Phil Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Prokhorov, Celtics

February 14th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

When asked how quickly the Knicks would be able to improve as a franchise, Carmelo Anthony said he believes that the impetus for change begins off of the court, and not with the players, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “The fate is in the front office now,” Anthony said. “As players, the only thing we can do is go out and try to compete on a nightly basis and try to get wins and try to get better. But I think the onus is on the front office, and they’ve got a task ahead of them to start building for now and for the future.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks team president Phil Jackson says that he won’t be using the All-Star weekend in New York City to recruit potential free agents, Mitch Abramason of The New York Daily News writes. “That can’t be what I do here,” Jackson said. “I’ve got to be even-handed and friendly and this isn’t a recruiting tool.” NBA tampering rules would also prevent Jackson from trying to entice players to join the Knicks this offseason, Abramson notes.
The moves that the Nets have made since Mikhail Prokhorov took over as owner have done more to raise the value of the franchise than to bring the team closer to raising a championship banner, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes.
Jackson says that despite the Knicks‘ considerable struggles this season, he remains confident the franchise is on the right course, Neil Best of Newsday writes. “Things are working out just the way we want them to,” Jackson said. “They may not have gone splendidly in the first month, but you know, whatever. We’re forward. We’re forward thinking.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com doesn’t think that the Celtics should make an attempt to trade for Utah’s disgruntled center, Enes Kanter. The big man doesn’t appear to be a player who could significantly improve Boston’s frontcourt situation enough for Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, to try and get a deal deal done with Utah, Blakely notes.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Nets, Stoudemire, Drew

February 4th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson‘s hints to Harvey Araton of The New York Times that his stay as Knicks president might not be a lengthy one lead Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com to wonder if the door is ajar for a return of the Zen Master to the Lakers, where Jim Buss is on a three-year timetable to succeed. Still, Jackson told Brian Lewis of the New York Post within the past week that “I’ve kind of just divorced myself from them,” in reference to the Lakers, so it seems a purple-and-gold reunion is almost certainly not in the cards. Here’s more from Jackson’s current division:

Trade rumors have swirled around Brook Lopez, and a recent report cast some doubt about the long-term job security of coach Lionel Hollins, but Lopez and Hollins have begun to forge a better working relationship, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. Hollins’ public criticism of Lopez and others had bothered Nets ownership, as sources recently told Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
Amar’e Stoudemire said today that he doesn’t anticipate he’ll be traded this year, and that while he hasn’t had a conversation with the Knicks front office about a future with the team beyond this season, he expects one to take place soon, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Larry Drew II‘s 10-day contract with the Sixers expires tonight, but coach Brett Brown made it plain Tuesday that he’s a fan of the point guard, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Drew is on his second 10-day arrangement with Philadelphia, so any subsequent deal between the sides would have to cover the rest of the season.
Sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia that former Knicks guard Chris Smith is headed to play for KB Peja in Kosovo. The Knicks signed Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, to a minimum-salary contract with a fully guaranteed salary for last season, but they waived him a little more than two months into 2013/14.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Whiteside, Barac

February 3rd, 2015 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pacers draft-and-stash prospect Stanko Barac is finally seeking an NBA deal, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. The 28-year-old has been playing overseas since becoming the 39th overall pick in 2007, and while he recently signed with Croatia’s Cedevita through the end of this season, he’d like to come stateside, Charania adds. The Pacers have kept an eye on him, but nothing is imminent, the RealGM scribe cautions. Indiana tried to sign him to a lucrative deal years ago to no avail, and there’s interest in him from other NBA teams, according to Charania, but it’s unclear whether any team wants to trade for his rights at this point. He’s one of two draft rights held players that the Pacers have, as Mark Porcaro’s Hoops Rumors database shows.

