Phil Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Yabusele, Triangle Offense

March 11th, 2017 at 9:09am CST by Austin Kent

Confirmed out for the season earlier this month, the next step in the recovery process for Sixers rookie Joel Embiid is figuring out what approach to take with regard to his torn meniscus. Embiid and the organization took the club’s west coast road trip as a chance to discuss surgery options with Los Angeles doctors, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

“We are trying to study his path and go about it meticulously,” head coach Brett Brown sqaid, adding that they’re actively trying to keep him a part of the Sixers team even though he may not be suiting up.

As Pompey writes, there are three major types of surgeries for a torn meniscus and the Sixers now face the challenge of finding an option that works best for Embiid. “He’s got an inner circle around him that’s helping guide him. We are just taking all the information in. Ultimately, he’s the one that has to feel comfortable with it,” added Brown.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Fresh off a dominant season with the Chinese Basketball Association, Celtics 2016 first-round pick Guerschon Yabusele – who profiles as a super mobile, 270-pound force of nature – could be making his way to the D-League to play with Boston’s affiliate in Maine, says Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.
Eager to employ the triangle offense, Knicks president Phil Jackson took to the court to teach the system himself. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the 71-year-old Jackson ran a session breaking down the offense for guards on the roster.
Unheralded Sixers forward Robert Covington has made a case to be included on ballots for the NBA’s all-defensive teams, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Covington currently leads the league in deflections and sits tied for fourth in steals per game.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Jackson, Rose, Porzingis

March 1st, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony wants another face-to-face meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson after the season, according to Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Anthony is seeking clarity on his future in New York after the team reportedly discussed trading him to the Celtics, Cavaliers or Clippers before last week’s deadline. Any of those deals would have required Anthony to waive his no-trade clause.

Anthony wants to address the rest of this season before discussing his next move. “I don’t think right now,” he said. “Right now we’ve got to sit down and kind of finish these games and go back down to the drawing board after this season.”

There’s more news out of New York:

Anthony wasn’t notified before Brandon Jennings was waived on Monday, but said he understands not being part of every personnel decision, Kerber relays in the same piece. Jennings had requested the move and agreed to a buyout so he could join a contender. He signed with the Wizards earlier today. “As players we don’t really know what happens behind closed doors unless they bring it to us,” Anthony said. “That wasn’t something that they brought to us.”
Derrick Rose‘s desire to play for a winner will affect his decisions in free agency this summer, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rose plans to address that topic with Knicks management during his exit meeting. “We had extremely high expectations for this team,” Rose said. “The reality is, I can’t get mad at it. If anything it’s a learning experience. I have to learn from it.’’ Rose can sign an extension with New York before the start of free agency July 1st, but the team has been disappointed with his performance since last summer’s trade with Chicago and may not want to make a long-term commitment.
Coach Jeff Hornacek has incorporated Jackson’s triangle offense more frequently as the season wears on, and big man Kristaps Porzingis believes that’s the right approach, Berman writes in a separate story. “We should’ve been playing it from the beginning of the season,’’ Porzingis said. “We’re a little behind. I don’t know when we can finally start using it properly and making an impact.”

Knicks Notes: Rose, Jennings, Randle, Ndour

February 27th, 2017 at 6:39pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Knicks appear to be done with buyouts after parting ways with Brandon Jennings today. While there was some speculation about Derrick Rose being cut by the club, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN suggests the Knicks probably won’t complete any more buyouts unless “a player they like becomes available.” (Twitter link)

Despite Jeff Hornacek‘s words to the contrary, the Knicks appear to be in full-on tank mode at this point. Sporting a 24-35 record, the Knicks are four games behind Detroit for the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Rose, Porzingis, Jackson

February 24th, 2017 at 4:45pm CST by Milo Taibi

Carmelo Anthony is unsure of the Knicks‘ direction after standing pat at the trade deadline. “I think they were kind of planning on the trade deadline, whether they were trying to make moves,” Anthony said. “I think that was one plan. Now they’ve got to get back to the drawing board and come up with another plan about the future of this team.”

Anthony’s frustration is understandable. Team president Phil Jackson extensively discussed the prospect of shopping Anthony, despite ‘Melo’s no-trade clause. While Anthony wasn’t mentioned in trade rumors throughout the deadline, the team was apparently rebuffed by Minnesota on a Ricky Rubio-for-Derrick Rose swap. Anthony claimed he “kind of knew” he wouldn’t be dealt in the days leading up to the deadline, and spoke for his teammates in criticizing the front office’s lack of transparency.

