Landry Fields Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Amick On Woodson, Smith, Fields, Lin, Amare

May 10th, 2012 at 6:58pm CST by Zachary Links

After being bounced by the Heat in five games, the Knicks' offseason is now underway. The club will have a lot of important decisions to make in the coming months, and Sam Amick of SportsIllustrated.com has the goods on what might be in the club's immediate future..

Even though Mike Woodson shot down a report that he has had extension talks with the Knicks, a source close to the situation said that the coach has been telling people that he has had preliminary discussions with team officials about his return. Although anything can happen when it comes to the Knicks, the signs are strong that the Knicks will keep their coach rather than chase big names such as Phil Jackson or John Calipari.
Retaining Woodson would help the Knicks in their effort to retain J.R. Smith. The guard will likely turn down his $2.5MM option for next season.
Jeremy Lin's return seems like a foregone conclusion at this point as the Knicks can use their mid-level exception to match any offer. However, that could have a ripple effect on the rest of the club's roster. If the Knicks use the exception on Lin, they wouldn't be able to go $4MM above the luxury-tax threshold. Interested parties and CBA expert Larry Coon have indicated to Amick that Landry Fields would be on the outside-looking-in while retaining Steve Novak would also be a challenge.
Can the Knicks move Amare Stoudemire this summer? One Western Conference exec said, "I can't think of anyone who has less trade value." The internal sentiment, according to one source close to the situation, is that this group can get it done with a core of Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler with a three-year window to make a title push.
Even though Anthony and Stoudemire didn't play particularly well with Lin this season, the Knicks' front office is more focused on making it work than they are on considering any major changes, according to sources close to the situation.
The Knicks were among the teams that asked the Hornets about Chris Paul before he was traded to the Clippers in December, according to sources.

Knicks Rumors: Nash, Lin, Fields, Novak

May 10th, 2012 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

Following New York's Game Five loss in Miami last night, we rounded up a few Knicks-related notes, but the news and rumors keep coming. Here's the latest as the Knicks prepare for an eventful offseason:

Amare Stoudemire would love to play alongside former Suns teammate Steve Nash in the Big Apple next year, as he told Frank Isola and Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News. "Everyone knows that Steve loves New York and that New York loves Steve," Stoudemire said. "I love Steve. It would be great to have him here next year."
It's long been rumored that the Suns will offer Nash a two-year, $20MM deal, but Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld believes the point guard will leave money on the table to join a contender (Twitter link). The above-linked Daily News report suggests that if if Nash were to sign for the veteran minimum, he'd only go to a title contender. I'm not sure why he'd have to settle for the minimum though, no matter where he signed.
Jeremy Lin endorsed Knicks coach Mike Woodson, and told Marc Berman of the New York Post he'd like to remain in New York. According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, as many as six teams could be preparing to make a run at Lin, though as I explained yesterday, the Gilbert Arenas provision will allow the Knicks to match any offers.
Landry Fields and Steve Novak were among the other Knicks free agents to express their desire to return next season. Fields told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com he'd "love" to be back, while Novak said there's no place he'd rather play, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. I think Fields will be re-signed, but the team may not have the financial flexibility to hang on to Novak.
Despite their early exit from this year's postseason, the Knicks are on the right track, says Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Stoudemire also sees better days ahead for the team, as George Willis of the New York Post writes.

Knicks Notes: Smith, Chandler, Backcourt

March 11th, 2012 at 10:50am CST by Daniel Seco

Struggling to make any strides in a muddled playoff picture, the Knicks kick off a full slate of NBA action on Sunday against a 76ers team currently allowing the fewest amount of points per game. The Knicks presently occupy the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a middling Bucks squad two games back. Making noise in the news for a multitude of reasons, let's head to the Garden to see what's going on with the Knicks.