Here’s more from the East:

Phil Jackson indicated to Harvey Araton of The New York Times that the Knicks won’t necessarily chase star free agents this summer, and Marc Berman of The New York Post writes that there’s been a “feeling within the league” that New York will instead target multiple second-tier free agents. Berman names Paul Millsap, Wesley Matthews, Draymond Green, Goran Dragic, Tobias Harris and Greg Monroe as members of that second tier, and while some of them, like Monroe and Harris, have indeed been identified in other reports as Knicks targets, it’s unclear if Jackson is actually eyeing all of those players.
Elton Brand spoke with Luol Deng about the Danny Ferry controversy before re-signing with the Hawks, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes. “He said, ‘I don’t understand why it’s in the report, but I forgive Danny and I’m ready to move on,’ ” Brand said of Deng. “So that helped me. As a team, we felt like that’s a management issue. That was up there. We still got to play, we still got to get our fans back.”
If Hassan Whiteside continues to show he’s a quality starting center, it will significantly impact what the Heat do and how they allocate their cap space over the next few years, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent n the summer of 2016. If he keeps this up, Jackson writes that Miami will likely consider moving Josh McRoberts‘ hefty deal that pays him $5.8MM in 2016/17 and $6.02MM in 2017/18 (player option).

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Phil Jackson On Triangle, Free Agency, ‘Melo

February 3rd, 2015 at 8:39am CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks president Phil Jackson was frank when he sat down last week to speak with Harvey Araton of The New York Times, telling him that, “So far, my experiment has fallen flat on its face.” The team has won five of its last seven, but New York is still only 10-38 and just a half-game in front of the last-place Sixers in the Eastern Conference. Still, Jackson told Araton that he has spent “not one moment” lamenting the offseason trade that sent away Tyson Chandler and brought in Jose Calderon, whom Jackson and the Knicks are reportedly shopping.

The Zen Master said that a chance to advocate and popularize the Triangle Offense was one reason he took the job, and while he admitted that the system could hinder the team as it tries to recruit free agents, he argued that it is nonetheless appealing. Under no circumstances will Jackson coach the team, Araton writes, and the Times scribe hints that Jackson, who’s nearly a year into a five-year contract, isn’t planning on staying with the Knicks long-term. There’s plenty more in Araton’s full interview with Jackson, which is worth a read, and we’ll pass along a few noteworthy tidbits that relate to player movement here:

On the idea that the triangle with keep free agents away:

“Of course it’s a concern of mine, the perception that it’s too difficult to learn or too difficult for today’s players to embrace. But I think anyone that believes he’s a total basketball player is going to want to do it. A sound offense incorporates all the basic skills of any player you have, whether you’re a center, a power forward, whatever. There are isolation spots in the triangle, but the only thing that precludes a player really fitting in is someone who has to have the whole side of the court to go one on one.”

On the pursuit of stars in free agency versus going after players who fit:

“You do need great players to win the championship, but having to always chase the best talent in free agency eventually becomes a mindset of, well, the best talent wins as opposed to who plays the best team basketball — which is what San Antonio showed last season. Their play was special, a team that really values passing, a system where they’re not just standing around, spacing out shooters. That’s also what Atlanta and a couple of other teams are showing this year.”

On re-signing Carmelo Anthony:

“He’s responsible, there’s a character base there that I’ve acquainted myself with, where I feel he has the nerve for the job, he’s not afraid. He has the capability of being a fourth-quarter guy who is going to make the shots. You need that kind of guy when you’re in the playoffs to win close games. You can run your triangle for three and a half quarters and it still comes down to having someone who is a little extra special down the stretch.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lopez, Knicks

January 17th, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have made a total of nine trades so far this season. This has meant that a lot of new players needed to be acclimated to Boston’s locker room and culture. Celtics coach Brad Stevens credits veteran Gerald Wallace for keeping the team together amid all of the changes, Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “I’m not too worried about chemistry in the locker room, and large credit for that goes to Gerald Wallace,” Stevens said. “Because of the way he, at his age, has accepted his role and how he talks to the young guys. It kind of makes everybody else say ‘I’m going to do what I can the right way every time.’ So I give him a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Stevens isn’t sure what will become of the newly acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I have not heard or gotten a final word one way or another on CDR,” Stevens said. It had been reported that Douglas-Roberts was expected to be waived in the wake of the trade with the Clippers.
Nets center Brook Lopez was convinced he was on his way to the Thunder on Thursday night, Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets. The trade rumors regarding him have reportedly upset the big man.
The Knicks‘ lack of experience within their front office is a potential issue in making trades, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Team president Phil Jackson appears to have little interest in networking with executives around the league. That means New York doesn’t have anyone who regularly calls around the NBA to gauge the value of players, which can lead to missed opportunities, Beck notes.

