Iman Shumpert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Poll: The Knicks And Iman Shumpert

September 28th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier tonight, we learned that the Knicks have yet to reach out to Iman Shumpert about a contract extension as the Halloween deadline draws near. The news wasn’t terribly shocking for a couple of reasons. One, president Phil Jackson has his eye on bigger fish down the line and an extension for Shumpert would hinder their financial flexibility. Two, Shumpert’s name was all over the pages of Hoops Rumors last season. The old regime viewed him as a trade chip and, apparently, the new front office feels similarly.

The Knicks have reportedly been dangling Shumpert throughout this offseason as well and while the offers weren’t great, that could change very quickly with a strong start to the season. It’s not difficult to imagine things falling into place for the guard considering what he has been able to do when healthy and his eagerness to play in the triangle offense.

“There’s constant action going on,” Shumpert said of the Zen Master’s offense in August, according to Howie Kussoy of the New York Post. “I think I’ll be able to capitalize off that and I’ll be able to use my athleticism a lot more than standing in the corner.”

By the same token, one has to wonder if the Knicks might finally be ready to commit if Shumpert takes a significant step forward this season. Cap flexibility is important, but the Knicks might want to have the first right of refusal on Shump more than they realize right now. The Knicks might also come to the table with agent Happy Walters in the next four weeks and change to work out a deal after all, even though it appears to be something of a longshot at present.

How do you see things shaking out between the Knicks and the 24-year-old guard?

Knicks, Shump Haven’t Discussed Extension

September 28th, 2014 at 5:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Iman Shumpert is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and the Knicks have yet to reach out to discuss a new deal, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The guard is eligible to sign a rookie scale extension between now and Halloween, but as of today it doesn’t sound like there will be any treat for the 24-year-old.

The feeling, Begley writes, is that the Knicks are content to let Shumpert enter next summer as a restricted free agent. The Knicks want to maintain as much financial flexibility as possible for the summers of 2015 and 2016 and a Shumpert extension would eat up cap space. Meanwhile, with a one-year, $3.7MM qualifying offer, New York can match any offer that comes his way.

The Knicks, of course, may not reach the point where they would consider a QO for Shump. The 2011 first round pick was the subject of trade rumors for much of last season and a source tells Begley that the Knicks shopped him through the summer. Things could change over the next few weeks, but it sounds like Shumpert will have to continue to deal with an uncertain future at MSG.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Miles, Antetokounmpo

August 22nd, 2014 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The United States defeated Puerto Rico by a score of 112-86 in their final home exhibition game prior to the FIBA World Cup. Stephen Curry was the high scorer with 20 points, and James Harden added 13 for Team USA.

Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks already have the D-League rights to Thanasis Antetokounmpo, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest clarifies in an update to an earlier report. Pilato had originally indicated that the Sixers retained his D-League rights because he played for their affiliate last season, but this year’s D-League rule changes give the Knicks his D-League rights because they selected him in the NBA draft this summer, as Pilato explains. Antetokounmpo, the 51st overall selection, has reportedly agreed to sign with the D-League and play for New York’s affiliate.
C.J. Miles will be asked to do a lot more than the Pacers anticipated when they signed him as a free agent back in July, writes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. In the wake of the potential season-ending injury to Paul George, and the departure of Lance Stephenson to the Hornets, Miles will need to pick up a sizable portion of the scoring load, opines Montieth.
The Knicks have a logjam at the shooting guard position with J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Iman Shumpert, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. In the article, Begley examines the pros and cons of each player starting versus coming off of the bench. Smith weighed in on the situation, saying, “That’s for the coach to decide. All we’ve got to do is play. Whatever they decide, we’ve got to just live with it. Hopefully everybody could put their egos aside and come together for one common goal.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Rumors: Love, Knicks, Douglas-Roberts

July 25th, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks made a longshot trade offer for Kevin Love that the Wolves immediately turned down, reports Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. The offer was Amar’e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert, and Tim Hardaway Jr., a package well shy of the value Minnesota is looking to secure in any potential deal for Love. Stoudemire and Shumpert have apparently been on the block of late, but while Hardaway is reportedly “virtually untouchable,” New York’s shot in the dark at least shows its willingness to part with him for the right return. Here’s more from around the East:

