Luke Kornet Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Allonzo Trier To Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 3: The Knicks have officially signed Trier to his two-way deal, the team announced in a press release. He’ll join Hicks in New York’s two-way slots, with Kornet getting a promotion to a standard NBA contract.

JUNE 21: Arizona’s Allonzo Trier will join the Knicks on a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

New York is currently at its allotment of two-way players with Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, but both are on one-year deals, so Trier can be added when they expire at the end of June.

Trier, 22, missed part of his junior season after testing positive for a banned substance. He was second on the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game, trailing only tonight’s No. 1 pick, Deandre Ayton.

Knicks Re-Sign Luke Kornet

July 1st, 2018 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6th, 6:31pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 1st, 10:17am: The Knicks have agreed to terms on a new one-year contract for center Luke Kornet, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link). Berman reports that the deal will be worth approximately $1.6MM.

Kornet, who will turn 23 in two weeks, spent the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Knicks. He appeared in 20 games for the NBA club, averaging 6.7 PPG and 3.2 RPG with a .392/.354/.727 shooting line. The big man also played well in 36 games for the G League’s Westchester Knicks, posting 16.0 PPG on .489/.440/.812 shooting.

Having received a qualifying offer from the Knicks, Kornet was a restricted free agent, so New York could have matched any offer sheet he signed. While the seven-footer was said to be receiving some interest from a couple other clubs, he instead negotiated directly with the Knicks. Kornets’ new deal should be worth around $1.62MM, as his Non-Bird rights allow for a deal worth up to 120% of his minimum salary.

With Kornet getting an NBA deal from the Knicks, a two-way slot opens up for Allonzo Trier, who reportedly reached an agreement on a two-way deal with the club. Isaiah Hicks, New York’s other two-way player in 2017/18, remains a restricted free agent for now.

Knicks Rumors: Hezonja, O’Quinn, Johnson, Tolliver

July 1st, 2018 at 1:39am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward Mario Hezonja is very much on the Knicks‘ radar, according to reports. After Michael Scotto of The Athletic indicated earlier in the evening (via Twitter) that New York had interest in Hezonja, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweeted that the interest is mutual. In the early hours of free agency, the Knicks and Hezonja had a meeting, Scotto adds (via Twitter).

Hezonja is just one of a number of free agents linked already to the Knicks, who plan to offer only one-year deals this offseason. Let’s round up a few more notes and rumors…

The Knicks were among the teams to reach out to Amir Johnson after free agency opened, tweets Begley. Johnson is also said to be drawing interest from Minnesota and both Los Angeles clubs.
Kyle O’Quinn seems much more likely to sign with another team than to reeturn to the Knicks, sources tell Begley (Twitter link). According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the division-rival Sixers have expressed serious interest in O’Quinn.
The Knicks were one of at least five or six clubs to express interest in Anthony Tolliver when free agency opened, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who reports (via Twitter) that GM Scott Perry had a brief phone conversation with the veteran forward.
A two-way player last season, Luke Kornet received a qualifying offer from the Knicks. While New York would like to bring him back on another two-way deal, two teams have expressed “preliminary interest” in giving Kornet a standard NBA contract, sources tell Berman. The Knicks would have the right to match any offer sheet the young seven-footer signs.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Kornet, Hicks, Trier

June 23rd, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks’ decision to draft Mitchell Robinson in the second round Thursday night could signal an end to Luke Kornet‘s time in New York, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team extended a qualifying offer to Kornet, who was on a two-way contract last season, but if he receives even a minimum contract offer [$1.2MM for a second-year player] from another organization, the Knicks may refuse to match it.

A source tells Berman that a handful of teams have interest in Kornet, who displayed an effective shooting touch during his 20 games at the NBA level. Kornet, who went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017, averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 35% from 3-point range. His performance contributed to the decision to trade Willy Hernangomez, but Berman states that management may view him as a leftover from the Phil Jackson years.

The decision on Kornet will be impacted by how Robinson performs during summer league, Berman adds. The 20-year-old 7-footer is an unknown quantity after opting to leave Western Kentucky without playing a game.

