(Saturday, November 24, 2018 1:05:00 PM)
MEMPHIS – Marc Gasol has placed David Fizdale firmly in the rearview mirror. And even if it doesn’t sound like they’ll ever be friends – or even embrace at the reunion Sunday – Gasol recommended the coach to an inquiring Kristaps Porzingis.
“He asked me what I thought. I said, ‘He’s a great coach…
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 7:23:51 PM)
Knicks head coach David Fizdale knows what it’s like to coach at the FedEx Forum all too well. But when he steps foot on the court on Sunday night, he will be the visiting coach this time around.
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 6:41:34 PM)
Knicks head coach David Fizdale will face the Grizzlies on Sunday, and he thinks he might hear boos from the crowd when his name is announced.
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 3:32:09 PM)
Knicks veteran G Courtney Lee has finally been cleared to practice, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley.
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 12:54:11 PM)
The Knicks may want nothing to do with Joakim Noah but the Memphis Grizzlies appear to be willing to take a chance on him.
[NYTimes] Early-Season Surprises From the Wacky N.B.A. (Sunday, November 25, 2018 6:00:07 AM)
The drama has come faster than usual this season, from fistfights to free agents to sneakerheads grabbing the spotlight.
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 9:22:58 PM)
David Fizdale doesn’t expect to get emotional over his return to Memphis. Instead, looking back at his firing there in November 2017, he views himself as fortunate because it led to where he is today. “I ended up becoming the head coach of the New York Knicks, and how lucky is that for me to…
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 11:14:54 AM)
MEMPHIS — Grizzlies center Marc Gasol broke his silence on his former coach, David Fizdale, saying they cleared the air in a summer phone conversation, but probably won’t hug when the Knicks and Memphis square off Sunday at FedEx Forum. It’s the long-anticipated first meeting between Fizdale and Gasol since the coach was fired one…
(Saturday, November 24, 2018 9:28:59 AM)
If you see a New York sports fan with a little extra hop in their step these days, the chances are that guy is a hockey fan. Rangers, Islanders — at this point, it doesn’t matter. At this point, you look at the standings and you see both teams in the neighborhood of the playoffs,…
68 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.11.25)”
Wow, now I think we might have a little more insight into Dwight Howard’s attitude all of these years. If these allegations are true, trying to keep yourself in the closet at such a high level of scrutiny must be insane. Doesn’t excuse what Howard allegedly tried to do here, but it’s still got to be nuts.
Why is cap hold data so hard to find in a chart?
Great question. Honestly, I think it is for as sad of a reason as that information requires a little more effort than just posting the numbers from a contract, so sites like spotrac don’t bother. It definitely is very annoying, since obviously cap holds are very important, so the idea that sites that purport to give you the information about a team’s salary cap don’t bother to tell you what the cap holds are is just nuts.
I have kept up with it but when earlybirdrights.com came out it looked on point with cap holds
Howard’s pastor and confidant, Eddie Murphy, denies the allegations. Dennis Rodman says Howard will be able to put this behind him.
Thanks pt, that’s really helpful. It sure would would take lots of time to learn the history/rationale behind all of these multipliers! Makes me wonder whether the system could be simplified dramatically without negative effects. Maybe throw out all precedent and start from scratch…
Shit, will they have room to fit Ron’s $8 million cap hold on their cap?
Some of the salary cap rules aren’t worth me trying to understand because I have no decision making power and the rules change every “x” years anyway. I have better things to do with my energy. However, it seems they are probably going to have to allow several of the young players to walk if they want to sign a max free agent.
It’s nice to find and develop some young player on good value contracts, but if most of them walk as soon as that contract is up, we are doing all the work for someone else.
This Dwight story is absolutely crazy… I mean, it’s obvious that there’s plenty of closeted NBA players, but the whole situation of harassment, of unprotected sex, everything is just insanity. I just hope it doesn’t devolve into a million gay jokes about Dwight when the point is how much of a piece of shit he seems to have been with the guy.
Too late!
I even noted on Twitter that it took forever to even figure out exactly why Dwight Howard was trending because every tweet was a gay joke.
Which, as Ron Funches nicely pointed out, is precisely why these guys stay closeted.
Yeah, it’s really painful to watch. The story might not even be true for all we know, but as usual it won’t stop the jokes and the hatred either way.
I just hope the biggest personalities in the game, guys that have been vocal about equality and all like Barkley, LeBron, etc speak up about this sooner rather than later. It won’t change much but at least it could put the discussion on topic and help others in the future.
I’m not sure why who Dwight is sleeping with should even be a discussion unless he’s being accused of something criminal by the other guy. I didn’t read the story. I know I don’t care who Howard sleeps with.
