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Tony Wroten

Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Wroten, Larranaga, Clarke

March 29th, 2016 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Sixers GM Sam Hinkie is neither wonderful nor terrible, and the team would be unwise to cut ties with him completely in the wake of the marginalization of his role, opines Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News. His autonomy is gone in the wake of the team’s hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations, but Hinkie, through his collection of draft assets and other promising young talent, is an asset himself, Hayes argues. Hinkie has said he isn’t worried about his job security, even though the Sixers are reportedly considering a move that would further reduce his role.

See more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Tony Wroten‘s minimum-salary pact with the Knicks is non-guaranteed for next season, but a $25K partial guarantee kicks in if he’s still under contract at the end of October 1st, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That partial guarantee would increase to $125K if he sticks through opening night and jump to $345K if he makes it through December 15th, Pincus also shows.
  • Georgia Tech has reached out to Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga about the school’s head coaching job, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The well-respected Larranaga interviewed for the Sixers job three years ago and has drawn mention as a potential candidate for other NBA openings since. Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reported last year that Larranaga wouldn’t leave the Celtics for a college job, but it’s unclear if that’s still his stance.
  • Coty Clarke has returned to the D-League affiliate of the Celtics following the expiration of his second 10-day contract with Boston’s NBA club, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link).
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Knicks Notes: Afflalo, Calderon, Thibodeau

March 25th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks’ decision to shift shooting guard Arron Afflalo to a reserve role was not a punitive one, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “This is not a punishment,” Rambis said of Afflalo’s demotion. “It’s more his natural position. All players want to start — I get that. I’m sure he’d rather be starting.” The team could be sending the veteran a message that if he chooses to exercise his player option for 2016/17, he will continue to come off the bench, Berman notes. The scribe also speculates that the team could be trying to reduce Afflalo’s market value as a free agent, thus making it easier to re-sign him.

Here’s more from New York:

  • The Knicks are thinking about using the stretch provision to part ways with Jose Calderon this summer, and the chances of that occurring would be greatly increased if Tony Wroten shows promise in summer league play as he makes his way back from ACL surgery, Berman notes in the same piece. Waiving Calderon would allow the team to open approximately $5MM in extra cap space for this summer.
  • Rookie Jerian Grant has replaced Langston Galloway as the first playmaker off the bench and has been working hard in practice to improve upon his woeful 19.7% shooting from three-point range, Berman adds. “[Grant] has been working on the shot all year,” Rambis said. “He knew it was something he had to work on to keep defenses honest. Hand placement. His balance. Just for younger players to learn to shoot from the NBA 3-point line. It’s different than college. He’s working hard on it. He knows it’s part of the game he has to get better.” The Post scribe also relays that the Knicks now view Galloway strictly as a shooting guard and believe that their efforts to convert him into a point guard have failed.
  • A number of Tom Thibodeau‘s former players on the Bulls have noted the coach’s affinity for New York, and while they stopped short of saying the Knicks are his preferred destination, their comments seem to indicate that he would jump at the chance to coach the team, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “That’s all we talked about is the New York atmosphere and how he’s had tough-minded New York teams,” Taj Gibson told Bondy. “And that’s something we talked about all the time and that’s what we tried to incorporate the last couple of years. All-around, he’s a good guy. Almost every day we talked about his time in New York. We talked about them battles the Knicks used to have. Just talk about Knicks stuff in general. He loves New York. He always had high praise talking about the Knicks.”
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Knicks Sign Tony Wroten To Mulityear Deal

March 16th, 2016 at 5:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

MARCH 16TH, 5:40 pm: The signing is official, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

MARCH 7TH, 12:10pm: The deal isn’t yet done and the Knicks are still evaluating Wroten, according to Beck (Twitter link), while Berman indicates that the sides are continuing to negotiate

11:51am: The contract is expected to cover only this season and next without a full guarantee on next year’s salary, league sources tell Begley (Twitter link). Marc Berman of the New York Post also hears the deal is only a two-season arrangement (Twitter link). Berman’s source reiterates the notion that Wroten might not appear in a game this season because of his health.

