Tim Hardaway Jr.

Latest On Kyle Lowry

8:36pm: According to Wojnarowski, Knicks owner James Dolan is sensitive to the public perception that GM Masai Ujiri “bamboozled” him in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and the chance of getting criticized for giving up too much in a deal for Lowry has become a hurdle in these talks. Toronto is said to be discussing deals for Lowry with an ever-growing list of teams.

Wojnarwoski adds that New York doesn’t want to include either Shumpert or Hardaway Jr. in discussions (they reportedly refused a proposal involving the former along with Felton), and without Shumpert or a draft pick going to Toronto, there isn’t any traction to a deal. Also, the Knicks are believed to still be hesitant about trading a future first round draft choice to the Raptors, and there seems to be doubt over how long they’ll keep that option on the table.

As for the Nets’ interest, Wojnarowski says the team isn’t willing to include either a 2020 first-round pick or one of its young players – including Mason Plumlee – in a trade package.

4:03pm: Toronto is insisting on a first-rounder from the Knicks in part because taking on Felton would leave the Raptors with more long-term money, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Felton’s deal runs through 2015/16, which is a player option year, while Lowry is on an expiring contract. The Knicks would like to save Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. for another deal, Stein adds (Twitter links). The Raptors are seeking two out of three assets from the Knicks: Shumpert, Hardaway, or a first-rounder, Stein tweets.

3:46pm: The Knicks are refusing to give up a first-round pick, and that’s gumming up the talks between the two teams, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.

3:24pm: The Nets represent the strongest competition to the Knicks for Kyle Lowry among an “ever-growing list of teams” going after the Raptors point guard, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. New York’s latest offer includes Metta World Peace and a 2018 first-round draft pick to go with Raymond Felton, according to Wojnarowski, who indicates that the Knicks are wavering on their willingness to include the pick.

The Raptors are reportedly asking for a quality young player or a first-round pick, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says the price could be too high for Brooklyn’s tastes (Twitter link). Still, Brooklyn’s interest is legitimate, Mannix writes, and Wojnarowski hears the Raptors are investigating Bojan Bogdanovic, a former second-round pick whose rights the Nets hold.

Lowry is apparently interested in heading to New York, and Wojnarowski says he’s spent most of the season hoping for a trade out of Toronto. The Warriors are another team with interest in Lowry, but the odds that the Warriors land him are “very very slim,” according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, who doesn’t think Golden State has much to offer the Raptors (Twitter links). Lowry has fans in the Timberwolves front office, but the team doesn’t have enough assets or financial flexibility, and isn’t in the mix for the point guard, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).

The Knicks can’t trade World Peace until Sunday, since he signed a contract this past offseason. The Raptors would probably buy him out of his two-year, approximately $3.5MM deal if they traded for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

Raptors, Knicks Working On Kyle Lowry Trade

2:47pm: The Raptors are sticking to their asking price of a quality young player or a first-round pick in return for Lowry, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com, tweeting that negotiations could take a while. Lowry has plenty of interest in playing for the Knicks, but Felton’s injury doesn’t help the chances of the Knicks landing Toronto’s point guard, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post, who says several teams including the Raptors have inquired about Hardaway.

1:56pm: The chances that Shumpert is part the deal are slim, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who says the Raptors aren’t high on him and the Knicks prefer to keep him for now (on Twitter).

1:39pm: Shumpert’s name has come up in discussions between the Raptors and Knicks, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. In his piece on rumors around the league, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report wrote that Shumpert, along with Felton, would “most likely” be part of a deal for Lowry.

1:04pm: Isola can’t envision Hardaway being part of the deal, citing owner James Dolan’s affection for the rookie (Twitter link).

12:53pm: The Nets and Warriors are also interested in Lowry, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, while Stein says the Knicks may be forced to put Tim Hardaway Jr. into the deal (Twitter links).

12:47pm: The Raptors are trying to elicit more offers for Lowry, and that’s why they’re leaking the news of their talks with the Knicks, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

12:38pm: Kyle Lowry has been mentioned prominently among Raptors who could be on the move as GM Masai Ujiri aggressively reshapes the team, and he’s at the center of trade talks between Toronto and the Knicks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The trade would likely feature Raymond Felton and at least one other Knick heading north of the border unless a third team jumps in, Stein also notes (on Twitter).