I wish people could just let go of this kind of stuff and avoid conflict with people that have different views. Live and let live on all sides.
This tweet about sums it up, unfortunately.
Howard could have easily done what millions of other decent, normal, non-famous, non-wealthy, everyday-people do: excercise their right to follow their sexual or gender preferences, without drama or shame. He chose to hide it, for whatever the reason.
He could have followed Ellen Degeneres’ path. He chose Kevin Spacey’s. It’s always a calculated risk: do I come out? Not society’s fault.
Sexuality is not a ‘view’. Gender preference is not a ‘view’. Those are natural things, like being left-handed, having blond hair or talent for dancing.
Labeling sexual preference a ‘view’ is far more damaging that the ton of gay jokes we are going to witness in the next few days (some will be very funny, and that’s ok, too.).
What they should say is something they won’t say: Howard should not have decided to stay in the closet, to avoid this circus. He should have excercised his right to choose whatever he wants in life.
Howard, not the people joking about this development, is the one doing the real damage. He is the one putting shame on something that is not shameful. If anything, he is not a victim of society, but a victim of his own calculated mistake.
Let’s stop blaming society for individual decisions.
Society, the mechanics of self-hatred and blame and the process of coming out are far more complex than you imply, but I won’t get into it. I just hope it can lead to a positive situation overall but it’s getting pretty clear it will just be the same old.
I’m gonna guess that you’re not gay, so what you’re saying here is extremely glib. Sure, it’s easy as 1-2-3! Be a very famous athlete and just come out, people will be super cool about it!
Thanks for straightsplaining it though!
Nobody ever said it’s easy. Famous or not, it’s a personal decision – with consequences, regardless of what you choose to do. Best policy is being open about your preference. Be smart about your choice: no matter what you choose, there will be a group of people attacking you for it.
Perfect proof is this thread: I clearly advocate being open about sexual/gender preferences (because it’s a natural thing, like being left handed in a world where the majority is righthanded) and yet, some dim bulbs are attacking me for it. I understand it and simply go ahead with what I consider correct.
Howard could have done the same.
It’ll stop being a discussion when there’s no long, violent history of homosexuality being a prosecutable offense, just like race will stop being a discussion when America no longer has a deep-seated history of chattel slavery.
You can over-analyze eating a ham sandwich. Or you can just eat it. You can over-analyze society’s response, your own feelings, the mechanics of dating your neighbor or just walk with a straight head and excercise your right to your sexual/gender preference. Or you can put yourself in the closet (you are *not* born in it!).
It’s your choice.
They’ll even throw impromptu parades for you!
Howard can kill this circus by just saying: yes, I have *whatever* sexual preference.
That’s all. Nobody is going to shoot him for it.
Yes, some weirdos will hate him, but the overwhelming majority of people (the ones who matter) will just respect his decision and move on. What he does now is his choice – not society’s fault.
Ah yes, the ham sandwich metaphor. Was that Butler… or Foucault?
“You could think about sexuality in a heteronormative society, or you could just… not.”
Gonna be hard to top this one, folks. Just walk with a straight head and exercise your rights!
Do you actually think that this is how being a famous gay athlete works? You just come out, “some weirdos hate you,” and you go about your business like normal? Tell me about how if black people just kept their hands on the steering wheel and answered police questions politely, they’ll never experience a whiff of brutality. Tell me about how if women just obtain the same skills as a man and ask for the same salary as a man, they’re sure to be rewarded with the same success.
Pointing out ignorance is not a personal attack, it’s stating a fact.
It’s stupid straightsplaining, btw I love the term JK, simply because you treat the situation from an outside perspective with no understanding of how complex it can be, specially since we have zero idea how Howard feels about it.
So I’ll use my example, as usual. I delayed coming out to my loved ones for almost 7 years, even though I knew pretty clearly that I was sexually attracted to cisgendered males, because of a myriad of reasons, fear of being kicked out of home, not having the financial security to support myself in case that happened, self blame, self hatred, catholic upbringing, etc. There’s a ton of layers in every story and the decision of coming out is heavily impacted by all those factors.
But the most important factor was: I had no idea how to define myself in the first place. I was sexually attracted to guys, but I also enjoyed sex with women and transgendered people, and I had no idea how to portray that to others so they could understand what I was going through specially because it didn’t fit the perceived narratives of “discovery” of a sexual orientation. So I didn’t discover my sexuality, but rather I more built it, in a way where I feel comfortable about it and yet remain difficult to understand for others because most of the times it is more complex than just “I like cis men OR cis women, and I 100% associate with either hetero or homosexuality”.
So yes, you’re being ignorant as usual. Stop putting the blame on the people suffering to cope with the pressure and start thinking about how to get more informed on the subject, if you even care in the first place.