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Fisher, Free Agency

January 10th, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team president Phil Jackson is accepting blame for the disaster that has befallen the Knicks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. After Saturday’s lopsided loss to the Hornets, Jackson made a public statement to New York fans in which he acknowledged his mistakes. “Obviously I didn’t do the right thing in picking the group of guys that were here,” Jackson said. “A lot of it was etched in stone, we had guys with guaranteed contracts. But in anticipating that we were going to be better, that we were giving hope to our fans that maybe there’s a possible playoff opportunity here, you know, that goes on me.” The Knicks are 5-35 and hold the top spot in Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings.

There’s much more from the Big Apple:

Jackson remains optimistic that New York will be a popular destination for free agents this summer, Begley tweets. Jackson said several agents contact the team regularly to pass along their clients’ interest.
Before midseason officially arrived, the Knicks started playing for next year, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The team cleared some cap room with this week’s trade that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. Much more will open up this summer when Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani come off the books. “It’s not easy to build a team,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Going forward there’s always been a balance you’re trying to find between talent, character, mental toughness, physical toughness, experience, coachability, all of the different factors. There’s no guarantee that it all works out even after you do all that assessment.”
Spending money has rarely brought success for the Knicks, writes David Berri in Time Magazine. Berri, an economics professor at Southern Utah University, analyzed the Knicks’ performance in seasons where they ranked among the NBA’s biggest spenders. He found that since 1987/88, when New York’s payroll was among the league’s three highest, the team had a losing record in 12 of those 17 seasons.

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Shumpert, Anthony

January 9th, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One reason that Knicks owner James Dolan hired Phil Jackson as team president was for his championship credentials, but Jackson’s winning pedigree hasn’t translated thus far in selling the players on the triangle offense, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “When I played, the credibility Phil and his staff had came when he walked in the door,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “We were all intrigued in wanting to figure it out, knowing they won championships doing this. We wanted to figure out how to win championships within this format. In recent years, Phil wasn’t coaching and there weren’t any teams running this system. So these current players can’t say this team won a championship last year or two years ago doing it.”

Here’s more out of NYC:

Iman Shumpert says that his new team, the Cavaliers, remind him of of the Knicks circa 2012/13, Berman writes in a separate piece. “It’s going to be different,’’ Shumpert said. “I think it will be like my second year when we had Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. We had a lot of different guys who did a lot of different things.’’
Shumpert also relayed that he’s happy to be on a Cavs team that is likely to make the playoffs, something that the 5-34 Knicks have little chance at, Berman adds. “Of course everybody wants to win and be in the playoffs and compete more,” Shumpert said. “I didn’t want my season to end early. There’s work to do here, too. We definitely are going to get to work.’’
With the Knicks’ season all but over, Anthony has to believe that New York’s front office has a plan that will work, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. “When I first committed back to New York, that was something I always said: I had to trust that them guys know what they’re doing and believe in them guys. And that was one of the reasons I wanted to come back,” Anthony said. “Here’s an opportunity with the trust. Everything starts now.”

Eastern Notes: Jackson, Napier, Thomas

January 6th, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks president Phil Jackson won’t prove that he’s worth the $12MM per year salary that team owner James Dolan is paying him until he lands some meaningful free agents this summer, Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com opines. The problem for Jackson is that the top free agents are likely to stay with their current teams, O’Connor notes. The best Jackson can hope for is to possibly ink Greg Monroe and Goran Dragic, nice hauls, but not quite championship caliber players, the ESPN scribe adds.