The Knicks had interest in trading with the Nuggets for Andre Miller, but they’ve shifted their focus to Lowry, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Raptors are looking for a first-round pick in the deal, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck notes (via Twitter), but the earliest first-rounder the Knicks can deal away is their 2018 pick.

Lowry is among nine Raptors with an expiring contract, as I examined earlier today, and his $6.21MM salary might make him an attractive target for teams looking for a starting point guard. The Knicks will miss Felton for the next two to three weeks as he recovers from a strained hamstring, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone tweets. While that’s certainly not a long-term absence, New York may feel as though a quick fix is necessary to avoid falling further behind in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are 6-15, but that’s just two and a half games out of a playoff spot, given the struggles of so many Eastern teams this year.

The teams hooked up on the Andrea Bargnani trade over the summer, though that happened while former Knicks GM Glen Grunwald was still in charge in New York. New Knicks GM Steve Mills has yet to make a major move since taking over shortly before the season.

A one-for-one swap of Lowry and Felton, who’s making about $3.6MM, wouldn’t work under salary-matching rules. The Knicks would have to include about $1.5MM more in outgoing salary. They could accomplish that by throwing Iman Shumpert into the deal, and while Shumpert has been at the centerpiece of most of the trade chatter involving the Knicks this year, it’s not clear whether he’s a part of these talks.

East Notes: Bargnani, Cavs, Heat, Antetokounmpo

Let’s round up all of the links coming out of the Eastern Conference on Thursday night:

Knicks Notes: Udrih, Brown, Hardaway Jr.

A few notes on the Knicks, a team still in pursuit of more players and finding roles for those already under contract.

  • ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling tweets that Bobby Brown's workout with the team went well, but no offer has been made, and free agent point guard Beno Udrih is still a priority.
  • The New York Post's Marc Berman reiterates Zwerling's report, tweeting the "Knicks may get their man," with regards to Udrih.
  • Berman also tweeted that Andrea Bargnani's preference of socializing with European/foreign players could have an impact on the team's decision to sign Udrih. 
  • Rookie guard Tim Hardaway Jr. says he will be completely healthy in time for the start of training camp, reports ESPNNY.com's Ian Begley. Hardaway Jr. also believes he can fill in for the injured reigning Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith.

Knicks Sign Tim Hardaway Jr., C.J. Leslie

6:47pm: Deeks corrects his earlier report, and confirms that Leslie's deal isn't fully guaranteed (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 6:01pm: Leslie's two-year deal is fully guaranteed for both seasons, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports, contradicting earlier word that the pact only included a partial guarantee.

MONDAY, 2:37pm: The Knicks have officially announced Hardaway's signing and also formally announced the signing of undrafted free agent C.J. Leslie (Twitter links). We had initially heard a day after the draft that the Knicks had agreed to sign Leslie, who will be in line for the rookie minimum. He'll also have a partial guarantee on his deal, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.

2:05pm: The Knicks have reached a contract agreement with first-round pick Tim Hardaway Jr., agent Mark Bartelstein tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).

Hardaway was the 24th overall pick in last month's draft, meaning he was the first of this year's draftees with a rookie-scale amount below $1MM. Still, as our chart of rookie salaries shows, Hardaway will earn 120% of that $997,300 cap hold, good for a first-year salary worth close to $1.2MM.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Pelicans, Draft, Burke

The latest draft rumors out of the Southwest Division..

  • Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter) hears that point guard Trey Burke was very close to a promise from the Pelicans at No. 6.  Hoops Rumors' most recent mock draft has the Michigan product going No. 8 to the Pistons.
  • Among the players believed to have piqued the Spurs' interest are Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan, Michigan guard Tim Hardaway Jr., North Carolina small forward Reggie Bullock, and Louisville center Gorgui Dieng, notes Jeff McDonald of the Express News.
  • Virginia Tech's Erick Green made a second trip into San Antonio to workout recently for the Spurs, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).  Wojnarowski notes that Green, a 6'4" guard, is one of the draft's better scorers.