With J.R. Smith demonstrating inconsistency as a starter since assuming Landry Fields' former role, Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni has reinstated Fields into the starting lineup effective immediately thanks to his improved play as a reserve, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Smith, signed just prior to the All-Star break after a stint in China, has averaged 8.9 PPG in his nine games with the Knicks. The former first-round pick out of New Jersey has been making headlines for his risque actions off the court leading to a hefty fine by the league.
By many accounts the Knicks made one of the best moves of the abbreviated off-season by luring Tyson Chandler away from the Mavericks with a lucrative contract. According to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, Chandler believes the Knicks' roster has enough talent to close out games. "I feel like we may be the deepest team in the league. We should be able to come at teams in waves. It's a matter of putting that together." A newly-beardless Chandler, 29, makes his return to the starting lineup Sunday against the Sixers after missing two games with hamstring issues.
Rather than focusing on fixing the struggling Knicks via trade, D'Antoni wants to explore providing the tandem of Jeremy Lin and Baron Davis more minutes together on the court to see how such a pairing may improve the squad's overall performance, writes Mark Hale of the New York Post.

Rotation Notes: Udoh, Fields, Turner

March 5th, 2012 at 6:59pm CST by Michael Pina

With big games going on across the league tonight—including a meeting between Dallas and Oklahoma City in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals—we take a quick look around to see how coaches are shaking up their starting lineups.

Despite playing a season-low 15 minutes in Boston yesterday, and often times struggling with assertiveness in his sophomore season, Landry Fields will remain in New York's starting lineup for the foreseeable future, according to Calvin Watkins at ESPNNY.com. However, in a tweet, the New York Post's Marc Berman says rookie Iman Shumpert could replace him sooner than later if he keeps playing as well as he's been.
In an attempt to shake things up, Golden State head coach Mark Jackson has removed the deplorable Andris Biedrins from his starting lineup and replaced him with defensive savant Ekpe Udoh, Warriors beatwriter Marcus Thompson said in a tweet. Biedrins says he's "fine" with the decision.
Philadelphia's Director of Public Relations, Michael Preston, mentioned on Twitter that Evan Turner and Nikola Vucevic would start tonight against the Bucks. Lavoy Allen and Jodie Meeks have been downgraded to the bench.

Knicks Notes: Smith, Balkman, Bibby, Lin, Fields

February 17th, 2012 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

It's been a busy day already for the Knicks, who appear poised to officially announce that they've signed J.R. Smith and waived Renaldo Balkman. As New York looks for its eighth straight win tonight, let's round up a few links that address the impact of the team's latest moves. And don't worry, there's a Jeremy Lin update too….

Sam Amick of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that Smith will receive $2.3MM for this season and a $2.4MM player option for next year. The numbers are slightly different than what Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier.
The addition of Smith doesn't mean the Knicks are done looking for upgrades, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Coach Mike D'Antoni indicated he'll work Smith into the rotation slowly and that Landry Fields will still continue to start at the two guard for now, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
With Baron Davis' return date still up in the air, Howard Beck of the New York Times tweets that the team decided to waive Balkman because they need Mike Bibby to back up Lin.
In a piece for ESPN.com, CBA guru Larry Coon explains in detail how the Knicks can re-sign both Lin and Fields this summer.

Trade Machine: Sessions To Knicks

February 4th, 2012 at 10:49pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

The New York Knicks, losers of 11 of their past 14 games, need a point guard. The Cavaliers, having an excellent backup point guard in Ramon Sessions, need as many young pieces around their star rookie point guard Kyrie Irving as possible.

Despite the Knicks previous reluctance to part with last year's prized second round pick Landry Fields, a trade package centered around Fields and Sessions would appear to make sense for both teams.

The Knicks offense has sputtered out of the gate this season, averaging 94.7 ppg–good for 14th in the NBA. They are currently 24th in the league with 18.9 assists per game. Those two aspects of the game had previously been staples of a Mike D'Antoni offense.

Sessions, currently averaging 9.2 points and 4.8 assists per game in just slightly over 20 minutes, would provide the Knicks with the pick and roll ball handler the Knicks sorely lack, allowing D'Antoni to open up his system and properly utilize Amare Stoudemire.

Fields, a surprising second round find, would provide, at worst, quality depth on the wings for a team that leans heavily on Antawn Jamison, Alonzo Gee, Anthony Parker, and Daniel Gibson.

While the Knicks have Baron Davis waiting in the wings, relying on a player with his history of injuries and conditioning troubles in the condensed lockout season could be a recipe for disaster. Not that playing Anthony in a point forward role hasn't been so far this season.

Even though Sessions likely would not be the long term answer, the Knicks have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, and it would be best to evaluate D'Antoni and his system in its natural habitat, with a point guard that can execute his offense.