There’s more tonight from New York:

Isaiah Hicks, the Knicks’ other two-way player last season, also received a qualifying offer, but the team isn’t likely to bring both Hicks and Kornet back, Berman writes in the same story. New York will likely withdraw one of those QOs in favor of signing Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, who reportedly reached agreement on a two-way deal on draft night. Hicks got into 18 NBA games last season and averaged 4.4 points per night.
Robinson may have trouble adjusting to the summer league after not playing a five-on-five game in 14 months, Berman adds in a separate story. However, his high school coach, Butch Stockton, believes the 36th pick will eventually make an impact with his all-around talents. “I see him stepping in and helping right away,” said Stockton, who attended Friday’s introductory press conference. “When he starts playing, the Knicks fans, they’re going to see what kind of talent he is. The media people say he’s not ready physically or basketball-wise, but he runs the floor extremely well, protects the rim and finishes around the rim.”
Emmanuel Mudiay, who hosted a youth camp today in New York, expressed confidence that new coach David Fizdale will be able to turn the Knicks around, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. “We’re all kind of starting from scratch,” Mudiay said. “But it’s a positive scratch. It’s big to see that people are actually loving what the front office is doing, loving what the coaching staff is doing. Everybody’s supportive. So that’s a good thing.”

Kornet, Hicks Receive Qualifying Offers From Knicks

June 23rd, 2018 at 9:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have extended qualifying offers to both Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, according to RealGM’s Transactions log. Those moves make them restricted free agents next month.

That duo signed one-year, two-way contracts last season. According to the latest CBA, the qualifying offer is a two-way contract, with $50K guaranteed.

At least one of them would have to eventually sign a regular contract for next season, since the club has reached an agreement with Arizona guard Allonzo Trier for one of their two-way deals.

Kornet, a 7’1” power forward/center out of Vanderbilt, appeared in 20 games with the Knicks last season. He averaged 6.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.3 APG in 16.4 MPG. Hicks, a 6’9” forward from North Carolina, saw action in 18 NBA games and posted averages of 4.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.3 MPG.

Knicks Notes: Mudiay, Ntilikina, Kornet, Noah

February 11th, 2018 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

If Emmanuel Mudiay makes his Knicks debut today, he won’t have much preparation, writes Anthony Rieber of Newsday. Acquired Thursday from the Nuggets in a three-team trade, Mudiay wasn’t permitted to practice Saturday because the transaction wasn’t official. Devin Harris, who was sent to Denver in the deal, had yet to complete his physical. All coach Jeff Hornacek could do was talk to Mudiay, who is expected to suit up if the deal gets finalized before today’s 4:00 pm Central game in Indiana.

“Wish he could have been able to get out there and go through things, but he wasn’t allowed to,” Horacek said. “We’re going to have to continue to talk to him. Unfortunately, it’s an early game, so we won’t have a shootaround, but we’ll go over things with him on film. He was able to watch things, at least. I think he has a pretty good idea, so I don’t think it’ll take long for him to adjust.”

There’s more news out of New York:

Mudiay’s addition to an already-crowded point guard situation will result in fewer minutes for some players, but Hornacek expects them to handle it like professionals, Rieber adds in the same story. The coach isn’t worried about a negative attitude from rookie Frank Ntilikina, who has watched the organization add four point guards since he was drafted with the No. 8 pick in June. “To me, mentally weak guys think that,” Hornacek said. “Mentally strong guys don’t think that. They say, ‘OK, bring on whoever. I don’t care.’ I can see that in Frank. He has that mentality.”
Luke Kornet‘s impressive NBA debut made the decision to trade Willy Hernangomez easier to understand, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Kornet had 11 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes Friday and became the first player ever with four blocks and three 3-pointers in his first game. Kornet’s breakout performance makes it even more unlikely that Joakim Noah will return from his leave of absence this year, according to Berman, who adds that the Knicks tried to send the veteran center to Orlando in a deal for Elfrid Payton.
Enes Kanter, who has a player option for next season worth more than $18.6MM, wants to spend the rest of his career in New York, relays Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Kanter said the city has a negative reputation in some NBA circles, but he believes in the front office led by president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry. “I like this place, man,” Kanter said. “It’s weird because people are scared to come to New York because they think New York is scary, all these bad things but I think this organization is good, man. These guys, Scott and Steve, the coaches and everything. They are just making sure you got everything you need so you can just focus on basketball.”