Atlantic Rumors: Pierce, Raptors, Knicks, Draft

The Celtics have been embroiled in negotiations with the Clippers over Doc Rivers in a stop-and-start drama that was the league's primary storyline this week, outside of the Finals. With the draft and free agency approaching, plenty of other headlines figure to emerge, and we've got the latest on potential moves involving a few Atlantic Division clubs here:

  • Teams around the league have better than average interest in trading for Paul Pierce, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Pierce's $15.3MM contract for next season is only guaranteed for $5MM if he's waived on or before next Sunday.
  • The Raptors are trying to acquire a pick in this year's draft, but they don't have much cash available to use in a trade for one. The Raptors sent $3MM to the Grizzlies as part of the Rudy Gay trade, and that leaves them just $100K under the NBA's annual limit for sending out cash as part of swaps, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links). GM Masai Ujiri and company could get creative and prearrange a deal for a pick involving cash that wouldn't become official until July, when the league calendar flips over and teams have another $3.2MM to spend in trades, Deeks notes.
  • The Knicks feel they need another scorer on the perimeter, preferably one who can play small forward, and they'll target that need in the draft and go after a big man in free agency, as Marc Berman of the New York Post hears. They're considering swingmen Tim Hardaway Jr., Allen Crabbe, Reggie Bullock and Tony Snell with the 24th overall pick.
  • If the Knicks take a point guard with the pick, they'll look for a playmaker rather than a scorer, and they have interest in Nate Wolters, according to Berman.

Draft Workout Updates: Friday

With just six days left until the 2013 draft, NBA teams continue to bring in prospects to work them out and gather as much information as they can. Here are the latest updates on workouts taking place today, over the weekend, and early next week:

  • Allen Crabbe will work out Tuesday with the Bucks and Wednesday for the Nets, reports Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com. Crabbe, widely projected as a late first-rounder at best, made it a priority to visit the Bucks, who have the No. 15 pick (Twitter links).
  • Mason Plumlee wasn't on the list the Pistons released of players with whom the team has met, but he was scheduled to work out for Detroit on Friday, according to MLive's David Mayo.
  • We heard about Vander Blue's workout with the Bucks today (below), and Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel notes that Blue has also auditioned for the Mavs, Spurs, Hawks, Sixers, Pistons and Magic, with another workout on tap for Monday with the Grizzlies.

Earlier updates:

  • Anthony Bennett will visit the Bobcats on Saturday, though his injured rotator cuff will prevent him from working out, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
  • Pelicans GM Dell Demps traveled Friday to get a close look at Victor Oladipo, sources confirmed to John Reid of The Times Picayune.
  • Keith Langlois of Pistons.com passed along a list of players who met with the Pistons this past week: Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. McCollum, Cody Zeller, Derrick Nix, Dexter Strickland, Augusto Cesar Lima, Jared Berggren, Kenny Boynton and Karron Johnson (All Twitter links).
  • The Kings updated the workout schedule on their website, which shows Shabazz MuhammadDoug Anderson, A.J. Davis, John Dickson, Mfon Udofia and Kwame Vaughn coming in Saturday. McCollum will be in for a workout on Monday, Cowbell Kingdom's James Ham tweets.
  • Today's workout for the Timberwolves is expected to be the last one for the team, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, adding that Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Colton Iverson, and Christian Watford were in attendance.
  • Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution passes along a couple tweets from Gorgui Dieng, surmising that the big man appears to be in Atlanta for a workout with the Hawks.
  • The Suns' workout today is headlined by Glen Rice Jr., according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, who has the full list of participants in a pair of tweets.
  • Vander Blue, Grant Jerrett, Brock Motum, Dejan Musli, Nemanja Nedovic, and Andrew Smith are working out for the Bucks today, according to the team's PR Twitter feed.
  • Tim Hardaway Jr. and Erick Green will be among the prospects working out for the Nets on Monday, the team announced in a press release.
  • Hardaway Jr. was also among the prospects who worked out for the Clippers today, along with Tony Snell, Ricky Ledo, and Reggie Bullock (link via Eric Patten of Clippers.com).
  • The Pacers announced today that they'll work out a a handful of prospects tomorrow: Matt Dellavedova, Angel Sharpless, Jamaal Franklin, Zeke Marshall, and Jeff Withey.

