(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 7:26:42 PM)
The Knicks are about to have an overcrowded situation at point guard, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Frank Ntilikina is close to returning from a groin strain and Emmanuel Mudiay has nearly recovered from a strained left shoulder. Mudiay practiced today, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley, while Ntilikina was held out of practice […]
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 3:59:20 PM)
FEBRUARY 20: The Knicks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Ellenson to a 10-day contract. FEBRUARY 19: The Knicks will sign Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Detroit selected Ellenson with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2016 draft, […]
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 4:25:00 PM)
More so than any other franchise, the Knicks have been discussed and dissected as a free agent destination for the better part of a decade.
No transcendent star has signed (at least not yet), but that hasn’t ceased the year-round speculation and coverage of New York’s pending summers.
Blazers guard…
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 3:45:00 PM)
The Warriors are already brainstorming ways to lessen the blow should Kevin Durant take his talents to the Knicks — or elsewhere — this summer.
One discussed plan would likely leave other teams bitter as can be.
If KD leaves, Golden State will eye Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021, the first year the…
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 7:02:38 PM)
Enes Kanter’s rocky ending with the Knicks didn’t sour him on the organization or the city. In fact, the veteran forward said he would recommend the Knicks to top free agents if they asked him for his input. “Of course. It’s a very good organization. Good people. Amazing city,” he told reporters on Wednesday as…
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 5:42:30 PM)
Knicks coach David Fizdale has plenty of problems to sort through as he navigates through this futile season of losing. But lacking options at point guard isn’t one of them. One point guard (Emmanuel Mudiay) is set to return Friday, another (Frank Ntilikina) will get reevaluated that day, and Fizdale already has Dennis Smith Jr….
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 10:56:36 AM)
Kyrie Irving keeps calling rumors about his free agency a “distraction,” but he doesn’t seem to completely hate the attention. While the Celtics star guard will be connected to the Knicks through speculation until he chooses otherwise this summer, Irving realizes what all the buzz means for him. “Talk follows the great players in the…
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 2:40:27 PM)
NEW YORK, NY (February 20, 2019) – The New York Knicks announced today that the team has signed forward Henry El
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 2:59:12 PM)
NEW YORK, NY (February 11, 2019) – The New York Knicks announced today that the team has signed guard John Jenki
(Thursday, February 21, 2019 12:44:00 AM)
It was only seconds into the Duke-UNC matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday that Blue Devils star Zion Williamson was headed to the locker room for the rest of the game in what was a weird injury to say the least.
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 9:11:26 PM)
The latest edition of the Duke-UNC rivalry began Wednesday night with an injury to arguably the best player on the floor in the Blue Devils’ Zion Williamson.
(Thursday, February 21, 2019 1:43:13 AM)
It is only right that Enes Kanter’s first game with his new team — the Portland Trail Blazers — comes in New York.
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 12:27:38 PM)
Kyrie Irving can be a free agent after the season, and the idea that he could team up with fellow free agent Kevin Durant on the Knicks this summer has picked up steam. Here are the latest rumors…
(Wednesday, February 20, 2019 9:57:17 AM)
After signing Jordan Jenkins to a 10-day contract, the Knicks are in agreement with the guard on a two-year contract.
63 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2019.02.21)”
Just watched the Lakers-Rockets game.
FT: Lakers 33, Rockets 15; Fouls: Lakers 17, Rockets 28.
Magic was one of my childhood idols but I really dislike him first as TV analyst and then as self-appointed “above the law” FO man, so I’ll be popping champagne if the arrogant blatant cheaters Lakers will miss the playoff.
But I feel I’m gonna be disappointed, there’s no way the NBA will let the Lakers out of the playoff.
This is not MLB with Trout and Harper, Silver won’t let the face of the League without playoff exposure, even if this means only playing 5-6 games vs the Warriors, not after LBJ said he’s “activated” for the run…
And Silver won’t let him open to Trump mocking if they miss it.
One of the other teams (probably the Clips, so they could retain their pick) will be sacrificed and rewarded with “a bit of luck” in the lottery.
BTW, LeBron missing the playoff while two or three under-.500 eastern teams go to the dance will be the only chance to get rid of the 8-teams-per-conference rule.
@2 – To me, the Lakers can surpass the Clippers without any interference from the league.
