player, a winner too. He won in college, won in high school, and he’s trying to win on the next level now. So it’s up to me to guide him, and not be forceful, but try to give him as much info, knowledge and wisdom as I can.”
He maintains a strong relationship with Thibodeau and remains prepared to contribute if he regains a rotation spot: “Thibs (and I) always talk about it — he always says this is the bottom of the mountain, we got a whole mountain to climb. I just got to make sure that I’m always prepared. That’s the biggest challenge. Being in the new position, being in a new situation every year, this year is the first time I went through this. So learning, adjusting, trying to keep my body ready if you do need me, all that is going to take time. But it should be good.”
He isn’t sure about coaching after his playing career, but he’d like to own a piece of a franchise: “I’m into ownership. I feel like I saved up enough. It’s not like I need a loan, I’m good. So I’m waiting. I’m waiting for my time.”

Sims, Hartenstein Form Unconventional Duo

December 20th, 2022 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Obi Toppin sidelined by a leg injury, the Knicks have been using the power combination of Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims on the second unit. Coach Tom Thibodeau likes what he’s seen from that duo, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. “I think it gives you rebounding. It gives you size,” Thibodeau said. “It gives you physicality.”

New York Notes: Anunoby, Knicks Front Office, Robinson, Claxton

December 20th, 2022 at 5:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Prior to the team’s hot streak, someone within the Knicks organization reached out to the Raptors to inquire about a potential deal for OG Anunoby, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports. That would have signaled a major roster shakeup. Anunoby is averaging 18.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. The Knicks would have needed to surrender serious assets to acquire Anunoby, who has two years left on his four-year, $72MM contract.

We have more from the New York teams:

In the same piece, Begley reports that the Knicks were a few defeats away from a major shakeup after getting blown out by Dallas on Dec. 3. Even before that loss, a top Eastern Conference executive tried to convey through back channels that he would be an ideal candidate for team president if Leon Rose lost his job.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t always seemed particularly enamored with center Mitchell Robinson. But Thibodeau feels Robinson has been a major catalyst during the seven-game winning streak. “Every game, it’s protecting the rim, making good decisions, guarding the pick and roll and then offensively, his offensive rebounding, then putting pressure on the rim,” the coach said. Robinson is in the first year of a four-year, $60MM contract.
Nets center Nic Claxton recently declared he should be a prime candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award. His coach and teammates certainly value his rebounding and defense, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “He guards multiple positions for us … coming over to the weak side, blocking shots, putting pressure on the rim, rebounding,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “The games he doesn’t play, we miss him; it puts an extreme amount of pressure on other guys — there’s not another guy on our team that can do the things Nic does.”

Road Warriors Hope To Carry Success To Home Court

December 19th, 2022 at 10:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks open a four-game homestand this week but they’ve been better on the road, Peter Botte of the New York Post notes. They’ve won seven consecutive games overall and six straight outside of Madison Square Garden. “How do I say this? I don’t know what the word I’m supposed to use is, but on the road we’re locked in. At home we’re comfortable,” Jalen Brunson said. “It’s something we’ve got to get better at and continue to do that. I just like the way we’re playing.”

Knicks Notes: Barrett, D. Rose, Grimes, Thibodeau

December 17th, 2022 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

A “weird” summer for Knicks swingman RJ Barrett may have led to his slow start to the season, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Barrett went through weeks of hearing his name floated in a potential trade to Utah for Donovan Mitchell. When Mitchell ended up in Cleveland, the Knicks quickly reversed course and worked out a contract extension with Barrett.

He admits being cautious during most of the offseason with no extension in place and so much uncertainty regarding his future.

“It was weird, not really getting to even play runs like I normally do,” Barrett said. “Really just going the whole time without basketball. It was a little weird. Got it done, trying to figure it out a little bit. Have a long way to go. Have to keep working. At the end of the day, you’ve got to play basketball, man. I was still working out, but there’s no shape like game shape. Playing the games, getting used to that again, is the best thing.”