A Wolves official disputes the notion that the Knicks ever made an offer for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Chris Douglas-Roberts is among the free agents who interest the Heat as they look for veteran wing players, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Agent Wallace Prather has reached out to the team about client MarShon Brooks, but it’s unclear whether the Heat have any interest in him. The Heat are among 11 teams limited to paying no more than the minimum salary to free agents from other clubs, as I noted earlier today.
Miami is remaining non-committal about bringing back free agents Michael Beasley and Greg Oden, as Jackson writes in the same piece. The agents for both veterans tell Jackson that the Heat have been in contact regarding their clients, but that they are receiving interest from other teams as well.
The Hornets didn’t necessarily sign Brian Roberts for the room exception, as originally thought, when they made his deal official Wednesday, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. It appears as though they have enough cap space to use on Roberts and preserve the exception to use on someone else, should they choose.

Knicks Open To Trading Smith, Shumpert

July 20th, 2014 at 4:44pm CST by Zachary Links

As the Knicks work to clear out the logjam in their backcourt, they’re discussing potential trade options involving Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and Shane Larkin, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Tim Hardaway Jr., however, has been deemed virtually untouchable according to one source.

President Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills have mentioned the Knicks’ surplus in the backcourt, with Mills saying last week the Knicks are “heavy” at shooting guard. What they can get in return for Smith, Shump, and Larkin remains to be seen, however.

The Knicks tried to include Shumpert in deals earlier in the offseason in an effort to unload the contracts of Andrea Bargnani ($11.5MM) and Amar’e Stoudemire ($23.4MM) but no deal materialized for either player. Smith has a player option in his contract for $6.4MM for the 2015/16 season and is coming off of a down year. Larkin was recently acquired from the Mavericks in the trade that also netted Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert.

The Knicks have four shooting guards on the roster as of today and they also haven’t ruled out re-signing free agent PG/SG Toure’ Murry.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza

July 12th, 2014 at 9:32pm CST by Cray Allred

With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:

Phil Jackson is said to be willing to include Iman Shumpert as part of a deal to dump the contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, or J.R. Smith, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
There is a gap between what the Cavs can offer and what Mike Miller is seeking, but not enough to end their talks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
In contrast to an earlier report of the Hornets interest in Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Charlotte has shown no such signs.
The Heat are now open to bringing free agent Mario Chalmers back at the right price, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinal. Miami drafted point guard Shabazz Napier, and was reportedly looking to sign-and-trade Chalmers before LeBron James elected to take his talents away from South Beach.
The Hawks have re-engaged talks with Luol Deng, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. We heard earlier that the two sides had reached an impasse on salary for the veteran small forward.
Kent Bazemore was in contract discussions with the Lakers when he agreed to join the Hawks, but Atlanta’s urgency precluded Los Angeles from re-signing the guard on their time table, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Trevor Ariza received the same offer from the Wizards as he agreed to with the Rockets, but the difference in taxes between Washington and Houston will save him approximately $3MM, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Ariza asked for an annual salary of $10MM to stay with the Wizards, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael says that Washington declined to meet Ariza’s demands in order to maintain cap space in 2016, when Kevin Durant will become a free agent.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Knicks, Sixers Discussing Stoudemire

July 8th, 2014 at 10:23am CST by Chuck Myron

10:23am: Hardaway’s name has come up in talks regarding Stoudemire, but the Knicks remain disinclined to include the guard in any trades, a source tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

8:47pm: Jackson has contacted the Sixers attempting to unload Stoudemire’s contract, but Philly wants an asset in return for absorbing the bloated deal, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman thinks the inclusion of Iman Shumpert might get the deal done, but New York would prefer to retain the young guard. Contradicting earlier reports, Berman also hears Jackson would like to hang on to Bargnani this season since he thinks the sharp shooting center could excel in the triangle offense.

2:26pm: The Knicks are actively shopping Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani as they attempt to find trade partners willing to provide the team the cap space necessary to make significant free agent acquisitions, reports Moke Hamilton of SNY.tv. Knicks president Phil Jackson turned down an offer for Bargnani and Tim Hardaway Jr. before the Tyson Chandler trade, confident that he could find a deal involving Bargnani that wouldn’t force the team to part with Hardaway, according to Hamilton.