Basketball Reference tweeted yesterday that the Lakers have a 7% probability of making the playoffs.
I’ll be a happy man if they’ll miss it… 🙂
They have 2 games with NO in the next 6 days, should be fun, let’s see how (and if) AD will play…
It is feeling a lot like the 2012-13 Lakers team that had like 20 games where they shot a lot more free throws than every opponent…
I envy your ability to block out all memories of Phil Jackson’s 2015 free agent spending spree.
Re: 1+1+1, NBA contracts can only have one option included in them.
I was out last night, walked past a TV with the game on and saw Harden take a seat with 4 minutes left in the first with his 3rd foul. Was it all bullshit?
I don’t believe in any kind of NBA conspiracy, but it’s quite possible that refs as human beings carry subconscious biases about who should and shouldn’t be in the playoffs.
Magic never impressed me as someone that would be good in the front office. I thought the Lakers were well positioned long term at the end of last season. They landed Lebron, but not much else they’ve done made any sense to me.
I’m more interested to see what Ainge has planned.
He’s got 60m a year invested in Horford and Hayward and another 20m in Irving.
He’s got to be disappointed in Hayward’s fit and play since the injury and while Tatum is very good, he hasn’t really broken out into that 3rd all star caliber player they need yet.
Does anyone else kind of not want Kyrie just due to the fact that he is fairly unlikeable or who cares?
@9
I mean, I cheered for Melo and a homophobic guy, so I guess the bar is pretty low in that sense as far as Knicks players go. Kyrie at least doesn’t seem like a bad guy, just dumb as a rock
Ok fine. If we get him I’m in! Lol
I hope that, even though the Knicks didn’t have a pick that year, that mock draft still had them as the one team picking Exum over Embiid.
I prefer high basketball IQ players that defend well. The problem is that we are 3 star players short of being a good team. Beggars can’t be choosy. No one is going to want to come here for basketball reasons until someone wants to be here for other reasons and then we go from there.
@6
Harden is always overprotected (on both sides of the ball), yesterday he wasn’t.
And he complained about one specific referee that he thinks “has a grudge”.
Kyrie is productive enough that I would probably be okay dealing with his, uh, eccentricities. He has basically come out and said he was sort of joking around about the flat earth thing, and that he regrets saying something so dumb. He actually apologized for it.
FWIW my Celtics fan friends have never really warmed up to him, and complain about him a lot.
Just started the new Michael Lewis book today, and in the first section, Chris Christie calls Jared Kushner a guy who thinks that being rich means that he must be smart. (And the implication is quite clear that Christie knows that Kushner is not smart.)
I don’t think Kyrie Irving thinks he’s smart because he’s rich, but I do think he’s totally unaware that he’s a moron.
I feel like there’s a significant chance he was tripping on a low dose of LSD during this presser.
Can someone clarify if we have a 2nd round pick this year?
The thing about Kyrie that scares me. The last time we had a very talented, but slightly eccentric score first PG who was from the NYC area…it did not end well unless you enjoy eating vaseline.
IF we can grab KD, I honestly might be more inclined to pair him with Kemba, who is not quite as good as Kyrie and a bit older but also seems less of a head case. If things go poorly in NYC and lets be real, its the Knicks, there’s always that chance…I could see Kyrie going off the rails.
But also, maybe the Knicks need to stop it with these homecoming free agent signings/trades. Maybe its better we get our star players from people who AREN’T from NYC. Just a thought.
Future 2nds:
2019 – To BRK (via PHL); least favorable of ORL, CLE and HOU (via PHL swap of ORL for CLE or HOU (via CLE and HOU to NYK))
Probably HOU’s pick coming to us, likely 45-55ish.
2020 – More favorable of NYK and BRK to PHL then other to CHA (via PHL to ORL); CHA
2021 – To PHL; CHA
2022 – Own
2023 – Own
2024 – Own
2025 – Own; DAL if DAL has not conveyed second potential 1st round pick to NYK by 2025
Thx cock!
What do u think of this kid playing for Serbia, borisa simanic?
@18 If we land Durant I think Tomas Satoransky would be an excellent team-mate, perhaps more compatible with Durant than Kyrie. I think he was once referred to as a “pass first, pass second” shooting guard. His 3 pt % is 43.4% and he’s a solid defender..and we’d probably be able to sign him for less than $10m. Having said that, I’d certainly be excited about Kyrie. He’s a unique talent.
