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Knicks Notes: LeBron, Smith Jr., Cauley-Stein, Lee

November 12th, 2017 at 10:31am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James offered an assessment of the Knicks’ draft strategy after Saturday’s game in Dallas, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. impressed James with 21 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. The Cavaliers star told reporters after the game that Smith “should be a Knick,” indicating that New York should have taken him instead of Frank Ntilikina, who was selected one pick earlier.

“He’s an unbelievable talent [with] athleticism,” said James. “He’s very poised to be his age, can shoot the ball, penetrate. He’s only going to get better and better with the opportunity that he’s getting here. Dallas got a good one. I’ve been knowing that. I’ve been with him for so long now. I’ve been knowing his talent level.”

James is sure to be asked to expand on those comments when the Cavaliers visit Madison Square Garden Monday. MacMahon suggests the statements were part of a long-running feud with former Knicks president Phil Jackson, who angered James last year by using the word “posse” to describe his associates. The Knicks came to Ntilikina’s defense, with Enes Kanter tweeting, “Nope!! We love what we got…Thanks!!!”

There’s more this morning out of New York:

  • The Knicks received a better draft grade from Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein, who told Howie Kussoy of The New York Post that the organization made the right decision in 2015 when it passed on him to select Kristaps Porzingis. Cauley-Stein was labeled as the best defensive big man in the draft and had a pre-draft workout for the Knicks. The team opted for Porzingis at No. 4, and Cauley-Stein went to Sacramento two picks later. “I thought I had a pretty good chance of coming here, but they ended up picking the right guy,” Cauley-Stein said. “This league’s all about situations. I went to a situation where I’m playing behind the best center in the league [DeMarcus Cousins], or I could’ve gone to somewhere where they don’t have a guy, and now you’re the guy, and you’re getting all the touches. That helps a lot.”
  • Coach Jeff Hornacek has wanted Courtney Lee to shoot more often since he signed with the team in the summer of 2016, Kussoy writes in a separate story. The 10-year veteran posted a 20-point performance Saturday night and is making a case to be the team’s second option. “He shot the shots he was supposed to,” Hornacek said. “He didn’t need to be wide open. He’s a great shooter. He can shoot it with guys in his face. That helps spread the court.”
  • Hornacek is an overlooked factor in the Knicks’ 7-5 start, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. He has the team sharing the ball, improving from 23rd to seventh in assist ratio, and working together on defense. “I think he’s done a great job,” said Jarrett Jack, who became a starter after New York lost its first three games. “I know for me, as someone who always has to be a kind of extension of the coach, me and him have been able to kind to develop a relationship where I can kind of read what he wants on the court and I can kind of relay it to the guys.” 
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Kings' Zach Randolph Slowly Overcoming Rough Offseason

November 11th, 2017 at 9:20am CST by marksuleymanov

Luol Deng‘s four-year, $72MM contract that he signed in 2016 has become one of the NBA’s biggest albatross contracts. The Lakers signed the 32-year-old to essentially become a more expensive version of what Metta World Peace was to last year’s team.

Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times writes that Deng, who spent parts of his first 10 seasons with the Bulls, no longer wants to play for the Lakers. He has played in just one game this season, recording 2 points and 1 assist in 13 minutes of action. As he awaits a resolution on his future, Deng told Ganguli he does not regret his contract.

“I just know that for me, I never really [took] the contract and said I just want to shut it down, I just don’t want to do anything,” Deng said. “I’m still working as hard as I can trying to figure it out and trying to be the best player I can be. It was never, let me go and relax and not do anything. That was never the case. So I don’t regret it at all.”

The Lakers are heavily invested in a youth movement, highlighted by their first-round picks from the past seasons in Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Deng could help the team as a mentor to the upstarts but minutes will be hard to come by unless he is traded.