11:19am: “Minimal” guarantees exist on the salary in year two and year three, Beck also reports (Twitter link). Still, the Knicks appear to be unable to sign any outside free agent to a three-year deal until July. It’s theoretically possible, given the doubts about his ability to play this season, that the sides are planning to wait until then, but Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears the signing is expected to take place sometime this week (Twitter link).

10:57am: It’s highly unlikely Wroten appears in a game for the Knicks this season in spite of their deal, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck hears. Beck cites concerns about Wroten’s health, though he’s 14 months removed from his torn right ACL (Twitter link).

10:26am: The Knicks and Tony Wroten are finalizing a multiyear contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania refers to it as a three-year deal in his tweet, but the Knicks don’t have the power to sign any outside free agent for more than this season and next, since they’re limited to the minimum salary exception, so it’s unclear where talk of the third year is coming from. In any case, the Knicks have an open roster spot, so they don’t have to let anyone go to bring in Wroten, the ex-Sixers combo guard whose 16.9 points per game in an injury-shortened 30-game stint last season were more than anyone else on his team.

It’s somewhat of a surprise to see New York go for Wroten, despite longstanding mutual interest, since Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported last week that Tim Frazier and Ray McCallum were considered more likely options for the Knicks roster vacancy. The team reportedly had concerns about Wroten’s defense and unfamiliarity with the triangle offense. Still, the Knicks visited recently with him, as Isola also reported, and the team put him through a “workout/physical/interview,” Isola tweets this morning.

The Heat did their due diligence with a check-in on Wroten earlier this season, but the 22-year-old has nonetheless remained unsigned since the Sixers waived him on Christmas Eve. His lingering free agency raised eyebrows, since he has the pedigree of having been the 25th overall pick in 2012. He made his case that he had recovered from a January 2015 torn right ACL when he returned to game action a few weeks before Philadelphia cut him, though he wasn’t quite the same, shooting just 33.8% from the field in eight games, well beneath his 41.3% career mark.

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Eastern Notes: Thornton, Wroten, Wood

March 14th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards brought in Marcus Thornton because they needed someone healthy, coach Randy Wittman said, but Thornton is hoping that he’s more than just a stopgap measure, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays. The two-guard is on a minimum-salary deal through the end of the season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms, but Thornton indicated that he’d like to re-sign once he hits free agency in the summer.

“It’s about me going to some place I can fit in right away,” Thornton said. “And it could be long term. … Hopefully I could find a home here.”

He’ll be asked to make an impression with his shooting, observes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Thornton is a career 35.9% 3-point shooter. See more from around the Eastern Conference:

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Knicks Notes: Wroten, Vujacic, Jackson

March 12th, 2016 at 5:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks team president Phil Jackson acknowledged that New York needs to improve its backcourt this offseason, but he also noted that the help may come from within the organization rather than spending on the free agent market this summer, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. The executive admitted that Jose Calderon is “entering the latter part of his career” and raised the possibility that Tony Wroten, who isn’t likely to play again this season after reportedly agreeing to a deal with the Knicks, could very well be the team’s staring point guard in 2016/17, Berman relays. “My idea of chasing a point guard where it becomes just an obsession isn’t necessary,’’ Jackson said. “It’s not necessary. We can play the game without that. But we still need good performers.”

With the salary cap set to increase dramatically this summer, there will be plenty of teams with money to spend on free agents, but Jackson believes players will view the Knicks as an attractive destination despite their recent struggles, Berman relays. “Everybody’s going to be flush with money. It’s going to be a seller’s [player’s] market,’’ Jackson said. “We have a definite idea how to help this team. I don’t think they’re secrets or mysteries. We’re just going to do just fine in free agency.”