Here’s more out of the East:

The Heat have recalled Shabazz Napier from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, their D-League affiliate, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel reports (Twitter link). This was Napier’s second journey of the season to Sioux Falls.
The Knicks may waive Lance Thomas to create an additional roster spot, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter link). Thomas, who was acquired in Monday night’s three-way deal with the Cavs and the Thunder, was reported to be the one player whom New York was looking to retain of the three it had garnered in the deal.
With the trade market beginning to heat up, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders looks at the players who are most likely to be dealt prior to the February trade deadline. Players who Kennedy opines could be on the move include Deron Williams (Nets), Jeff Green (Celtics), Andrei Kirilenko (Sixers), and Brandan Wright (Celtics).

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Anthony, Murry

January 6th, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Team president Phil Jackson demanded a five-year deal and a promise that owner James Dolan wouldn’t meddle before the Zen Master agreed to join the Knicks this past spring, and that’s looking like a wise bargain from Jackson’s end, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News believes. Jackson has the leeway necessary for the tear-down he’s undertaking, one that’s necessary for the Knicks to once again contend for titles, Deveney opines.

Here’s the latest out of NYC:

The removal of talent surrounding Carmelo Anthony makes it more likely that the Knicks will have Anthony miss the rest of the season so he can rehabilitate his sore knee, argues Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal.
While the return that the Knicks received for dealing away J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert was underwhelming, Jackson made the deal because he and his staff feared that if the Cavaliers got hot as a team, they would potentially lose interest in acquiring those players, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Jackson was also afraid that if Smith’s injury lingered, then he would become untradeable, Berman also notes.
Jackson’s first season as team president will be remembered for all the cap room that he cleared, but his true test as an executive will be how he puts it to use this coming summer, Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post writes.
The Knicks’ trade of Smith and Shumpert signifies that the franchise is working toward the future once again, instead of angling for a playoff berth, Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press writes. This feels like a repeat of what transpired six years ago, when the Knicks traded Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford to set themselves up for a shot at LeBron James in the summer of 2010, a plan that backfired, Mahoney adds.
Toure’ Murry is entering the D-League, and the Knicks‘ affiliate is likely to claim him via the waiver process, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Murry, who was recently waived by the Jazz, appeared in 51 games for New York during the 2013/14 campaign, averaging 2.7 points and 1.0 assist in 7.3 minutes per contest.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Dragic, Jackson

December 20th, 2014 at 10:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks’ rough start to the season could cost Madison Square Garden shareholders a projected $6MM in profits, Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reports. The estimate was posited by Rich Tullo, director of research for Albert Fried & Company, which covers the MSG stock, Rovell notes. “As the Harlem Globetrotters are the only New York professional [basketball] team winning in Madison Square Garden this season, we cut our estimates to reflect light TV ratings,” Tullo said. “Following more than 20 games highlighted by creative destruction, we think the sample set is large enough to determine lower estimates.” Rovell does note in the article that MSG stock is actually up more than 14% over the last three months.

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

Carmelo Anthony says that his new $124MM contract and superstar status can influence the Knicks’ winning ways only so much, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “I didn’t think it would be like this,’’ Anthony said. “I’m like, why? Time goes by so fast and one thing you realize, you can’t control winning. It’s out of your control. You can control what you do. You can control your work ethic and your mindset when it comes down to winning. Everything has to be synchronized from ownership all the way down to the staff. Everything has to be in sync.’’
Suns point guard Goran Dragic, who has a player option for next season of $7.5MM that he is likely to decline, would be a perfect fit for the Knicks and the triangle offense, Berman writes in a separate article. Any deal to acquire or sign Dragic would mean the Knicks would have to move Jose Calderon, who has two more years left on his contract after this season, Berman notes.
TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley believes that the Knicks’ theory that free agents will flock to New York because Phil Jackson is team president isn’t a sound one, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “This theory that [the Knicks] got all these expiring contracts, they got all this money, that people are going just be flocking to New York because of the great Phil Jackson, I think it’s a flawed theory,” Barkley said. “You got to admire and respect what Phil Jackson has accomplished but this notion that all these free agents are going to give up [money]? To think guys are going to turn down $30, $40, $50 million dollars to come to New York just because you got Phil Jackson, I just think that’s a flawed theory.”