Knicks Morning News (2018.07.03)

  • [NYPost] Knicks’ new forward has underachieved but dreams big
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 3:05:31 PM)

    Mario Hezonja’s NBA career hasn’t gone as projected, but that hasn’t dimmed his confidence. According to an NBA source close to Hezonja, the 6-foot-8 combo forward still believes he’s going to make it to an All-Star Game one day. On Sunday night, Hezonja agreed to terms on a one-year, $6.5 million contract with a portion…

  • [NYPost] Where Knicks could turn next in free agency — at cost of others
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 1:39:35 PM)

    The Knicks have 16 players under contract for next season — one over the max — but there’s still a chance they are not done in free agency. After inking Mario Hezonja on the first full day of free agency Sunday, the Knicks still could use a rebounding power forward and have inquired about Suns big…

  • [NYPost] LeBron James pal: Why he left, and Knicks didn’t have a shot
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:45:26 AM)

    Romeo Travis, a former teammate of both LeBron James and Frank Ntilikina, calls himself “an Akron guy, really Akron.” And on the day after “The Decision III,” Travis, James’ longtime buddy and former high school teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary, said Northeast Ohio “gets it.” Travis, who won the French League championship eight days ago…

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks reportedly planning next offseason around Kevin Durant
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 5:02:21 PM)

    LeBron James will probably never be on the Knicks, but maybe Kevin Durant will.

  • [SNY Knicks] Here’s why Mario Hezonja chose the Knicks
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 12:24:11 PM)

    The Knicks’ newest addition in SF Mario Hezonja could have gone to a contender like the Trail Blazers for next season. Instead, he chose the team he used to root for as a kid.

  • [NYTimes] DeMarcus Cousins Gives the Warriors a Fifth All-Star
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:56:07 AM)

    While the former Pelicans big man is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, he gives the team the one thing it has lacked: A dominant center.

  • [NYTimes] Brawl Mars FIBA Qualifier Between the Philippines and Australia
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:08:10 AM)

    Some aggressive shoving led to a full-scale brawl with 13 combined ejections and an eventual forfeit by the Philippines.

  • [NYTimes] When Sports Betting Is Legal, the Value of Game Data Soars
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 12:43:01 AM)

    Should the gambling industry be required to use league-approved “official data”? Britain’s data collection experience provides a preview of the battles to come in the United States.

  • [NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: LeBron James to the Lakers: There’s Much to Unpack Here
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:09:08 PM)

    Will the Lakers be a contender? Not with their current roster. Will James tolerate LaVar Ball’s usual antics? Unlikely. Is the West supreme? It is.

  • [NYTimes] Keeping Score: The Lakers Got Their Man. (That’s What the Lakers Do.)
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 6:42:52 AM)

    LeBron James, like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal before him, was drawn to Los Angeles. But can he deliver like they did?

  • [NYTimes] LeBron James Joining Lakers on 4-Year $154 Million Deal
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 1:05:17 PM)

    In a move that was somewhat expected yet still surprising, the 14-time All-Star left the Cleveland Cavaliers, signing a four-year deal with Los Angeles.

  • [NY Newsday] LeBron James moving to the West makes life easier in the East
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 7:39:35 PM)

    They may have been crying in Cleveland on Sunday night, but fans of the other 14 teams in the Eastern Conference had cause for celebration.

  • [NYDN] EXCLUSIVE: Here’s why Brooklyn man convicted of 2 killings says he’s innocent
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    A Brooklyn man doing 50 years to life for two killings has testified he could not possibly have committed the slayings because he was immobilized — with his own gunshot wound.

    Earl Jefferson, who’s already served half of the low end of his sentence, told Justice Miriam Cyrulnik that he was the…

  • [NYDN] It’s a dog’s life: Ex-handler of a former Staten Island DA’s comfort canine sues in pet peeve over pay
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    A onetime comfort dog handler for Staten Island prosecutors isn’t going to roll over and accept never being paid for the extra hours he spent caring for the pooch.

    Kevin Ivany is suing for all the alleged uncompensated TLC he gave to Bronksey, the Staten Island district attorney’s onetime service…

  • [NYDN] Tennessee woman in Bahamas for 15-year anniversary killed in boat explosion
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:05:00 AM)

    A Tennessee woman celebrating her anniversary in the Bahamas was killed when a boat full of tourists burst into flame.