Here’s more from New York:

  • Jackson accompanied the team on its recent road trip in order to evaluate the team’s pending free agents, noting that he wants to retain a number of them without mentioning anyone by name, Berman notes in the same piece. The executive did indicate that shooting guard Sasha Vujacic probably wouldn’t be a part of the team’s future, the scribe adds. Lance Thomas, Langston Galloway and Kevin Seraphin will be free agents after the season, while Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams hold player options on their deals for 2016/17.
  • The team president’s insistence on running the triangle offense because of his history with it in Chicago and Los Angeles ignores the fact that Jackson is virtually the only coach to have had success with it in the NBA, Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. The scribe also opines that the team’s No. 1 priority should be developing rookie Kristaps Porzingis and ponders why Jackson hasn’t looked to the Mavericks and the way they use Dirk Nowitzki on offense as a guide for how the Knicks should design their attack to maximize the talented rookie’s abilities.
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Atlantic Notes: Wroten, Okafor, Rondo, Powell

March 10th, 2016 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks apparently held reservations in the recent past about Tony Wroten‘s gambling style of defense, but sources tell Marc Berman of the New York Post they see him as a good defender who’s aggressive in the passing lanes. Wroten, who remains unsigned, is reportedly unlikely to see action for the Knicks this season even if he and the team do finalize a reported two-year agreement, but interim coach Kurt Rambis sees merit in adding him, as Berman relays.

“If he’s not healthy to play, we can evaluate him over summer,” Rambis said. “We see potential in him. Now we have his rights. He’s a penetrating guard. He was somebody who can really break down defenses and attack the basket, but I haven’t seen him play in a while. [There are] a lot of management reasons to do something like that, that still holds value to the team, even if he’s not actively playing the rest of the year. It’s a management and medical decision right now.”

See more on the Knicks and other teams from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sixers coach Brett Brown didn’t rule out the idea that Jahlil Okafor will miss the rest of the season because of lingering soreness in his right knee, though he strongly cautioned that no such decision has been made, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. The No. 3 overall pick from last year’s draft underwent a CAT scan Tuesday and hasn’t played since February 28th.
  • Carmelo Anthony sees soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo as an ideal fit for the triangle offense, but Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News argues that Rondo would be a poor free agent choice for the Knicks, citing his lack of shooting, questions about whether he’s truly an elite player and frequent involvement in controversy.
  • Norman Powell has proven a steal at the No. 46 pick last year, contends Mike Ganter of The National Post. Minutes have been inconsistent for the Raptors small forward, but he’s nonetheless getting some significant playing time and making a contribution to the Eastern Conference’s second-place team, as Ganter details.
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Atlantic Notes: Rambis, Wright, Sloan, Early

March 7th, 2016 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson hoped Kurt Rambis would prove the right choice to keep the Knicks head coaching job for the long term when he installed him as interim bench boss last month, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, and Rambis has to win to secure his position, Begley writes. A desire to better the team’s record this season is why Rambis is shying away from playing Kristaps Porzingis at center, even though the coach admits the idea intrigues him, as Begley relays. Rambis said he’s spoken to management about whether to give rookie Jerian Grant more playing time but added that the team’s brass hasn’t signaled that it wants to shift focus strictly to player development yet, according to Begley. See more on the Knicks, who’ve reportedly struck a deal with Tony Wroten:

  • Delon Wright has barely played for the Raptors this season despite having been the 20th overall pick last year, with just 75 total minutes under his belt, but that doesn’t mean coach Dwane Casey is down on him, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. “I think he’s going to be a heck of a player in this league,” Casey said. “His defense is lagging his offense right now. Offensively, he’s an excellent pick-and-roll player, but there’s two sides to the game. … Guarding the speedsters in the NBA is going to be his next challenge on the defensive end. He’s improved tremendously with his shooting, his 3-point shooting.”
  • Soon-to-be free agent Donald Sloan has been the starting point guard for the Nets since mid-January after fighting in the preseason simply to make the opening-night roster, but he’s not upset with Brooklyn for making him work for his opportunity, telling Steve Simineri of NetsDaily that he didn’t feel “shafted” at any point. The fifth-year NBA veteran has been the most productive among Brooklyn’s cheap finds this past offseason, Simineri observes, positioning himself for more job security to start next season.
  • The Nets passed on Wroten earlier this season under the direction of former GM Billy King because the Sixers had him under minutes restrictions as he came back from injury and because of his high rate of turnovers, tweets NetsDaily. He’s averaged 3.7 per game the past two seasons.
  • Cleanthony Early appears closer to a return to game action from having been shot in his right knee in late December, as the Knicks have assigned him to the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link).
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Knicks Consider Tim Frazier, Ray McCallum