New York is trying to open up roughly $40MM in cap flexibility to re-sign Carmelo Anthony and build around him, and that’s been part of Jackson’s pitch to the star forward, Hamilton writes. Stoudemire is set to make $23.4MM for the coming season while Bargnani is in line for $11.5MM after they both opted in for 2014/15. Clearing Stoudemire’s salary without receiving salary in return would instantly give the Knicks the kind of flexibility they’re after, but such a trade is unlikely to surface. Bargnani would also be difficult to move, but less so.

Trading one or both of them in a deal that nets cap flexibility would also help the Knicks if they don’t re-sign Anthony. New York would still be capped out if ‘Melo signs elsewhere, which would leave the Knicks with only the $5.305MM mid-level exception as their most significant tool on the free agent market.

Clippers Shopping Matt Barnes, No. 28 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:15pm: The Grizzlies have rebuffed the Clippers’ attempts to trade for Allen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

5:32pm: The Knicks are giving signals that they intend to keep Shumpert rather than dealing him for a pick, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

5:11pm: The Clippers trying to package Matt Barnes and the 28th overall pick as the draft draws near, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers would ideally like to send them to the Knicks for Iman Shumpert, several NBA executives tell Turner. Another possibility is using those assets to acquire Gerald Green from the Suns, Turner hears. The Times scribe also says Rivers has interest in Tony Allen (Twitter link).

Barnes and Shumpert were involved in a rumored trade around the deadline, and it appears that Rivers is after the Knicks swingman again. Sending a would-be fourth first-rounder to Phoenix would cause complications for the Suns, though the executives suggest to Turner that Phoenix could put a few of those picks in another trade. Allen played for Rivers when both were with the Celtics.

The 34-year-old Barnes is set to make nearly $3.4MM in 2014/15. His contract is only guaranteed for $1MM beyond that.

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.

Jackson On Shumpert, Defense, Coaching

April 3rd, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, we relayed some noteworthy comments from Phil Jackson about his willingness to do away with ties between the Knicks and Creative Artists Agency as well as his insistence that he won’t return to coaching. During his media session, the Zen master also praised Mike Woodson for how he’s handled the speculation about his future and shared more about the team’s recent performance. Here are a few more interesting things to relay from Jackson, transcribed by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York:

On Iman Shumpert about what will be expected from him:

“I’m still a coach that believes in pressure, pressure defense, playing like we saw the Knicks play last night — anticipation, turnovers become run-outs…I was able to tell Iman today that’s what has to be seen on a basis that we’d like to see from game to game…It might not happen every game, but those are the things that break games open and give you opportunities to win when you have easy baskets. And defense can do that, so that’s a really important aspect.”

On the team’s defense:

“I think (Mike Woodson) has a philosophy,..It’s worked for him in the past. It’s worked for him in Atlanta. The big thing is you’ve got to have players buy into it. They have to believe in it…I think one of the reasons why they’ve been successful in the last month-and-a-half, whatever this run has been, has been their defense has improved…Mike likes to switch with bigs a lot of times and ends up rotating from the other side of the court, trying to get bigs on bigs and smalls on smalls. You know, that’s his style. Players have to buy into it. That’s what coaching is about.”

On whether or not he still gets the urge to coach:

“No, I don’t, but I do know that I can’t be too vocal about what I see going on all the time out there…If a flagrant foul happens, or there’s a couple of situations out there (that is) beyond the level of what is legitimate basketball, and I want to give my voice and my opinion to the referees, I don’t want to do that.”

On not traveling with the team for road games:

“My job is not to travel with the team…Mike is in control of this team, he’s the coach, he’s got that sculpt ahead of him, he knows what he is doing on the road. (Steve Mills) has chosen to go out there, and maybe (James Dolan) encouraged him to go out there…Steve has been away from the game a while so maybe that associated him back with the game…So he has traveled with the team but I don’t see general managers going on the road. However, in playoff situations, yes, I will be there at all games.”