“Yeah, I mean, nobody likes to be in limbo,” Anthony said. “We all want to know kind of what’s going on, especially when it’s involving you. I think there’s other players who feel the same way, that they want to be involved — not involved, but at least up to date with what’s going on.”

Atlantic Notes: Ibaka, Raptors, Knicks

February 19th, 2017 at 8:53pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Raptors return from the All-Star Break they won’t have long to incorporate newly acquired Serge Ibaka into their lineup. Team leaders DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are well aware of the fact that they’ll have to hit the ground running, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

“With a veteran like Serge who understands fitting in and everything about the league, I don’t think it should take long,” Raptors guard DeRozan said. “It’s on us to hop out the gate and take advantage. […] It’s given us a jolt.”

The Raptors currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-24 record but a recent slide has pushed the club out of the No. 2 spot that they occupied for the first few months of the season. The decision to ship core guard Terrence Ross to the Magic in exchange for Ibaka raises the stakes for the franchise.

“We ain’t got time. You know that,” Lowry said. The Raptors return to action Friday.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the Raptors are seriously pursuing a swingman now that they’ve acquired Ibaka.
The 2016/17 campaign has been a rough one for the Knicks but Marc Berman of the New York Post has quantified it anyway in a midseason report card. Receiving the best grade of the first half of the season is Willy Hernangomez, while Phil Jackson was graded ‘F’.
Top free agents are unlikely to consider the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday, citing Kyle Lowry as one such example. Lowry is aware of the drama between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony and Iannazzone suggests that could be a deterrent.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Okafor, Atkinson, Ibaka, Porzingis

February 19th, 2017 at 2:19pm CST by Milo Taibi

Knicks legend Willis Reed had an interesting take on the team’s leadership woes. The Hall of Famer suggested Phil Jackson take the helm as head coach, replacing Jeff Hornacek.

“Unfortunately for us as Knicks fans, if Phil Jackson had been coaching all year, we would’ve won more games,’’ Reed told Marc Berman of The New York Post. “His toughness and ability to make guys concentrate, that’s what I loved about him as a coach. He got guys to play harder and smarter…He’s got a history with Kobe, Jordan and Shaquille and made them champions.”

Reed was critical of Jackson’s inability to find a suitable head coach during his run as Knicks president, citing Mike Woodson, Derek Fisher, Kurt Rambis, and Hornacek as disappointments. Jackson’s most recent season as a head coach came with the Lakers in 2010/11, in which L.A. finished with a 57-25 record.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Hernangomez, Noah, Oakley, Dolan

February 13th, 2017 at 6:31pm CST by Milo Taibi

Bobby Marks of The Vertical covered the Knicks in his trade deadline preview series. The Knicks, Marks writes, are a big market team dealing with adversity (to put it lightly). Marks explains the ways in which the Knicks have limited assets on paper; both Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings are on expiring contracts, and Courtney Lee will gain trade value over the summer, due to a weak shooting guard free agent class. Joakim Noah‘s expensive, long-term deal won’t attract suitors, and the team’s younger assets- Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez– aren’t thought to be available.

Trading Carmelo Anthony will be a “serious challenge” for the Knicks front office, who need to decide whether Anthony’s value would grow over the offseason. Marks put together a hypothetical trade that would work financially for all parties, in which Anthony would be dealt to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and Wesley Johnson. Of course, any deal involving Anthony would require the nine-time All-Star waiving his no-trade clause.

And-Ones: Christmas, Calderon, Fultz, Parker, Dolan

February 10th, 2017 at 8:35pm CST by Milo Taibi

A right Achilles tendon rupture has brought an end to Dionte Christmas‘ season, Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com reports. It’s an unfortunate development for the 30-year-old, as Christmas had averaged 14.9 points with 3.2 assists in 31 games with the Delaware 87ers. Delaware’s GM, Brandon Williams, lauded Christmas’ efforts in a team statement:

“[Christmas] has been a consummate professional, positive influence on the development of our young roster, and vital to our energy and drive. We will certainly miss his leadership on the court, but are inspired by his confidence as he attacks the next steps on the road to recovery.”

