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Knicks Notes: Robinson, Trade Targets, Hartenstein, 2019 Draft

December 21st, 2023 at 12:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will reportedly miss the remainder of the 2023/24 season following left ankle surgery. Robinson took to social media in response to the news, and he was understandably discouraged.

“I just don’t get it…I do everything I’m asked when it comes to my body and this s–t still happens like wtf. Another year another disappointment,” he wrote on Snapchat (Twitter link via New York Basketball).

Robinson has battled injuries throughout his career, including being limited to 59 games last season. Despite missing the past six contests, he still ranks second in the league in total offensive rebounds. He was averaging career highs in rebounds (10.3), offensive rebounds (5.3) and steals per game (1.5) prior to the injury.

Here are a few more notes from New York:

When the Knicks initially ruled Robinson out for at least eight-to-10 weeks, they weren’t in a rush to find a replacement center, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic. In fact, they haven’t been actively involved in trade conversations this fall, according to Katz, who wonders if that will change after applying for a disabled player exception for Robinson. Katz considers potential trade targets who could potentially fit Robinson’s role, either using the DPE or more traditional means. Some players mentioned include Andre Drummond (Bulls), Clint Capela (Hawks), Precious Achiuwa (Raptors) and Daniel Gafford (Wizards).
Prior to Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn, center Isaiah Hartenstein was asked about the team’s rivalry with the Nets. “Is there a rivalry? I mean, I don’t feel it,” Hartenstein said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I mean, most of the time we go to Barclays it’s mostly Knicks fans so I don’t know if it’s really a rivalry at this point.” As Hartenstein mentioned, the Knicks are far more popular than the Nets, and they currently have a better record as well (16-11 vs. 13-14), winning last night’s contest in a blowout.
The Knicks lost a franchise-record 65 games in 2018/19 in hopes of landing the No. 1 overall pick and selecting Zion Williamson, who has missed more than half of his career games to this point with injuries. They ultimately landed the No. 3 pick and chose RJ Barrett. In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Bondy re-drafts the top-15 picks of 2019, with Williamson, Ja Morant and Darius Garland making up his top three, followed by Barrett and Tyler Herro.

Knicks’ Jericho Sims To Miss Time With Ankle Injury

December 20th, 2023 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

4:46pm: The Knicks have confirmed (via Twitter) that Sims will be out at least seven-to-10 days, which is when he’ll be reevaluated.

1:36pm: Although he’s still listed on the injury report as questionable for Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn, Knicks center Jericho Sims is expected to miss one or two weeks due to his right ankle sprain, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Sims suffered the injury during Monday’s victory over the Lakers.

Sims has averaged just 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game across 14 appearances so far this season, but he has become an important part of New York’s rotation since starting center Mitchell Robinson went down with a left ankle injury. Sims started the Knicks’ first five games without Robinson and had been playing between 17 and 21 minutes per night.

Although Isaiah Hartenstein had been handling the majority of the minutes at the five and looks like the obvious candidate to move into the starting lineup, the Knicks now find themselves shorthanded up front. With Robinson and Sims unavailable, the team’s only other center besides Hartenstein is 38-year-old Taj Gibson, who just made his season debut last week and probably shouldn’t be counted on for meaningful minutes.

Even before Wojnarowski revealed Sims’ recovery timeline, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post had suggested that something has to give for the Knicks, who can’t count on Hartenstein to keep playing 39 minutes per game like he did on Monday.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau has resisted the idea of using a power forward like Julius Randle as a small-ball five, since he prefers to always have some form of rim protection on the floor, but Thibodeau may need to be flexible on that front, writes Bondy.

The other option would be for the front office to add another center via free agency. The Knicks currently have a full roster, but a few players, including Ryan Arcidiacono and DaQuan Jeffries, don’t have fully guaranteed contracts, so the team has some flexibility to move players in and out if necessary.

Knicks Notes: Sims, Centers, Reddish, Hart

December 19th, 2023 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks center Jericho Sims sprained his right ankle after just three minutes of action in Monday’s win over the Lakers. Head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t have an update after the game about the severity of the injury, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), but Sims was in a walking boot, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.

Still, it sounds like the injury may not be significant. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), the Knicks are listing Sims as questionable to play in Wednesday’s contest vs. Brooklyn, which suggests he may not have to miss any time at all.

If Sims is forced to the sidelines, his absence figures to result in a significant role for reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein, who had already been getting the majority of playing time at the five since Mitchell Robinson went down.

