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Amick On Knicks, Lowry, Rondo

December 26th, 2013 at 10:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

USA Today’s Sam Amick offered his New Year’s resolutions for a handful of teams who appear badly in need of help, touching base with issues currently encompassing the Knicks, Warriors, and Timberwolves. Aside from lamenting about the Eastern Conference’s shortage of winning records, Amick provides some fascinating tidbits on what’s been going on in New York, particularly with regard to their recent pursuit of Kyle Lowry and their reported interest in Rajon Rondo. Being that Amick’s discussion of Golden State and Minnesota is more-or-less tied to point differential and strength of schedule, we’ll focus on the Knicks-related topics from his piece, and you can find the highlights below:

  • New York would be wise to consolidate all their efforts and assets toward acquiring Rondo and not Lowry, especially if they’re willing to discuss trading their already limited supply of draft picks, suggests Amick.
  • According to a person with knowledge of the Raptors’ dealings, the Knicks had first raised the idea of sending a 2018 pick to Toronto during trade discussions for Lowry. Interestingly enough, it appears that GM Steve Mills was the one who ultimately vetoed this particular approach altogether, opting to remain patient for more worthwhile pursuits.
  • Regardless of how many times Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge insists that Rondo isn’t on the trading block, the belief from rival executives remains that the star point guard can be had for the right price. With two months and change left before the NBA’s trade deadline, it doesn’t look like the rumors of New York’s pursuit of Rondo will go away anytime soon, especially if Carmelo Anthony remains part of the Knicks’ plans. Even if Rondo becomes available, the Knicks face another hurdle of being one of many teams in line looking to make a pitch to the Celtics for his services.
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Odds & Ends: Tinsley, Pondexter, Kings, Mills

November 3rd, 2013 at 3:43pm CST by Charlie Adams

Here are a few notes from around the league as the NBA’s first week comes to a close:

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Knicks GM, Carmelo Agree Not To Talk Contract

October 30th, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks GM Steve Mills said he and Carmelo Anthony have agreed not to discuss a possible extension or Anthony’s upcoming early termination option, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It’s unclear whether the pact between Mills and Anthony covers the entire season, but it could mean Mills won’t even offer Anthony an extension when he becomes eligible in February, Berman writes.

“Carmelo and I, the first day of training camp, we both agreed we wouldn’t have any more conversations about his ability to opt out or us negotiating an extension,” the GM said. “I’ll stick to what I had agreed to and not talk about his contract status.”

It’s unlikely in any case that Anthony would sign an extension, as he did when he came to the Knicks from the Nuggets in an extend-and-trade deal at the 2011 trade deadline. The new CBA put in place later that year gives players like Anthony much greater incentive to hit free agency, as our Luke Adams explained when he detailed what Anthony could make in his next deal. Anthony has made it clear he wants to become a free agent, which he can do next summer, so the idea that he wouldn’t discuss an extension isn’t a surprise.

Still, it seems odd that Mills won’t at least be talking to Anthony about his plans for free agency, especially considering Mills’ ties to the Creative Artists Agency that represents Anthony. Part of the reason Mills was hired was to help keep Anthony in New York, Berman notes.

Anthony said today that he intends to try to recruit players to the Knicks this summer, a possible sign that he intends to stick around, as Berman surmises, so perhaps Mills and the Knicks are confident they can re-sign the star forward.

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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Anderson

October 24th, 2013 at 10:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

According to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, Knicks coach Mike Woodson plans to meet with GM Steve Mills and team brass either tonight or tomorrow to determine the five cuts he has to make before Monday’s deadline. In another piece, Braziller writes about how Carmelo Anthony took it upon himself to have a heart-to-heart talk with J.R. Smith about the importance of staying focused and keeping out of trouble moving forward.