Knicks Ban Charles Oakley, Won’t Opt Out Of Phil Jackson’s Contract

February 10th, 2017 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the incident at Madison Square Garden earlier this week, the Knicks have banned Charles Oakley from attending games at the arena, team owner James Dolan said today. Michael Kay first reported word of the ban (Twitter link), with Dolan confirming it in an appearance on Kay’s show this afternoon.

According to Dolan, it won’t necessarily be a “lifetime ban” for Oakley (Twitter link via Marc Berman of The New York Post). However, while the Knicks owner is concerned about fan backlash, he says his priority is maintaining a safe environment, adding that Oakley was abusive and vulgar and came to the Garden on Wednesday with an agenda (Twitter links via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).

Since Wednesday’s incident, the Knicks have issued multiple statements explaining why Oakley was ejected from the stadium and arrested. The team also shot down Oakley’s account, in which the former NBA big man insisted that he wasn’t the instigator in the situation. The Knicks continued the PR assault on Oakley today, publicly releasing more than a dozen first-hand statements from MSG staff on the incident (Twitter links via Ryan Field of WABC).

At Hoops Rumors, we typically focus on stories that relate to trades, free agency, and other forms of roster moves and player movement. So what does this story have to do with that? Well, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets, the Knicks are becoming a “toxic” destination for free agents based on this incident and Phil Jackson‘s behavior toward Carmelo Anthony. According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post (Twitter link), the Knicks have “enraged” people around the league in the last 48 hours with their handling of the Oakley situation.

Dolan may have intended to explain his side of the story with today’s radio appearance, but he only made matters worse when he told Kay that Oakley has anger problems and that he “may have a problem with alcohol, we don’t know” (Twitter link via Bontemps). With Dolan making unfounded claims about a former Knicks star and Jackson repeatedly criticizing a current Knicks star, it’s hard to imagine many players around the NBA viewing the team as an appealing franchise to join.

The Knicks owner also said today that he won’t meddle in basketball decisions and that he doesn’t intend to exercise the club’s 2017 opt-out on Jackson’s contract (Twitter link via Bontemps). So barring a surprise, the duo doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Knicks Notes: Carmelo, Jackson, Oakley

February 9th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A Wednesday report from The Vertical suggested that Phil Jackson‘s apparent efforts to push Carmelo Anthony out of New York have only strengthened the forward’s resolve to stay with the Knicks, and Marc Berman of The New York Post has heard something similar. According to Berman’s source, Anthony has told confidants that he may try to wait out Jackson, who isn’t necessarily assured of a long-term stay with the team. While Anthony has no desire to leave New York, Jackson has an opt-out clause on his contract later this year.

“He still feels it’s his team and still loves it here,” Berman’s source said of Anthony.

It’s been a busy and eventful week in New York, so let’s round up a few more Knicks-related notes:

One veteran NBA executive tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that if the Knicks want Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, the best approach may be to start trading other veterans on the team, since Carmelo has said he’s more committed to his teammates than the front office. That same executive also wondered why the team is devaluing Anthony by making the standoff between the two sides so public.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated identifies five potential landing spots for Anthony if he decides to waive his NTC. In addition to usual suspects like the Clippers and Celtics, Spears names the Wizards, Raptors, and Hawks. However, Spears hears from a source that Atlanta doesn’t appear interested in making a major move before the deadline.
After being arrested at the Knicks game on Wednesday night, former NBA forward Charles Oakley told his side of the story, claiming in an interview that he was simply trying to watch the game when he was told he’d have to leave (link via Justin Terranova of The New York Post). After Oakley denied the team’s assertion that he was the instigator in the situation, the Knicks issued a second statement on the matter (via Twitter), calling Oakley’s account “pure fiction.”
“There are dozens of security staff, employees, and NYPD that witnessed Oakley’s abusive behavior,” the Knicks said in their statement this afternoon. Even if that’s accurate, it’s not a great look for the club to continue attacking one of its most beloved former players, and it may further discourage free agents from joining the franchise, as Reggie Miller tweets. We noted on Thursday that agents believe Jackson’s behavior will sour future free agents on the idea of joining the Knicks.
In the wake of this week’s incidents, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes that the Knicks’ circus continues to find new ways to surprise and amaze.