Barrett began the season in a long shooting slump, but he’s turned that around as New York has strung together six straight wins. During those games, Barrett is connecting at 43.1% from the field and 41.2% on three-pointers.

“Honestly, I play with the same confidence game in and game out,” he said. “Even when I wasn’t shooting it well, I was probably still shooting the same amount of shots. Doesn’t matter. You get open shots, you shoot them. You work at this game hard enough, you do it for a number of years, your confidence is always there.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

Derrick Rose is currently out of the team’s rotation, but he remains a hero in Chicago, Popper notes in a separate story. Bulls fans chanted for the former MVP to get playing time in the closing minutes of Friday’s blowout and cheered when coach Tom Thibodeau responded by sending Rose to the scorer’s table.
Quentin Grimes supports Thibodeau’s decision to make him earn his minutes after a foot injury forced him to miss almost all of training camp and the start of the season, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Knicks are 8-5 since Grimes became a starter, and like Barrett, he’s enjoying his best stretch of the season during the winning streak.
The Knicks are one of the few remaining teams that doesn’t practice load management, observes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and Barrett have appeared in all 29 games this season. “It used to be a big deal to play 82,” Thibodeau said. “And when you talk to the guys that have done it, they always say that you condition your body to do what you want it to do.”

Knicks Notes: Rose, McBride, Vucevic, Fournier, Orr

December 16th, 2022 at 7:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran point guard Derrick Rose recently told reporters that as long as the Knicks keep winning, he’s fine with being out of the rotation — but that could change if they aren’t. The 15-13 Knicks have now won five straight games after head coach Tom Thibodeau replaced Rose’s minutes in favor of second-year guard Miles McBride — a stronger defensive player.

“I can’t complain when we’re winning games,” Rose said, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (free account required). “If we were losing, I’d probably be mad. But we’re winning and playing basketball so I really can’t complain.”

Rose’s name has popped up a few times already in trade rumors, but he said that he hasn’t paid attention to the rumors – and likely won’t going forward — unless the Knicks start losing, per Bondy. Rose added that he’d prefer to stay with the Knicks.

Here are a few more notes from New York:

Rose continues to mentor McBride despite their role reversal, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Rose praised McBride’s attitude and work ethic, saying he has “no ego” and is “professional.” McBride says he’s grateful to have a veteran like Rose in his corner, Braziller notes. “I couldn’t have asked for a better vet. I’m just very thankful he’s been able to take me under his wing,” McBride said. “Derrick is a great person, on and off the court. I think that’s the most important thing. One of the best things I’ve learned from him was not to get too high, not to get too low, because things change quickly in this league.”
The Knicks have only won 50-plus games once in the past 22 years — back in 2012/13 — and haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since ’99/00. How can they break out of that cycle of mediocrity and emerge as a contender? Brian Wacker of The New York Post explores that topic ahead of the February trade deadline.
Evan Fournier set a Knicks record for most three-pointers made in a season in ’21/22, but he hasn’t played at all in 15 consecutive games after Thibodeau pulled him from the rotation in November. Fournier’s former teammate with the Magic, Nikola Vucevic, still thinks the 30-year-old wing “has a very major place in the NBA,” Bondy writes in another story for The New York Daily News. “Absolutely. He has many skills. His shooting is great. He’s great in the two-man game. A very smart player. Players like him are very needed around the NBA,” Vucevic told Bondy. “Not to start anything or whatever, but I’m sure if it doesn’t happen with the Knicks, I’m sure it’ll happen somewhere else.”
Louis Orr, an eight-year NBA veteran with the Pacers and Knicks, has passed away at age 64, according to The Associated Press. Orr averaged 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career from 1980-88, including six seasons with New York. He had a lengthy college and international coaching career after his playing days ended. We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to his family and friends.