Check out other news from the Pacific Division:

  • A sore right knee has sidelined Clippers’ point guard Patrick Beverley, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Despite initial concern, Rivers said the team expects their catalyst to miss about one week.  “It’s the same thing that kept him out of the second half of camp,” Rivers said. “But he’ll be fine, that’s the good news. We were worried that it could be worse and it’s not. But he’s still probably going to miss a week of games. So, it’s just another guy out.”
  • Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee writes that Zach Randolph, who endured a tough offseason that included an arrest for marijuana possession, is slowly getting back into shape. The Kings’ hoped the veteran would bring his toughness and grit to a young team and he spoke highly of the team’s core and what he can teach them.
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Knicks Would Have Pushed For George Hill If Not For Jackson’s Ouster

November 10th, 2017 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

When they host the Kings on Saturday, the Knicks will get a first-hand look at a point guard who they may very well have signed if not for the front office overhaul in New York. Former Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson had made George Hill his top free agent target before he was ousted, a league source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.

According to Berman’s source, Jackson believed Hill would be capable of mastering the triangle offense, and would serve as an excellent mentor for rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina. Hill, who is friends with Courtney Lee and Joakim Noah, was prepared to discuss contract terms with the Knicks on July 1, Berman writes. With Steve Mills running the show in Jackson’s place by that point though, the club’s interest in Hill was minimal.

At this point, the Knicks’ offseason interest in Hill under Jackson isn’t all that relevant, but it makes for a fascinating “what-if,” since it would have set off a chain reaction that impacted other free agents. Hill ultimately signed a three-year deal worth $57MM with the Kings. If he had received a competitive offer in that range from the Knicks, the team would have almost certainly been out of the running for Tim Hardaway Jr., who may have ended up accepting a more modest contract offer to return to Atlanta.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Scott Perry, the Knicks’ current general manager, was with Sacramento when the Kings signed Hill. If he had joined the Knicks immediately after Jackson’s dismissal, perhaps New York would have gone just as hard after Hill as Jackson intended to. Perry was hired by the Knicks in mid-July.

As it stands, the Knicks can make the case that they made the right decision in pursuing Hardaway over Hill. Even though Hardaway’s contract was widely panned and may still prove to be a misguided investment, he’s probably a better fit for the Knicks right now than Hill. Jarrett Jack has performed well as Ntilikina’s mentor at point guard, and has done so on a much more affordable contract than Hill’s. Meanwhile, Hill’s 7.8 PPG and .406 FG% in the early going with the Kings are his worst marks since his rookie season in 2008/09.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/9/17

November 9th, 2017 at 6:32pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the G League transactions for Thursday:

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How Will Kings Manage Minutes At Center?

November 8th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams
  • The Kings have multiple young prospects capable of playing center, including starter Willie Cauley-Stein, but the team has performed well when veteran Zach Randolph shifts to the five. As Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes, it will be interesting to see whether Sacramento continues to focus on developing their youngsters and only uses Randolph as an “emergency” option at the center, or if he’ll start to play more consistent minutes at the five.
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Kings Notes: Hill, Randolph, Labissiere, Okafor

November 5th, 2017 at 10:16am CST by Arthur Hill

Sacramento added a veteran presence to a rebuilding team this summer and the combination can make the older guys feel out of place, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings spent their free agent money on George Hill, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter, but their contributions have been limited as the team stumbled to a 1-8 start. Between nights off for rest and sitting through the fourth quarters of blowouts, they are playing and producing less than expected.

Hill has been the starting point guard as the Kings wait for prize rookie De’Aaron Fox to develop, but his stats have dropped to 9.6 points and 2.7 assists per game after posting 16.9 and 4.2 last season in Utah. Randolph is averaging 12.0 points, his lowest in six years, and 6.0 rebounds, his smallest number since 2002/03. Carter is scoring a career-low 2.6 points per game in less than 12 minutes per night.

“I ain’t been through this,” Randolph said. “…We’re a young team with a young talent, so staying positive and keeping everybody together, that’s the main thing.”