New York Notes: Mudiay, Kornet, Russell, Dinwiddie

February 10th, 2018 at 11:45am CST by marksuleymanov

Acquiring Emmanuel Mudiay at the deadline on Thursday was not a shot at Frank Ntilikina but part of a plan to acquire young talent, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. General manager Scott Perry said the addition of Mudiay, a former lottery pick, gives the Knicks another talented player, which can only help Ntilikina.

“The organization is not down on Frank,” Perry said. “I’ve spoken to Frank today. We’ll continue to speak. He’s excited about it. Everyone’s committed to getting better. If you want to become a good team, you got to be resigned to adding players to our mix that will help our cause. He’s going to be fine. It’s not in any way a negative reflection on him and who we think he’s going to be. He’s a 19-year-old kid with very good tools and a lot of upside. This will help his learning process.”

The plan for Mudiay is for him to see time at both guard spots. Jared Jeffries, an ex-Knick and former scouting director for the Nuggets, commended the acquisition of Mudiay, Berman writes in a separate story. Jeffries does not agree with the consensus that Mudiay is a bad shooter — instead, he feels the former seventh overall pick is a bad finisher. If he can improve his shots closer to the rim, Mudiay can be successful, per Jeffries.

Check out other news coming out of New York:

Luke Kornet, who has spent the season in the G League, made his NBA debut against the Raptors on Friday, Berman writes. Taking the spot vacated by the departed Willy Hernangomez, Kornet became the second Knick ever to debut with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). The 22-year-old Vanderbilt project is currently on a two-way deal that allows him 45 days in the NBA before he must be added to the 15-man roster — and the Knicks have an open roster spot.
A knee injury sidelined Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell for two months, putting some ice cold water on a hot start to his first season in Brooklyn. Since his return, Russell has come off the bench and hasn’t seen consistent playing time. Both Russell and head coach Kenny Atkinson want to see the former second overall pick play more minutes and get reacclimated, writes Newsday’s Greg Logan.
While the Nets did make some moves ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, both DeMarre Carroll and Spencer Dinwiddie stayed put. Dinwiddie, who has burst on the scene as a productive asset this season, is so coveted by the Nets, the team turned down a first-round pick from the Cavaliers, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post details.

Knicks Sign Luke Kornet To Two-Way Contract

July 3rd, 2017 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have formally signed undrafted free agent big man Luke Kornet to a two-way contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Teams are permitted to finalize two-way contracts during the July moratorium, so the deal is official.

A 7’0″ center who played his college ball at Vanderbilt, Kornet was ranked 69th on DraftExpress’ list of 2017’s top 100 prospects. In his senior year in 2016/17, he averaged 13.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.0 BPG, chipping in 1.5 threes per game, though he made just 32.7% of his shots from outside.

Two-way contracts are a new addition to the NBA this year, a result of negotiations on the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement. In addition to carrying 15 players on their regular season roster, teams will be allowed to have two more players on two-way deals — those players will spend most of their time in the G League, but can be called up to the NBA roster and can’t be poached by rival NBA teams. Our full FAQ on two-way contracts can be found here.

While Kornet may not seen much action with the Knicks this season, it appears he’ll go down as the first player in NBA history to officially sign a two-way contract. The agreement was first reported last month by ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

Knicks Agree To Sign Nigel Hayes, Luke Kornet

June 23rd, 2017 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

After nabbing Frank Ntilikina and two other prospects in Thursday night’s draft, the Knicks continue to secure young talent, having struck two deals with undrafted rookies, according to reports.