Mavs Reportedly Have Some Interest In Derrick Rose

December 15th, 2022 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have expressed a “level of interest” in Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, a league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. However, Bondy suggests Dallas wants to get a longer look at Kemba Walker before deciding whether to address its backcourt on the trade market. Rose, who is earning $14.5MM this season and is out of New York’s rotation, likely doesn’t have much value at this point.

Knicks Previously Targeted Eric Gordon

December 14th, 2022 at 11:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks were “eager” to make a deal before December 9 so they could have potentially aggregated incoming salaries again before the February 9 deadline, sources tell Fischer. One of their early targets was Rockets guard Eric Gordon, per Fischer. Houston continues to seek a future first-round pick for the 33-year-old, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported earlier on Wednesday.

Trade Rumors: Sixers, Bogdanovic, Quickley, Bamba

December 14th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Every trade deadline features at least a small handful of deals that are exclusively about money rather than players, and this season’s deadline likely won’t be any different, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Pincus suggests the Sixers are one team worth keeping a close eye on for a possible financially motivated trade.

Philadelphia is just barely over the luxury tax line, so moving a player like Jaden Springer or Shake Milton to sneak under that threshold would save a ton of money for the team. Not only would the Sixers avoid paying a small tax bill in that scenario — they’d also be one of the non-taxpayers that receives a portion of the league-wide tax payments at season’s end. Pincus has estimated that each non-taxpayer will get a share of about $17MM, based on the current tax projections.

Here are a few more highlights from Pincus’ latest look at the trade market:

Although the Pistons‘ front office has downplayed the likelihood of a Bojan Bogdanovic trade, Pincus hears from “well-placed” sources that Detroit may simply be waiting for an offer with a “suitable” first-round pick. Presumably, a suitable first-rounder would be one that doesn’t include heavy protections and has a chance to land in the teens or higher.
While there has been no indication they’re pursuing him, some rival executives think the Mavericks should be targeting Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, Pincus writes.
Pincus identifies Magic center Mohamed Bamba as a possible trade candidate to watch, since his role has declined due to Paolo Banchero‘s arrival and Bol Bol‘s emergence. Bamba’s 2023/24 salary is non-guaranteed, so his two-year, $20.6MM contract is relatively team-friendly.
The three-team trade talks the Suns had with the Bucks and Rockets about a possible Jae Crowder trade expanded to include the Warriors, who are among the teams with interest in Crowder, says Pincus. However, nothing came of those discussions.

Atlantic Notes: Randle, Tatum, Brown, O’Neale, Maxey

December 14th, 2022 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After being hit with 12 technical fouls and $130K in fines last season, Knicks forward Julius Randle came into 2022/23 hoping to keep his temper in check and to not be at odds with the referees nearly as often, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.

Randle, who made a bet with a member of the Knicks organization that he wouldn’t get more than three technical fouls this season, received a pair on Sunday to push his season total to four. He referred to Sunday’s game as a “relapse” and said it was “selfish” of him to get those two techs that resulted in his ejection.

“Hopefully, that last one gets rescinded,” Randle said, per Bondy. “… I’m really trying my best. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me. But that’s just kind of what comes with it.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown spoke to Sam Amick and Jared Weiss of The Athletic about the heartbreak of losing the NBA Finals, the Ime Udoka controversy, and a handful of other topics. Tatum described the Udoka situation as “extremely frustrating,” noting that there’s still a lot that the team hasn’t explained, presumably for legal reasons.
After missing Brooklyn’s last two games for personal reasons, forward Royce O’Neale is expected to return for Friday’s game in Toronto, a source tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post. As Lewis observes, with O’Neale back, the Nets will be as healthy as they’ve been all season, putting them in position to build some chemistry and perhaps extend their four-game winning streak.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said on Tuesday that he hopes Tyrese Maxey is able to practice with the club later this week, though it’s not trending that way for now, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. Maxey, recovering from a left foot fracture, has been doing some running and shooting, but hasn’t yet been able to fully practice.