There’s more this morning out of Sacramento:

  • Bad matchups contributed to Skal Labissiere‘s lack of playing time this week, Jones explains in a separate story. The second-year power forward was on the court just six minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Pistons and sat out the entire first half Wednesday against the Celtics. Coach Dave Joerger said he hasn’t lost confidence in Labissiere, but at 6’11” he has trouble matching up against stretch fours like Detroit’s Tobias Harris and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. “It’s hard when all these teams are playing threes as fours and they’re stretching you out,” Joerger said. “… As he learns and gets experience, he’ll be able to play on the perimeter defensively. He’ll be able to take a guy down low if he has a mismatch down there.”
  • The Kings need all the young talent they can find, but Sixers center Jahlil Okafor doesn’t seem like a good fit, Jones states in a mailbag column. He believes Sacramento should prioritize perimeter shooting and defense, two areas where Okafor doesn’t offer much help. Although Jones doesn’t dismiss the idea, he says the Kings shouldn’t offer much for Okafor, who will be a restricted free agent next summer after Philadelphia declined his 2018/19 option.
  • Young players such as Frank Mason and Malachi Richardson are likely to get more playing time as the season wears on, Jones adds in the same piece. As the Kings fall farther out of the playoff race, their emphasis will be on developing their young talent and maximizing their draft position.
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Bogdan Bogdanovic Earning Role In First Season

November 3rd, 2017 at 10:52pm CST by Austin Kent

Rookie Bogdan Bogdanovic may not know the ins and outs of the NBA but he hasn’t struggled to keep up in his first taste of action in the big league, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Through fives games with the Kings, the relatively seasoned 25-year-old first-year swingman has averaged 10.0 points per contest.

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Kings Veteran Additions Underachieving So Far

November 3rd, 2017 at 2:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League season will tip off on Friday night, with a record-setting 26 teams set to compete this year. While that still leaves a handful of NBA clubs without affiliates of their own, G League president Malcolm Turner tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he’s confident the number of teams in the league will increase to 30 within the next couple years.

“It’s not out of the question that we may find ourselves launching another four teams for [the 2018/19 season] to get us to 30. But I think the realistic timeframe is ’19/20,” Turner said. “Washington is already confirmed for ’18/19. It’s been well reported that New Orleans, where they stand in the process. We expect they will announce within the next month or two, and Portland and Denver are also well down the road in the process of doing it as well, and so we’re excited about that.”

Turner is also encouraged by the fact that the average distance between NBA teams and their affiliates has come down significantly in recent years, allowing franchises to make better use of those affiliates. According to Turner, as recently as five years ago, the average distance between an NBA team and its G League affiliate was about 550 miles — now it’s approximately 120 miles.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Rather than holding the 2018 draft lottery in New York next spring, the NBA will have the event take place in Chicago on May 15, followed by the combine – also in Chicago – from May 16-20, the league announced on Thursday.
  • Within his latest article for ESPN.com, Zach Lowe wonders if the Magic could be a viable landing spot for Eric Bledsoe, and takes a look at how the Kings‘ veteran free agent acquisitions have underachieved so far.
  • Former Rockets forward Kyle Wiltjer signed a one-year deal this week to play with Olympiacos in Greece, as Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net details. Wiltjer was in camp with the Raptors this fall and was set to play for Toronto’s G League team before deciding to head overseas instead.
  • Veteran big man Glen Davis, who recently signed a G League contract, wasn’t claimed by a team on waivers and will now enter the available player pool, a source tells Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). G League teams set their opening-night rosters this week and likely aren’t looking to make changes right away, so Davis may have to be patient as he waits for an opportunity.
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Kings Minority Owner Sharing 10% Stake In Team

November 1st, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams
  • A minority shareholder in the Kings is putting 10% of the franchise up for sale, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg. While the identity of the seller isn’t known, the stake would likely come with a seat on the team’s board, Soshnick notes.
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