On Monday, Hartenstein logged an impressive 39 minutes off the bench and played a key role in the victory — he grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds and the Knicks outscored the Lakers by 15 points when he was on the court. Recently added big man Taj Gibson was a minus-8 in his six minutes of action.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Prior to Monday’s win and Sims’ ankle injury, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post questioned whether Hartenstein should simply be moved into the starting lineup, since the groups with Sims at center haven’t been particularly effective, especially defensively. Since Robinson’s injury, New York has a +11.5 net rating with Hartenstein on the court and a -16.9 mark (including a 131.1 defensive rating) when Sims is playing.
Facing his former Knicks team for the first time this season on Monday, Lakers forward Cam Reddish wasn’t willing to revisit the past, Bondy writes in another New York Post story. “I’ve got nothing for you,” Reddish said on his way out of the locker room. “My time in New York is over.” Asked about the former Knicks forward, who fell out of favor in New York and reportedly sought a trade, Thibodeau lauded the 24-year-old for being willing to accept his role in Los Angeles: “I think the first thing is to embrace the role, and I think he’s done a really good job of that.”
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Josh Hart attributed his bumpy start to this season to adjusting to a new role and to not being in his usual rhythm after spending a long summer with Team USA. Still, Hart suggested he’d happily accept an invitation to the 2024 Olympic team — though he’s not necessarily holding his breath for that invite. “I’d be very pleasantly surprised if I get a call. If I do, I’ll go cheerlead LeBron (James), KD (Kevin Durant) and all of them and I would love every minute of it,” he said with a laugh.
After seven straight lottery seasons from 2014-20, the Knicks are now a “fully functional” franchise and a solid playoff team, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who considers what it will take for the club to become more than that.

Atlantic Notes: White, Thybulle, Sixers, Knicks

December 17th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Does Derrick White deserve All-Star consideration? Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston argues that the Celtics guard has a legitimate case, noting that the team has a +13.6 net rating when White is on the court compared to a +1.5 mark when he sits. That’s the widest on/off difference for any player on the roster.

White is also averaging 15.6 points and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 42.7% on three-pointers. All of those numbers would be career bests for the seventh-year guard (with the exception of his rookie season, when he shot 48.5% from the floor and 61.5% on threes in just 139 total minutes).

Still, while the 19-5 Celtics certainly have a case to send multiple players to this season’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis, it’s unclear whether White will make the cut. As Forsberg observes, Jayson Tatum is a lock to be an All-Star, while teammates Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis will also warrant consideration.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Since being traded from Philadelphia to Portland at last season’s trade deadline, Matisse Thybulle has made 39.9% of his three-point attempts, well above the 32.5% mark he put up across three-and-a-half seasons with the Sixers. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the 76ers gave up on Thybulle too early and whether he might’ve been rejuvenated under a new head coach in Nick Nurse.
In a separate story for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gina Mizell previews trade season for the Sixers, identifying some potential big-name trade targets while also considering what sort of role players might fit in Philadelphia. A prototypical point guard, a more traditional center, and a “straight-up gunner” are among the pieces the club could keep an eye out for, Mizell suggests.
With Mitchell Robinson out for a couple months and Taj Gibson now a part of the roster, Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation at center for the Knicks looks pretty clear, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Jericho Sims will start, Isaiah Hartenstein will get the majority of the minutes, and Gibson will be available for insurance purposes. That’s how it worked out on Friday and Saturday, with Hartenstein averaging 30.5 minutes, Sims averaging 17.5, and Gibson logging a total of seven minutes in garbage time.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Morris, Hartenstein, Quickley

December 14th, 2023 at 8:23pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been subject to trade rumors for roughly a year while his team is middling, even though he has expressed his desire to stay in Toronto multiple times, according to Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange. Siakam says he isn’t letting the persistent rumors get to him.

“I don’t worry about that. I just live my life and try to be the best I can be every day,” Siakam said. “I don’t think about it. It’s not part of what I do. I control what I can control. I’ve always understood that, and I’m getting better at it and I’m actually really good at it now.”

Siakam is earning $37.9MM in the final season of a four-year, $136.9MM deal. Even without a long-term contract, Siakam deserves credit for keeping the 10-14 Raptors competitive, Grange writes. He’s averaging 21.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season.

“The way I look at it, and that’s been in my life period, it’s never been easy,” Siakam said. “Hey, you got to fight. There’s going to be times where it’s hard out there … it feels like a boxing match where you get knocked down and everything. You can’t see nothing. You’re looking for your mouthpiece, trying to find anything on the floor. And the ref is counting, blood coming out of your mouth. And the thing about it is it’s going to happen more than once.

“So that’s a challenge. It is going to be hard. We just have to be able to overcome it. At the end of the day, like I said, we can talk about x’s and o’s and this and that. We’ve just got to be able to buckle up and go out there and do it.”

According to Grange, there is a “fairly robust” market for Siakam, though it may not be for the return Raptors president Masai Ujiri would want in such a deal. Despite the noise of a potential trade, Grange says there is a chance Siakam stays put and signs an extension with Toronto.