You can find more of tonight’s links out of the Atlantic Division below:

  • Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston notes that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is “very proud” of Rajon Rondo‘s progress in rehab: “I think he’s working as hard as he can. I’ve been very proud of him of how he really wants to get out there and I think he wants to get out there, not for his own benefit, but he wants to really help the team. He sees how he’s missed and he just loves to play. He wants to get back for all the right reasons.”
  • Ainge also elaborated on why he wants to keep the team under the luxury tax: “Right now we’re barely under the luxury tax, so we really have no choice…If there are deals made later in the year, that would open up roster spots and open up to keep us under the tax. But we will stay under the tax this year. We have to. As we’re rebuilding, not just from a standpoint of the financial budget, but as a competitive advantage.”   
  • Yesterday, we heard that James Anderson was one player who had “all but wrapped up” a spot on the 76ers’ roster. Today, Tom Moore of The Intelligencer discusses how Anderson secured a spot in Philadelphia after establishing himself as a starter and the team’s top perimeter threat.
  • Former NBA executive and current NBA analyst Steve Kerr explains why he thinks the Knicks are the fifth-best team in the East (Justin Terranova of the New York Post).
  • Clippers coach Doc Rivers took time to defend current Nets Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from the criticism hurled at them by LeBron James last week, who insinuated that they had abandoned Boston: “Paul and Kevin were traded…They were traded. Paul was traded whether he wanted to be or not. Kevin was the only one who had to agree to be traded even though he had already been traded. He had to agree to the trade. That’s completely different…You could make more of a case for me leaving than Paul and Kevin” (Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News [hat tip to ESPN Radio in Miami]).
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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Carmelo, Fields

October 17th, 2013 at 9:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The New York Post’s Marc Berman (via Twitter) thinks it was a bad sign for C.J. Leslie’s chances of making the Knicks roster after the rookie forward didn’t receive any playing time during tonight’s pre-season game against the Wizards. On the other hand, Berman and Newsday’s Al Iannazzone both made note that Knicks head coach Mike Woodson was particularly pleased with training camp invites Toure Murry and Ike Diogu (Twitter links). It should be noted that Murry and Diogu are playing on non-guaranteed contracts, while Leslie has a partially-guaranteed deal.

Here are some more links to pass along out of the Atlantic Division:

  • ESPN New York’s Ian O’Connor writes that unless the Knicks are clearly the best option for a chance to win a ring, Carmelo Anthony would be foolish to not test the waters in free agency next summer. O’Connor argues that opting out would put pressure on GM Steve Mills to come up with a viable championship vision and abandon the idea of relying on J.R. Smith and Andrea Bargnani as the next best options on offense.
  • Raptors head coach Dwane Casey tells Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that he wants the second unit to be able to increase leads or hold serve when they enter the game, and added that Landry Fields‘ ability to knock down shots – in addition to the other intangibles he brings to the table – would be a huge plus for the team.
  • Casey also had this to say about training camp hopeful Julyan Stone: “He reminds me of a younger Nate McMillan with that long, lanky body that can defend. He showed that he can play,” 
  • Though ESPN had originally reported that Allen Iverson plans to officially announce his retirement before the 76ers host the Heat in their home opener, a team spokesperson could not confirm the report (Tom Moore of Bucks County Courier Times).
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Atlantic Notes: Mills, Knicks, Wallace

October 16th, 2013 at 8:16pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Atlantic Division.

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Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Evans, Celtics

October 14th, 2013 at 6:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks GM Steve Mills tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that one of the reasons the team hired him was because he believed the team should preserve its cap room for the summer of 2015 and focus on developing young players rather than pursue Glen Grunwald‘s strategy of inking aging veterans. Lowe cautions that waiting around for free agents to come calling in two years is a risky strategy, and advocates for the Knicks to gauge the trade market for Carmelo Anthony. Mills has nonetheless made it clear that keeping Anthony is a priority, so it’s unlikely he’ll heed the Grantland scribe’s advice. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • One of the deciding factors that led Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and OK his move to the Nets was Reggie Evans‘ continued presence in Brooklyn, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Evans initially appeared headed for Boston, but the final version of the deal included MarShon Brooks instead.
  • The Celtics expressed interest in bringing swingman Omar Reed to camp, as he recently told Bob Redd of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, but the team got in touch with Reed two days after he’d signed to play in Japan. The Celtics will nonetheless keep tabs on the 26-year-old who spent last season with Boston’s D-League affiliate, as Ridiculous Upside’s Keith Schlosser details.
  • Sixers coach Brett Brown says shooting guards Vander Blue and Khalif Wyatt could be in a head-to-head battle for a roster spot, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
  • Julyan Stone might be the favorite to win the final spot on the Raptors roster, but the competition between him, Chris Wright and Carlos Morais will be a tight one, observes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (All Twitter links).
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Knicks Links: Carmelo, Mills, Woodson, Smith

October 1st, 2013 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

There was no shortage of Knicks-related headlines yesterday, as the team officially announced multiple camp invitees and exercised Mike Woodson's 2014/15 option. We also rounded up a few notable quotes from new GM Steve Mills, and heard that Kobe Bryant may play a role in Carmelo Anthony's free agency. This morning, we have a few more tidbits left over from Media Day in New York, so let's check out those links….