Former Wisconsin big man Nigel Hayes, who will play for the Knicks in Summer League, has also agreed to a free agent contract with the team, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Begley, Hayes’ training camp contract will include a partial guarantee.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter) that the Knicks are also in agreement with former Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet. League sources inform Haynes that Kornet’s deal will be a two-way contract, meaning he figures to spend most of the 2017/18 season in the G League with the Westchester Knicks.

Both Hayes and Kornet were viewed as top-100 prospects by DraftExpress, with Hayes coming in at No. 80, while Kornet ranked 69th. Their deals with the Knicks aren’t yet official, since undrafted free agents can’t sign contracts until at least July.

Draft Notes: Josh Jackson, Fultz, Smith Jr., Heat

June 14th, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kansas forward Josh Jackson paid a visit to Kings today, but didn’t go through a workout, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Jackson is expected to be one of the first players selected next week and probably won’t be around for Sacramento’s pick at No. 5. There have been rumors that the Kings would like to move up, but a report today said they aren’t willing to give the Sixers the fifth and 10th picks to get No. 3.

There’s more from a full day of draft workouts:

Washington’s Markelle Fultz, projected as the top pick, has decided not to visit the Kings, according to Voisin (Twitter link).
Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer examines which top three team might have given Jackson a guarantee. A report Monday by John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 suggested that either the Celtics, Lakers or Sixers has promised to take Jackson if he’s still on the board when their pick comes up. Jackson canceled a workout this week with Boston and agreed to a second session in L.A.
Along with a second workout for Lonzo Ball, the Lakers will audition six other players on Friday, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Their names have not been released.
North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr. may be in danger of slipping on draft night, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. However, some members of Philadelphia’s front office are intrigued by Smith and the team may trade down to get him, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now.
UCLA’s T.J. Leaf will visit Miami on Thursday to work out for the Heat, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat see him as a stretch four who can hit 3-pointers and rebound and will give him serious consideration with their No. 14 pick, Jackson adds.
Duke’s Harry Giles canceled a workout with the Heat that was scheduled for Thursday, Jackson relays in the same story.
Kentucky’s Bam Adebayo will be part of a group workout for the Nuggets on Friday, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
The Nuggets will host six players Thursday, the team announced in an email. Participating will be Florida’s Canyon Barry, Air Force’s Hayden Graham, Miami’s Kamari Murphy, Baylor’s Johnathan Motley, Arizona’s Kobi Simmons and Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss.
Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig, who has upcoming sessions with the Lakers and Warriors, is impressing teams with his shooting, Scotto relays (Twitter link).
Creighton’s Cole Huff has workouts set for the Celtics on Thursday and the Lakers on Monday, tweets Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.
North Carolina’s Justin Jackson has workouts lined up with the Knicks, Hornets, Bucks and Trail Blazers, according to Begley.
Jackson will be part of a Pacers workout Thursday, along with Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame, Houston’s Damyean Dotson, Marquette’s Luke Fischer, Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet and Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell, the team announced on its website.
Northeastern’s T.J. Williams has an upcoming workout with the Knicks and has already auditioned for the Jazz, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves and Raptors, Begley writes in a separate piece.
Iowa’s Peter Jok, IUPUI’s Darell Combs, Syracuse’s Andrew White III, Connecticut’s Amida Brimah, Siena’s Marquis Wright and Lehigh’s Tim Kempton Jr. will work out Thursday for the Wizards, the team announced on its official blog.
The Hawks hosted six players for a workout earlier today, according to the team. Participants were Kempton, California’s Jabari Bird, Loyola-Chicago’s Milton Doyle, Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski, Middle Tennessee State’s Reggie Upshaw and Colorado’s Derrick White.
Six players worked out today for the Jazz, the team tweeted. On hand were Indiana’s James Blackmon, Dayton’s Charles Cooke, Weber State’s Jeremy Senglin, Eastern Washington’s Jake Wiley, Alabama’s Jimmie Taylor and Texas A&M CC’s Rashawn Thomas.