Knicks Morning News (2019.05.17)

The Grizzlies have signaled they’ll select Murray State point guard Ja Morant with the No. 2 pick assuming Zion Williamson goes to the Pelicans.

Stephen Curry scored 37 points, and Golden State rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit.

Coach Steve Kerr said Durant’s injury was more serious than initially thought. He added: “Hopefully he’ll be back at some point, but we’ll just wait and see.”

The Bucks center starred on both ends of the court in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. To survive, Toronto will have to contain him.

The professional basketball season resembles an election campaign, with party colors adorning team jerseys and banners of political patrons hanging in stadiums. Then there are the insults and riots.

Dick Garrett was part of the 1974 Milwaukee Bucks team that lost in the finals. Now, as a security guard, he has a front-row seat to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Kanter’s team, the Portland Trail Blazers, played a conference final on Wednesday, but Turkish fans had a hard time finding it.

For the first time in N.B.A. history, brothers — Stephen and Seth Curry — are up against each other in a conference finals. This is tricky — for their parents.

CHICAGO — Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry didn’t exactly make a plea to Anthony Davis remaining with the Pelicans. In saying after the lottery that the situation will be ironed out, Gentry never once said he wishes Davis will be back. The Knicks are monitoring the Davis soap opera in the wake of New Orleans winning…

CHICAGO — It looks like RJ Barrett won’t be singing the Memphis blues. According to an NBA source, the 6-foot-7 Duke swingman prefers if he drops past Memphis, to No. 3 or No. 4, to get to play with either the Knicks or Lakers. Memphis has the No. 2 pick, but the source told The…

Be disappointed about not getting Zion Williamson if you want, Knicks fans. But you should also be excited about RJ Barrett. There seems to be a dejected feeling among some fans about Barrett, that not only is he far inferior to Williamson but that he’s not much of a prospect, period, and that the fan…

Once the Zion Williamson “hangover” subsides, the Knicks are poised to get a “really, really good player” with the third overall pick in the 2019 draft. So says ESPN NBA draft analyst Mike Schmitz, who believes the Knicks still should be excited about the likelihood of landing either Murray State point guard Ja Morant or…

Jarrett Culver isn’t considered part of the top tier in this year’s NBA Draft class, but sources tell SNY Insider Ian Begley that some within the Knicks organization ‘highly’ rate the Texas Tech standout.

As the NBA Combine kicked off in Chicago, some of the top prospects in this year’s draft class were on hand to tackle the national media for the first time. And, as one would expect, there were large crowds surrounding Ja Morant and Cam Reddish.

RJ Barrett, who is shaping up to be available at No. 3 overall for the Knicks, reportedly has a preference on where he’d like to go in the NBA Draft.

The growing optimism that the Knicks will land Kevin Durant and a second max free agent this summer is being reflected in their odds to win the NBA Title next season.

Former Duke forward RJ Barrett is projected to be the No. 3 pick in next month’s NBA draft to the Knicks. Asked what he feels he needs to do to improve at the next level, he kept it simple.

Zion Williamson was excited about the prospect of playing for the Knicks before Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery. That, coupled with the ever-present amateur body language readers on social media, led to speculation on Wednesday that Williamson wasn’t happy about the possibility of landing with the Pelicans.