    Maleka Grimes Jackson and her husband Tyran were on a trip after 15 years together when an explosion the vessel off the coast of the southern island of Exuma.

    Ten Americans and…

  • [NYDN] American woman in Bahamas for 15-year anniversary killed in boat explosion
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:05:00 AM)

    A Tennessee woman celebrating her anniversary in the Bahamas was killed when a boat full of tourists burst into flame.

    Maleka Grimes Jackson and her husband Tyran were on a trip after 15 years together when an explosion the vessel off the coast of the southern island of Exuma.

    Ten Americans and…

  • [NYDN] Battles for freedom forever fought: Americans gather to remember what we stand for
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:00:00 AM)

    When the future looks bleak, the work that most needs doing is to remind the nation of the many past battles that ordinary citizens have chosen to fight on the long road to freedom. That has never been an easy task in the United States of Amnesia, and the quick, flickering pace of modern digital…

  • [NYDN] A new day in Mexico: New President López Obrador gives Trump a run for his money
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:10:00 AM)

    Riding a wave of voter anger against rigged, cheating elites, crime and institutional corruption (sound familiar?), former Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel López Obrador upended Mexico’s political order with a landslide election win Sunday.

    Never mind the polite tweets across the Rio Grande: hopes…

  • [NYDN] Hail a boost for drivers: App-service incomes are just too low
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:05:00 AM)

    The Taxi & Limousine Commission got exactly what it ordered up in a report on earnings for drivers for app-hailing services like Uber and Lyft: confirmation that drivers often earn dismally.

    If only what to do about it was close to as clear.

    The study by labor economists at the New School and Berkeley…

  • [NYDN] Harvey’s running time: The DA digs in with a new Weinstein indictment
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:00:00 AM)

    With a third woman bearing witness to sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance heightens the stakes for perversions if proved: an alleged 2006 oral sex attack, combined with two other complaints, amounts to what prosecutors call a pattern of sexual assault, carrying…

  • [NYDN] Readers sound off on parks, baseball and de Blasio
    (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 12:00:00 AM)

    City parks are on the upswing

    Manhattan: “Study shows many aging New York City parks have infrastructure problems” (June 26) characterized our city’s parks as a wasteland. On the contrary, New York City’s parks system is a vast, vibrant and historic landscape. Our parks act as our living rooms…

  • [NYDN] Third-grade teacher accused of sex assault, trying to hypnotize girls he told to say “I will obey you, Master” as he swung a necklace in front of them
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 11:55:00 PM)

    A third-grade teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a Pennsylvania elementary school — and police are investigating whether he tried to hypnotize others.

    One victim told police James Mentzer made her repeat the phrase “I will obey you, Master,” as he swung a necklace in front of her…

  • [NYDN] Pruitt kept ‘secret’ calendar with controversial meetings: report
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 11:05:00 PM)

    Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has kept a ‘secret’ calendar of meetings with the heads of industry and lawyers, according to a report.

    Internal EPA documents reviewed by CNN showed dozens more meetings on them than Pruitt’s public calendar, and his former deputy chief of staff…

  • [NYDN] Billionaires Row group sues city over homeless shelter plan
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 10:30:00 PM)

    Billionaires don’t want to live near homeless people either.

    A neighborhood group called the West 58th St. Coalition sued Monday to stop the conversion of the old Park Savoy Hotel at 158 W. 58th St. into a homeless shelter.

    Members of the West 58th St. group say the Park Savoy is a “fire trap”…

  • [NYDN] SEE IT: Marvin Bagley ends Mo Wagner’s NBA career before it even begins with vicious dunk in Summer League
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 10:15:00 PM)

    Maybe Marvin Bagley should have been the No. 1 overall pick after all.

    The Kings rookie showed off the athleticism that led to some scouts ranking him as the top prospect in this year’s draft class during Sacramento’s Summer League opener on Monday, and ending Lakers rookie Mo Wagner’s career in…

  • [NYDN] 9/11 firefighter hero and girlfriend dead in Fire Island boat tragedy
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 9:45:00 PM)

    A hero 9/11 firefighter and his girlfriend were mourned Monday after they died of carbon monoxide poisoning aboard their boat.

    Peter D’Ancona, 54, and Tina Sgambati, 51, were found dead Sunday afternoon aboard a 35-foot boat docked in Cherry Grove on Fire Island, Suffolk Police said.