Pulled this off reddit:
Rockets are 0-7 this season in games officiated by Scott Foster. 0-9 in games since 2017 officiated by Foster. 0-3 in home games in the 2018 playoffs officiated by Foster (7-0 in the rest). Last 2 games James Harden fouled out, Scott Foster was the lead official. Can this all be purely coincidental?
I like using RealGM to view trades of future draft picks: https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed
@22
WOW! Definitively the right ref for a Lakers game 😉
On the other side, maybe Scott Foster is the only one that whistle Harden the right way…
🙂
(he’s a great player but I hate the way he’s usually protected by the refs, especially on his traveling stepbacks and “hunting for contact over the defender” threes).
Maybe that’s just what happens when one ref doesn’t fall for Harden’s blatant arm flailing or call a foul every time he runs into a backtracking defender.
I’m always amazed Harden gets the whistle he does and am surprised more refs don’t hold his playacting against him.
I’m terrified that Ainge might be able to sell Hayward as a strong trade chip if he looks good this spring. If he were on the Knicks, he’d be untradable. Since he’s a Celtic, I feel like he can be the centerpiece of an Anthony Davis deal.
Well, considering Foster was contacted more than a 100 times by Donaghy, it could be that he just doesn’t fall for Harden’s stuff, or…
I think getting rid of the hand checking rule for defense was the right call. As much as I loved the super physical style of my 90’s Knicks, it had devolved into a kind of ugly brand of basketball. But I think now especially with players like Harden its gone too far in the opposite direction. If a player on offense purposefully tries to ploy into a backpeddling defender on their way down from shooting a 3 in order to draw a foul, it should be an offensive charge. And blatant flopping needs to be called more as a technical where the opposing team gets 2 free throws and the ball. Prioritizing offense over everything else has turned the game into something that is often rather boring to watch. Harden would still be a good player but he is elevated to superstar status bc of this BS. His game is so ugly to watch. I hate it so much.
Its kind of like in baseball when Sosa and McGuire hit a bunch of home runs and suddenly the league fell in love with home runs over everything else and everyone started juicing to the point where the game got kind of boring bc stuff like bunting, stealing bases, sacrifice flys, etc…players stopped doing it and the beautiful strategy of the game got lost. Home runs are cool and can be very dramatic but its like everything, there has to be a balance and the beauty of the game can be lost when one thing is prioritized too much over everything else.
People stopped bunting and playing small-ball because it doesn’t work. You’ll get beat by the teams that prioritize home runs. I grew up watching 1980’s baseball and I loved it but the game evolves. Baseball in particular is very resistant to change, it took incredibly long for the things the stat guys were saying in the 1980’s to actually get implemented. I know this because I was one of these stat guys, as a layman at least.
Small-ball is basically just giving your opponent free outs, which are your most prized possessions. I don’t find “beauty” in that, not when it’s my team giving the outs away. In certain high-leverage situations, sure, bunt away, play for that one run. But if you’re doing it in the first inning you’re probably gonna get beat.
The Rockets, interestingly, are one of the slowest-paced teams in the NBA this year. Mr. Seven Seconds Or Less seems to have adapted, as the Rockets play with the league’s 27th fastest pace. They’re the #2 offense in the league despite their slow pace.
If that’s all accurate it sounds like it’s either personal or we need greater consistency in the calls because the chances that’s all an accident are pretty low.
weird news regarding pats owner kraft – weird in that the guy’s a billionaire, very high profile, and, he’s pretty old…
sex trafficking/slavery is one of the more hideous forms of human behavior, it’s tragedy and suffering heaped upon layers and layers of of some of the most evil human nature possible (sadly things can get even worst)…
having said that – what in the world is a high profile, wealthy individual doing visiting a massage parlor/day “spa”…it’s hard to imagine no one in his circle knew about his propensity for getting freaky like this…
if anything though, he’ll serve as a vehicle for helping to bring more light to the tragic situation of sex trafficking (which i imagine has been a part of human culture forever, and, will not disappear from earth until – we do)…still, i’m amazed…his actions may not have been the pinnacle of stupidity (given his situation), but – it’s up there…
well, we all know tim donaghy never actually “fixed” any games…
I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s going on with Hayward. He was clearly playing below par at the start of the season off the layoff. He’s been playing better the last couple of months. If he starts hitting 3s more consistently he may wind up being a key piece for them in the playoffs. I just don’t know about the fit. He was more of a SF in Utah but they already have Tatum at SF and they use him at PF sometimes.