Odds & Ends: Hawks, Iguodala, Pistons, Gallinari

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com doesn't think the Hawks will have much trouble if they want to trade Lou Williams to free up more cap space in the pursuit of two max free agents this summer. He also believes the team wouldn't hesitate to pull off other moves necessary to clear room (Twitter links). If the Hawks renounce all their cap holds and keep their pair of first-round picks, they'd be about $1.9MM shy of the cap space necessary to sign Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, providing next season's salary cap checks in at the projected $58.5MM. The Hawks might not be at the top of likely destinations for the rumored D12-CP3 pairing, but it appears that won't stop them from trying. With half a month to go until teams and free agents can start lining up agreements, here's more from around the Association:

  • Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who broke the news that Andre Iguodala will opt out and become a free agent, listed Detroit as a likely suitor, and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press echoes that sentiment, writing that the Pistons like the veteran small forward.
  • Nuggets president Josh Kroenke cited Danilo Gallinari's lengthy recovery from a torn ACL when he explained the team's decision to let go of George Karl, but now it appears Gallinari could be back in December, not February, as Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports.
  • Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman makes a compelling case that the Thunder should trade the 12th pick in the draft to the Hawks for the 17th and 18th selections. Part of the financial side of the argument is based on Mayberry's expectation that OKC won't re-sign Kevin Martin and won't look to replace him via free agency.
  • Mark Singelais of the Albany Times Union profiles Siena forward O.D. Anosike, a second-round hopeful who joined Tim Hardaway Jr., Glen Rice Jr., Jackie Carmichael and others in a group workout Thursday for the Celtics
  • MLive's David Mayo passes along a list of players who worked out for the Pistons this week: Andre Roberson, Robert Covington, James Southerland, Adonis Thomas, Mareks Mejeris, A'uston Calhoun, Nick Minnerath and Kwame Vaughn.
  • Small-market owners may have been the prime movers behind the latest CBA, but they're still hamstrung by unbalanced local TV revenues. That could lead to another work stoppage and watered-down rosters across the league, ESPN's J.A. Adande argues.

Draft Updates: Jaiteh, 76ers, Bobcats, Workouts

As June 27th inches closer, here are today's draft-related items:

  • Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer relays a report (via the News Herald) which confirms that Anthony Bennett will visit the Cavaliers on Monday. The 6'8 forward will not work out for the club, as he is still recovering from rotator cuff surgery. 
  • The Timberwolves are expected to host Shabazz Muhammad and Archie Goodwin for workouts on Sunday, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. 

Earlier updates:

  • With the deadline for international prospects to withdraw from the draft coming on Monday, Mouhammadou Jaiteh is considering pulling his name out, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Kennedy says a decision is expected to come by Saturday for Jaiteh, who will only stay in if he'll be a first-round pick.
  • Kennedy adds within the same piece that the 76ers are one of several teams looking to acquire a pick late in the first round.
  • ESPN.com's David Thorpe (Insider link) believes Anthony Bennett would be an ideal fit for the Bobcats.
  • Although his stock has taken a hit lately, Shabazz Muhammad still has a chance to be drafted in the top 10, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
  • The Pelicans will get their workouts underway on Friday, and Michael Carter-Williams is expected to be in attendance, tweets John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  • Chris Babb, Tim Hardaway Jr., Solomon Hill, Tony Mitchell, Andrew Smith, and Axel Toupane will work out for the Pacers on Friday, the team announced today.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that Ben McLemore is working out for the Magic, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
  • The Lakers worked out the following prospects today, according to the team's official Twitter account: Kenny Kadji, Peyton Siva, Brandon Triche, Dewaye Dedmon, C.J. Harris, and B.J. Young.
  • The Wizards announced their Friday workout participants, while the Bucks (Twitter link) announced the players who worked out for them today. Both groups consist primarily of second-round prospects, with the exception of Otto Porter in Washington.