That means there could be a win-win situation for Siakam and the Raptors in which Toronto signs the All-Star forward to an extension in the next month or so, Grange writes. In that scenario, Siakam would be ineligible to be moved for six months and the Raptors could then explore the market again in the summer and become a major offseason player.

On the other hand, if the Raptors don’t see themselves signing Siakam to an extension soon, it would make sense to move him now, Grange notes.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

After a slow start with the Sixers, Marcus Morris is emerging as a trusted part of Philadelphia’s rotation, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey (subscriber link). Morris is averaging 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds over his past nine games compared to 1.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in his first seven appearances with Philly. Still, given his large expiring contract, it’s possible Morris is moved ahead of the trade deadline as the Sixers continue to shape their contending roster, a fact he’s aware of. “I understand the business part,” Morris said. “I know we [are] actively in trade [inquiries].“
After losing Mitchell Robinson to injury for eight-to-10 weeks, the Knicks will continue to turn to Isaiah Hartenstein to help fill the void, writes the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. Jericho Sims has started in Robinson’s place, but Hartenstein has ultimately finished with more minutes and closed games, a strategy coach Tom Thibodeau employed last season when Robinson missed time. “I’ve always been ready for this opportunity. I think I’ve shown I can be in this role,” Hartenstein said. “At the end of the day, we are going to miss Mitch a lot. But I’m ready — I’m ready for whatever [Thibodeau] has in mind for me. … Last season, half of the games I would finish games. I’m used to this role, so I’m excited for it.“
It might make sense for the Knicks to explore trading guard Immanuel Quickley, writes the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy (subscriber link), who speculates the offseason Donte DiVincenzo signing, along with the lack of a preseason extension for Quickley, could signal a potential trade. With such a guard-heavy roster, the Knicks could look to move Quickley before he hits restricted free agency in July and get some value for him, Bondy reasons.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Sims, Hartenstein, Walsh

December 12th, 2023 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic isn’t oblivious to the calls to modify his starting lineup, but he’s not prepared to make any changes yet. In a media session on Tuesday, Rajakovic said he wants to give his current starting five – Dennis Schröder, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl – “another game or two” to figure things out, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

The five-man group has a minus-4.7 net rating in 270 minutes so far this season. As Lewenberg observes, the starters have been outscored in six of the Raptors’ last seven games and the club lost all six of those games. If there are no positive steps forward within the next couple games, it sounds like Rajakovic is open to shaking things up.

“It’s not something that’s completely off the table,” he said today.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Eric Koreen and John Hollinger of The Athletic teamed up to examine what it would look like if the Raptors become trade deadline sellers, weighing the trade value of players like Siakam and Anunoby. Hollinger also digs into what a trade sending Siakam to the Hawks might look like, suggesting a package of a couple first-round picks (Sacramento’s lottery-protected 2024 pick and Atlanta’s own “lightly protected” 2029 selection), De’Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in exchange for Siakam and Christian Koloko.
While Jericho Sims got the starting nod in the Knicks‘ first game without center Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein played more minutes than Sims did and was part of the closing lineup, notes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Katz takes a closer look at what Robinson’s extended absence will mean for New York, exploring whether additional lineup and rotation tweaks may be necessary if Sims continues to start.
Celtics forward Jordan Walsh has yet to make his regular season NBA debut, having spent much of his rookie season so far in the G League. According to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, head coach Joe Mazzulla – who has said he wants to see Walsh focus on defense and impacting the game without scoring during his time in Maine – is keeping tabs on the rookie’s progress. “We get an email after every game,” Mazzulla said. “Craig [Luschenat], our guy who works with our player development, and [Maine head coach] Blaine [Mueller] are in constant communication and then we have constant development checklist of what’s important to us, where we want him to be at the end of the season, where we want him to be in a year from now.”

Mitchell Robinson To Miss At Least 8-To-10 Weeks After Ankle Surgery

December 11th, 2023 at 11:34am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will undergo surgery on his left ankle and will be reevaluated in eight-to-10 weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter). The operation will be performed this week at the Hospital for Special Surgery, according to the Knicks.

Robinson had already been ruled out of tonight’s game after injuring the ankle in the first half of Friday’s contest at Boston. He had an X-ray and was able to return for five minutes in the third quarter before being pulled from the game.

The Knicks will miss Robinson as both a defensive anchor and a presence on the boards. Through 21 games, he’s averaging career highs of 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per night, along with 1.3 blocks and 6.2 points while shooting 59.2% from the field.

Robinson’s place in the starting lineup will go to Isaiah Hartenstein, who has been an effective backup, averaging 5.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per night over 21 games. Robinson’s absence should also mean more playing time for Jericho Sims, who has only appeared in nine games but was effective when Robinson was sidelined last season.