March 2nd, 2016 at 11:37am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are thinking about signing either Tim Frazier or Ray McCallum to a 10-day contract, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter links). Each is considered a more likely candidate than Tony Wroten, with whom the Knicks met recently, Isola adds. Marc Berman of the New York Post earlier wrote that the team was eyeing McCallum, who comes off waivers from the Spurs at 4pm Central today, while The Wall Street Journal’s Chris Herring reported last month that the Knicks considered Frazier before signing Jimmer Fredette instead. New York reportedly has no plans to re-sign Fredette after his 10-day contract expires tonight.

Frazier rejoined the D-League affiliate of the Celtics last week after clearing waivers from the Trail Blazers, who cut him to accommodate their deadline-day trades. Blazers GM Neil Olshey said he told Frazier he’d be interested in re-signing him if the team was unable to add another point guard, though Portland acquired point guard Brian Roberts in one of its deadline swaps.

The 25-year-old Frazier saw just 7.8 minutes per game in 35 appearances for the Blazers this season, though he put up an impressive 5.5 assists in 21.7 minutes per game across 11 contests with the Sixers last year. Similarly, McCallum was buried on San Antonio’s bench before his release from the Spurs but made 30 starts for the Kings last season.

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Latest On Knicks Targets

March 2nd, 2016 at 10:41am CST by Chuck Myron

10:41am: The team won’t re-sign Fredette, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), not long after Berman heard the Knicks weren’t expected to bring him back (Twitter link).

12:20am: The Knicks appear unlikely to re-sign Jimmer Fredette after his 10-day contract expires at the end of Wednesday, and they’ve decided to take a pass on signing Ty Lawson, who’s poised to become a free agent in the wake of his buyout from the Rockets, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Lawson is nonetheless one of the team’s “possibilities” for summer free agency, Berman writes.

New York is meanwhile eyeing Ray McCallum, who’s on waivers until 4pm Central time Wednesday following his release from the Spurs, Berman adds, lending some clarity to earlier reports. The Knicks recently met with free agent Tony Wroten, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News heard.

Fredette scored four points in a brief three-minute cameo Tuesday, just his second appearance for New York since signing February 22nd. The team has a specific interest in young players, coach Kurt Rambis said, so that would help explain the appeal of Wroten, 22, and McCallum, 24, as opposed to the 27-year-old Fredette and 28-year-old Lawson. The Knicks reportedly spoke with the Rockets about trading for Lawson before last month’s deadline, but New York’s playoff hopes have faded as they’ve lost 15 of their last 18 games. The expiration of Fredette’s deal will create a lone open roster spot, with 14 other Knicks signed through season’s end. New York has only the minimum salary to give out to free agents.

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Knicks Meet With Tony Wroten

March 1st, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks met recently with free agent combo guard Tony Wroten, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The team has appeared to have some level of interest in Wroten since late December, when the Sixers released him, but his defense and unfamiliarity with the triangle have reportedly helped keep him unsigned. New York will have an open roster spot after Wednesday, the final day on Jimmer Fredette‘s 10-day contract, and the team is apparently keeping an eye out for young players as it ponders whether to re-sign Fredette or move on from him. Wroten doesn’t turn 23 until April.

Isola also pegs the freshly waived Ray McCallum as a candidate to replace Fredette on New York’s roster, though it’s unclear if the Knicks indeed have interest in the former Spurs point guard or if the idea is merely speculative. McCallum would first have to clear waivers, and New York, which has only the minimum salary exception at its disposal, is ineligible to claim him, since he’s on a three-year deal.

Wroten averaged 16.9 points in 30 games for the Sixers last season before he suffered a torn ACL in January 2015 that knocked him out until more than a month into this season. That scoring average was higher than what anyone else on the Sixers put up last year, but Philadelphia stunningly cut him just a few weeks after his return from the injury to accommodate its Christmas Eve trade for Ish Smith. The Heat have reportedly performed a due diligence check on Wroten, but he’s lingered in free agency and has publicly expressed a desire to play for the Knicks.

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