  • Anthony's teammates may believe he's not going anywhere next summer, and Carmelo himself hasn't suggested he's looking to bolt in free agency, but the Knicks can't take any chances, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com, suggesting that the team needs to position itself to add more complementary pieces around its star.
  • With the Knicks selling their front office shake-up as a change in direction, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com came away from yesterday's presser wondering if (and how) Mills is more capable of keeping Anthony happy than Glen Grunwald would have been.
  • Mills suggested that his use of analytics was part of the reason he was hired by James Dolan to replace the more old-school Grunwald. Given the restrictive nature of the new CBA for taxpaying teams, it's crucial for the team to find value wherever it can, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Sulia).
  • The decision to pick up Woodson's option will ensure that it's not a lame-duck season for the Knicks head coach, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee he'll remain with the team for that 2014/15 season, as Berman writes in a piece for the Post.
  • J.R. Smith explained to reporters, including Al Iannazzone of Newsday, that putting off knee surgeries until after he had signed a new contract was a "family decision."

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Knicks Notes: Mills, Carmelo, Thomas

September 30th, 2013 at 3:51pm CST by Luke Adams

It was Media Day in New York today, and after a busy offseason for the Knicks, there was plenty to discuss. New general manager Steve Mills deflected questions about the timing of his hiring, or James Dolan's motive for that decision or any others, but he, coach Mike Woodson, and several Knicks players still delivered a few quotes of note. Here are the highlights, via a collection of Knicks beat writers (links go to Twitter unless otherwise indicated):

  • Asked about Carmelo Anthony's future, Mills stressed that the team has no plans to let him get away next summer: "We’ve made it clear that we have every intention of making Carmelo a Knick for a long time to come."
  • For his part, Anthony declined to talk extensively about his contract situation, telling reporters that he'll deal with it when the time comes. However, teammates Kenyon Martin and Raymond Felton both indicated that they couldn't imagine Carmelo leaving New York.
  • Mills made it sounds as if Dolan was interested in completely overhauling the basketball operations department, according to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. The GM also confirmed that he's considering adding someone to work beneath him, potentially an internal candidate.
  • Prior to accepting the Knicks' GM position, Mills was considering becoming the NBPA's executive director or the athletic director at Princeton, but felt like the New York job was a perfect fit. It's not clear whether Mills had been offered either of those other positions, or whether he was simply in the running.
  • Mills, who originally hired Isiah Thomas for the Knicks back in 2003, said that Thomas wouldn't be returning to the franchise (link via RealGM.com).

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Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Kidd, Sixers, Knicks

September 28th, 2013 at 8:50pm CST by Spencer Lund

Despite the Knicks having their best year since the 1990s, their coach, Mike Woodson, is on the hot seat, writes ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan [subscription only]. Elhassan goes through five coaches entering the 2013/14 campaign on the hot seat, where their team's success could determine whether they're brought back for the 2014/15 season.

The other four coaches mentioned include Mike D'Antoni of the Lakers, Monty Williams of the Pelicans, Tyrone Corbin of the Jazz, and Randy Wittman of the Wizards. 

Conversely, when Roderick Boone of Newsday spoke with new Nets coach Jason Kidd, the new face in Brooklyn told him there was "exciting nervousness" as the team entered training camp. It will be the first training camp for Kidd as a head coach and the first training camp he hasn't begun as a player since the summer before he entered the league in 1994.  

Kidd went on to explain to Roderick why he's lucky to start as the coach with the veteran-laden Nets:

"The nice thing about this opportunity with this team is guys being able to sacrifice," Kidd told Boone, "and that's another thing with these guys. Maybe sacrifice a shot or two. Maybe even some of the younger guys will say, 'Yeah, I don't mind not playing the fourth quarter,' and that's sacrifice. It's less minutes and less shots and it gets us a win."

Here's more from around the top-heavy Atlantic division…

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