After Robinson hurt his ankle on Friday, coach Tom Thibodeau expressed confidence in his reserve big men, according to Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post.

“I felt all along that one of our strengths was that position,” Thibodeau said. “The way Mitch has been playing, the way Isaiah has been playing — actually, Isaiah has … deserved more [time]. But also, Jericho, we forget that he’s sitting there. And Jericho played very, very well for us last year.”

New York Notes: Thomas, Nets, Simmons, Hartenstein, Knicks

November 30th, 2023 at 2:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets are getting their leading scorer back on Thursday, as the team announced that guard Cam Thomas will return to action against Charlotte (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).

Thomas will be on a minutes restriction after missing the past nine games with a left ankle sprain, a team source tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post (via Twitter).

The 27th pick of the 2021 draft, Thomas was having a breakout third season for Brooklyn prior to the injury, averaging career highs virtually every major statistic, including points (26.9), rebounds (3.8), assists (2.1) and minutes per game (32.4) through eight contests (seven starts). The 22-year-old will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2024.

Here’s more from the NBA’s two New York-based teams:

Ben Simmons continues to be sidelined for the Nets — he’ll miss his 12th straight game on Thursday due to a nerve impingement in his lower left back, per the NBA’s official injury report. Dan Martin of The New York Post details how Brooklyn has begun to thrive without Simmons in the lineup, despite the team planning to build around his unique skill set in 2023/24. According to Martin, the Nets — who have won three straight — have gotten key contributions from different players “nearly every night” of late, including Royce O’Neale, Mikal Bridges, Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson.
When the Knicks signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a two-year, $16MM contract last year, they cited his shooting, play-making and passing as complementary skills to bruising center Mitchell Robinson. However, as Stefan Bondy writes in a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Hartenstein quickly learned last season that he needed to adapt his game to fit head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s system in order to stay in the rotation. “I think that’s a thing a lot of NBA players don’t do. That’s kind of how you whittle down the league,” Hartenstein said. “And for me, that was adjusting it to less of a finesse game and more of getting guys open [with screens], more of just crashing for the rebounds. Whereas before it was more passing, catching it in the pocket, playing off that.” Hartenstein doesn’t put up gaudy stats, but he thinks he’s in the conversation for being the best backup center in the league. When Bondy asked about his impending free agency in 2024, the 25-year-old said, “We’ll see what happens. I love New York, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Knicks‘ schedule became more difficult after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament, notes Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required). New York will play at Milwaukee on Tuesday for the quarterfinal matchup, meaning the Knicks will play the Bucks five times instead of four in ’23/24. If the Knicks and Celtics advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, they would have to play Boston a fifth time as well. Still, the Knicks view it as a chance to get better. “I don’t look at anything as a consequence,” forward Julius Randle said, per Popper. “Winning games, playing good basketball, got a chance to compete against the best. Who wouldn’t want that opportunity?”

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.”

Knicks Notes: B. Brown, Tournament, Mitchell, Centers

November 2nd, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Bruce Brown was a long shot for the Knicks in free agency, but he still met with them before deciding to sign with the Pacers. The versatile swingman talked to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post about the details of that meeting, which took place on FaceTime.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau was a strong supporter of adding Brown and told him the Knicks needed him to “do the little things to help them win.” Thibodeau made his recruiting pitch along with team president Leon Rose, but they couldn’t compete with Indiana’s offer. Brown signed for $45MM over two years, while New York was limited to $12.4MM per year with its mid-level exception.

“Thibs has always been a fan of mine, even coming out the draft when he was with Minnesota,” Brown said. “And every time I played against him we had a few communications. But this is the first time to actually get a chance to get me.”

There’s more from New York:

With the Knicks beginning play Friday in the NBA’s new in-season tournament, Bondy reached out to two of the team’s lower-salaried players to see what the $500K grand prize would mean to them. Ryan Arcidiacono and Dylan Windler, who both have non-guaranteed contracts, said they would use the bonus money to help pay off their mortgages.
The Knicks might be a more entertaining team if they had met Utah’s price in trade negotiations for Donovan Mitchell, but there’s no guarantee they would be better, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Vaccaro points to the team’s last offer for Mitchell, which would have included RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Evan Fournier, two unprotected first-round picks and three more first-rounders. It might have also precluded the trade for Josh Hart and the signing of Donte DiVincenzo. Vaccaro notes that New York still has most of those assets, which can be used for the next big-name player who becomes available.
There has been plenty of speculation that the Knicks might be waiting for Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns to hit the trade market, but Thibodeau is happy with his current center pairing of Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. “(Isaiah) and Mitch together, it’s a great tandem,” Thibodeau told reporters before Wednesday’s game. “They complement each other extremely well, they support each other, they’re great teammates. You throw Jericho (Sims) in there as well, that position, we feel pretty good about it.”