- Grimes defended the work ethic of teammate Julius Randle, who battled ankle issues throughout the playoffs, Begley adds. Randle continued to play after aggravating a late-season injury to his left ankle in the series against Cleveland. “It just really shows you that nobody should ever be questioning his toughness, how much he wants it, how much he cares about the team, how much he cares about winning,” Grimes said. “… He cares a lot about this team. He does everything he can possibly (do) to make sure his body is right, to make sure he’s in the best shape possible to make sure he can give it all.”
- Grimes told Ethan Sears of The New York Post that he’s excited to have Donte DiVincenzo on the team, even though the free agent addition might cut into his playing time. Sears suggests they might have a training camp battle for a starting wing role. “I think everything you do is competition,” Grimes said. “You wanna have the best players out there every day to make us better. Competing against him, Josh (Hart), Jalen (Brunson), (Immanuel Quickley) is gonna make everybody better, really.”
- In addition to giving the Knicks more shooting, Brunson believes DiVincenzo will bring an “edge” to the team in whatever role he plays (Twitter link from Knicks Videos).
There’s optimism surrounding the Knicks’ extension talks with Immanuel Quickley, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. The 24-year-old guard is eligible to sign an extension until October 23, which is the day before the regular season begins. If no deal is reached, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Sources tell Katz that Knicks management wants to get a long-term deal done with Quickley, who was one of the team’s top scorers at 14.9 PPG last season while finishing second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. He’s viewed as a vital part of an organization that’s on the rise after reaching the second round of the playoffs.
New York doesn’t project to have cap room next summer, Katz adds, so an extension for Quickley won’t affect the team’s free agency plans. Coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to lose faith in Quickley during the playoffs, cutting his minutes during the second-round series with Miami, but Katz doesn’t believe that will be a long-term concern.
Katz also points out that the Knicks were in a similar position last summer with RJ Barrett, who had to wait until September before receiving his four-year, $107MM extension.
There’s more from New York, all courtesy of Katz:
- Barrett will arrive in training camp in a much different position than he did a year ago. Katz notes that Barrett was concerned with avoiding injury last summer while he waited for his new contract, so he didn’t play much pickup basketball and got off to a slow start. He spent this offseason as one of Canada’s best players on its way to winning a bronze medal at the World Cup. Katz observes that Barrett showed an ability in that tournament to make the right read when confronted by multiple defenders, which might happen often given the Knicks’ lack of outside shooting.
- The Knicks and Evan Fournier appear stuck with each other even though he said in an offseason interview that it would be a “disaster” if the team didn’t move him this summer. Fournier’s $18.9MM expiring contract could still be valuable in a trade, so Katz expects him to remain on the roster even if he hardly ever plays.
- New York traded away Obi Toppin, who averaged 15.7 minutes per game last season, and brought in Donte DiVincenzo, who played 26.3 minutes per game with the Warriors, so someone will have their playing time reduced as long as everyone is healthy. Katz points out that Barrett and Quentin Grimes both saw fewer minutes after Josh Hart was acquired in February and speculates that either DiVincenzo could play less than he did with Golden State or he may take away minutes from Quickley.