    Though carbon…

  • [NYDN] Families of slain Parkland students to receive $400G each from GoFundMe campaign
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 9:35:00 PM)

    FORT LAUDERDALE — The families of the 17 victims killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting will each receive $400,000 from a $10.5 million fund. Eighteen of the injured survivors will receive $1.63 million.

    The Broward Education Foundation and a steering committee for the victims…

  • [NYDN] Aaron Judge on failing to come down with Ronald Acuna Jr. home run in Yankees loss: ‘Just timed it up wrong. It’s all about timing’
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 9:15:00 PM)

    Aaron Judge’s 6-7 frame has helped him haul in many balls destined for the right-field seats at Yankee Stadium, but this time he fell short.

    With one on and one out in the 11th inning, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. drove a ball to the right-center field wall, and as Judge backed up to the scoreboard…

  • [NYDN] Siblings of Brooklyn man slain by off-duty officer in 2016 road rage join protesters at Police HQ, demand cop’s firing
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 9:10:00 PM)

    The siblings of a Brooklyn man shot dead by an off-duty cop in a road rage incident said they’ll keep fighting to have the officer fired — two years after the fatal confrontation.

    Victor Dempsey and Victoria Davis, the brother and sister of Delrawn Small, again called for Mayor de Blasio and NYPD…

  • [NYDN] Knicks’ Enes Kanter burns the NBA — literally — and trolls Warriors, Adam Silver following DeMarcus Cousins signing
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 9:05:00 PM)

    Enes Kanter is playing with fire.

    Shortly after reports broke that DeMarcus Cousins had agreed to a one-year deal with the Warriors, Kanter mocked both the signing and the state of the NBA as a whole on Twitter.

    The Knicks big man, like many fans and other players, appeared hilariously frustrated…

  • [NYDN] U2 light up Madison Square Garden on Experience + Innocence Tour: review
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:55:00 PM)

    Blistering guitars, bombastic drums and an ageless, majestic voice: thy name is U2.

    The boys from Dublin rocked Madison Square Garden Sunday night with a setlist that sprinkled in two new cuts — “The Blackout” and “American Soul” — with classics like “Desire” and “I Will Follow.”

    The energy inside…

  • [NYDN] Shopper spends $1M at a North Carolina Toys ‘R’ Us just before store closes for good, plans to donate toys to local children
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:30:00 PM)

    A generous stranger dropped $1 million at Toys ‘R’ Us in the children’s store’s final few hours.

    The anonymous good Samaritan walked into the Raleigh, N.C., store last week and told employees to box everything up, local station CBS 17 reported. The toys are expected to be donated to local children…

  • [NYDN] Ronald Acuna Jr.’s two-run homer in the 11th dooms Yankees in 5-3 loss to Braves
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:15:00 PM)

    The first matchup between the two teams with the best records in the American and National Leagues squaring off did not disappoint, and it was the Braves that came out on top in round one.

    Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a two-run home run off David Robertson in the 11th inning as the Braves beat the Yankees…

  • [NYDN] Harper: Upstart Braves remind Mets what could have been as they best a similar Yankees club
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:00:00 PM)

    Call them this year’s version of last year’s Yankees, and with the ahead-of-schedule Braves in the Bronx this week, it makes for quite an intriguing series. Who knows, maybe they’ll even meet again in October.

    Certainly the Braves looked up to the task on Monday night, pulling out a 5-3 win in…

  • [NYDN] Families of migrant kids in NYC shelters recall separation horrors in federal lawsuit
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 7:55:00 PM)

    Eighteen states suing the Trump administration over its contentious “zero tolerance” policy have released dozens of heart-wrenching accounts of distraught migrant parents who lost their children at the border.

    More than 400 pages of testimony was provided as the states’ top prosecutors, including…

  • [NYDN] Ex-federal officer planned to sexually abuse underage girls, prosecutors say
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 6:50:00 PM)

    A former federal law enforcement officer traveled from Minnesota to New York City with plans to sexually abuse two girls, prosecutors said.

    Ex-Federal Protective Service inspector Jesse Rodriguez was arrested Sunday when he showed up to meet an undercover officer posing as a mother of 8- and 13-year-old…

  • [NYDN] Australian bishop sentenced to year’s detention for child sex abuse cover-up
    (Monday, July 02, 2018 6:35:00 PM)

    NEWCASTLE, Australia — The most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse has been sentenced in an Australian court to 12 months in detention.

    Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone on Tuesday ordered Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to serve at least…