I agree though. If he plays well down the stretch and into the playoffs the perception is going to be that he’s all the way back from injury now and someone might be interested.
By the way, it seems the numbers of the Rockets with Foster are fake.
I don’t care one bit too about the traditional beauty of the game. What interests me in sports is a group of players coming together to excel in whichever way the sport allows them to, if it’s shooting 3s, posting up or playing defense, I don’t care too much. I even love watching Harden just to see how much he has mastered the way to play offense in today’s league, because that’s what draws me to sports, the otherworldly talent to perform.
That Kraft thing was crazy. I can’t believe this guy was in a crappy strip mall massage parlor to begin with. I mean who roles up in a chauffeured Rolls to one of those places?
I don’t really want Kyrie. He’s loony tunes, injury prone, a serial malcontent. But he’s a great basketball player. If he does come here I won’t be crying.
we’ve had countless discussions here between the evaluation of player performance based on the “eye test” versus a players statistical profile…
it’s pretty hard though to measure a guy’s leadership value or locker room presence…watching the celts last night and thinking of them shipping out horford and bringing in AD made me think that – horford is a pretty darn valuable guy to have on your roster due to his presence and positive influence on the team…
yeah, kyrie most certainly does seem like he could be a bit of a thief of joy to be around…
bunting : baseball :: long midrange 2PA to maintain “spacing” : basketball
There’s the very real possibility, though, that Kyrie’s situation as it relates to the Celtics and the accompanying narratives exacerbates his behavior. It’s understandably a stressful situation. Perhaps committing to play for the Knicks, along with KD and DJ (two of his good friends) and signing long term will bring out a more stable Kyrie. A stable situation, among a supportive team environment (good friends) may result in a more stable player.
The Knicks have been so bad for so long…
But Kyrie bothers me. Set aside the dumb stuff.
He doesn’t play well with others. He wasn’t happy in Cleveland with Lebron…which he since has apologized for.
But then he appears unhappy in Boston.
AND he says stupid shit that makes my head want to explode.
But as Owen said, beggars can’t be too choosy.
Reminds me once in the late 1980s in DC. I came out of Geppettos, at the time a very good pizza joint in Georgetown, with a small pepperoni pizza. I offered it to a homeless guy who told me he didn’t like pepperoni.
WE can’t be that guy.
The Suns offense was fast because of their personnel. Marion & STAT were insanely athletic while Nash had the court awareness and shooting to punish defenders who didn’t get back on D.
In NY, D’Antoni tried a lot of things but inevitably fell into the Melo jab step offense.
In short, the Rockets being slow isn’t a surprise. Harden is incredibly efficient isoing whenever he wants. There’s no incentive to take quick shots like in PHX.
He’s not his PHX offense and it’s weird that people keep thinking that’s all he does.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/lawsuit-top-sports-agent-ordered-underling-to-shave-my-back-bitch
Our favorite sports agency staying classy!
What behavior do you mean? He was a malcontent with the Cavs because he wasn’t “the guy.” Now he’s that very guy and apparently isn’t happy about it. And again, if you watch or read the introductory press conference, he talks like a mouth-breather who took Intro to Philosophy and thinks he’s on the PhD track. And he certainly kept pointing to team play, trusting teammates and all of that. He literally says that there’s no such thing as putting the team on one player’s back. So apparently that more-lucid shit was all empty rhetoric, too.
Would he be the best player on the Knicks since prime Ewing? Yeah, probably, but I’d really like to enjoy a contender that some future version of the Knicks slaps together.
These guys do this for power reasons, not because this is the only way they could pay a lady to have sex. So the seedy part is probably a bonus for Kraft in this context.
All through the Bucks/Celtics game, Miller kept saying that Giannis needed to take more 18-20 footers.
@45
Really, it was so damn annoying. The guy is doing everything on the court at a MVP level and all damn Reggie can talk about is how he needs the least efficient shot in basketball. I muted the commentary in the 4th because it was so irritating.
I simply don’t get why people put this value in a way of playing basketball that is simply less effective. What’s the big difference in aesthetic values of seeing a 20 footer or a 3 pointer?
My wife is on a diet to lose some baby weight. She looks great, and everybody that sees her tells her she looks like she’s back to her original body size, which she is. But the scale says she isn’t the same weight as before and I’m like, “who cares what the stupid numbers say. All that matters is what people can see!”.
And then I come here and yell at people for over-valuing volume scorers.
(Am I schizophrenic? Or is there some value in the eye test that we don’t quite appreciate enough here?:)
I wouldn’t read too much into Kraft’s behavior. He’s probably just a cheap old dude that doesn’t want a serious relationship with a woman his own age and figures a handjob from a moderately attractive young woman feels the same as one from a model caliber one, but is a lot less expensive.
We aren’t capturing all the relevant data in the publicly available stats.
That’s why the eye test still matters.
More importantly, the scale means nothing when it comes to your wife. That’s all health and eye test. People like different things. 🙂
Apparently human trafficking an issue at this place.
Also, Kraft apparently is not the biggest name involved.
Tiger Woods lives in Jupiter btw, just as an aside of course.
On Kyrie, as I said, I don’t have the courage to be a hard no. But he doesn’t feel like the reward for 20 years of misery.
If you give Kyrie a five-year deal you’re getting his age 27-31 seasons. Seems reasonable. He scores at high efficiency, high volume. Shoots threes at an efficient clip in high volume. This year he’s stuffing the boxscore pretty good, has career high numbers or close to it in rebounding, assists and steals. He’s a .200 WS player over the last two years.
He’s not my favorite dude in the world but the guy can ball.
sad.
imo, we don’t do enough about human trafficking because too many judges, politicians, intelligence officers, rich businessmen, celebrities, law enforcement officers, foreign ambassadors, political operatives, journalists etc..use those services. Some may even be involved for profit.
I don’t even have a huge problem with a negotiated transaction between two consenting adults (other than hoping people would find a better way to make money), but trafficking people against their will deserves severe punishment and trafficking minors deserves the death penalty.
You know what’s not very far from Jupiter?
Rhymes with Car-A-Doggo
It’s more likely that he and all the other mega rich and famous that spent time with Jeffrey Epstein on his fantasy island and on his private jet were involved with under aged girls than going to to some rub and tug. It’s also more likely they are all getting away with it because way too many powerful people were involved, many others knew, and everyone looked the other way for years. And of course because Epstein has the goods on all of them (which is why he got away with a slap on the wrist for his own under aged girl escapades).
Neither is the 6th pick and Jarrett effing Culver, but that’s a possible outcome. It can always get worse.
I don’t personally love Durant too, but he’s a fantastic basketball player. Besides all the off court media stuff, there’s no indication Irving is a bad teammate or a toxic personality, he’s just stupid. We have all singed Tyson Chandler’s praises for so long, and the dude is best friends with that hack pastor that’s close to a lot of NBA players, like Durant himself (including the immortal story of the dude baptizing Justin Bieber in the bathtub at Tyson’s house).
For all we know all these dudes are fucking insane, Kyrie just somehow thinks he’s smart and ignores his PR team more often than others. Kobe was a rapist, MJ was a psycho, etc, not every player is Tim Duncan or LeBron James.
I don’t like the guy, but the Knicks should be looking at how good of a basketball player he is and the answer is he’s damn good at it.
thanks jowles – needed that laugh 🙂
oh no, curse you brian – a really really awful image of kraft laying on some table all oiled up and smiling is now stuck in my head…yuch…
There is video apparently….
Yeah, the more Durant reveals about himself over the years, the worse he looks, but he is so damn good at basketball, it’s worth it.
Durant, by the way, is the epitome of “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member,” in the sense that any dude who wants to leave the Warriors to play for the Knicks has to be suspect in general. But he is so damn good at basketball, I would be thrilled if he really is that weird.
but why?
I think they just feel bad for him.
aside from zion… coming away with culver is one of those outcomes you should be rooting for…. he’s probably the 2nd or at worst 3rd best player in this draft…. and not just in this draft… he’d be a top sf in just about any class…. he’s that good…