Or you could just eat the sandwich. It’s your choice.
Childish argument. Many blacks were killed for…being black! Does that mean blacks should try to change the color of their skin, ala Michael Jackson? Or just be proud of their color and achievements like Denzel Washington?
It’s very trumpian and intellectually dishonest to use the tactics of fear to justify an absurd position. But we knew that already….
Yes, it is. For everyone.
Ellen Degeneres came out. Nothing happened.
Yes. The alternative is the current circus engulfing Howard.
Yes, it is. For everyone. Thoudans, millions of people have come out. Nothing happened.
Yes. Absolutely. The alternative is the current circus engulfing Howard.
One pernicious and especially dissonant expression of conservativism is the invention of a morally- and ethically-superior past world — a longing for a “simpler, better time” — while asserting simultaneously that we are free of the pains and trials of the actual past in the invention of a similarly-fictitious present.
Literally nothing that ProjectKnicks has said has been rooted in reality.
Or you could just save the explanation and excercise your choice without shame. Yes, some won’t like it, but that’s ok. No need for all the drama.
Ellen Degeneres is a white woman in show business. Dwight Howard is a black man in the NBA.
What happened when gay people came out in the military before 2011?
People have different opinions on sexuality.
Some people might not approve of the fact that I have lived with my girfriend for the last 20 years and we like to give each other oral. They think I should have married her and not do that. I don’t care what they think and can live peacefully with them as long as they don’t bother me. End of story.
Your first inclination was to attack me without even asking what my personal views are or why I would tolerate other views even when I think they are wrong or ignorant.
Your attitude is an example of one the problems, with the other side being people that do harmfull things to others that are different than themselves out of ignorance or religious conviction.
Quite frankly, I think almost everyone is an idiot when it comes to this subject and that’s why we have so much conflict.
We should be talking about Howard’s basketball game.
@30 – lacking arguments, the topic is quickly switched to vague accusations of being ‘bad’. What is next? A request for a ban, behind the scenes?
You can’t stand people who don’t buy into your pedantic, dumb and obviously fake airs of intellectuality.
So was Jason Collins: a black man in the NBA. He is doing just fine.
I’m bi, and still haven’t told anyone beyond my partner and very close friends. I would largely be accepted with open arms if I did, but I choose not to because 1. I don’t feel like having to explain myself (there’s never been a suspicion that I’m gay or bi, so it will come as a surprise to a lot of people) and 2. I simply prefer to keep some things about myself relatively private. That’s my decision, and I think it makes things easier on me, not harder, considering that I get to avoid being called slurs/being threatened for my sexual orientation and because I don’t have to navigate the shift in personal relationships that coming out causes. It’s not always as easy or as simple as just coming out, especially in homophobic and (especially) transphobic communities like professional athletics. Though Howard should certainly not be threatening anyone just because he’s worried about his sexual preferences becoming public knowledge.
You’re just enjoying the drama and offering ‘insight’ that other people do not need or even care for, out of an inflated ego and desire for attention. You want the world to know how ‘special’ and ‘different’ you are. But you are not special: your sexual feelings are normal and they are your choice. Just like everyone else. Stop the drama.
While I agree with this position (it’s perfectly legitimate in my opinion), some asses could easily make the argument that Howard has a moral obligation to help the fight against sexual bias by admitting to his preference, so that others in his position, not as powerful, wealthy or famous, could draw inspiration from his courage.
In the end, these things can be argued forever. My position is perfectly clear: Howard does not owe anyone an explanation and he should not be ashamed of whatever sexual preference he has. It’s all normal and nobody’s business.
He needs to understand that no matter how he moves forward with this, there will be some people who will not approve. That’s how the real world operates.
If I were in his shoes, my statement would be short and sweet: what I do with my life is my business – if you don’t like it, good luck!
And that’s what we get for engaging the troll, guys.
Let’s all collectively move on.
Wow
Another thread ruined by Project troll.
I like how you state the everyone is entitled to handle their business in their own way, yet when Bruno shares personal experience to offer insight, you declare he is handling it wrong and enjoying the drama.
The irony is too much for me.
Jinx
@43
When my argument in the first place was to provide an empirical piece of evidence on how every coming out story is unique for EVERYONE, not just me, and yet somehow he reads it as egotistic.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Nope. I recognize and respect Bruno’s choices, but I reserve the right to notice what his motivations are in ‘sharing’ his experiences. He wants to be seen as ‘different’ and ‘special’, but in the end, he is just like everyone else: he has certain sexual preferences. His preferences are not ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, because there is nothing wrong with being sexually attracted to this or that. We all feel the same way, regardless of preference.
In other words, he is just being a tad too dramatic. That’s all.
Literally nothing he said has been rooted in conservatism, either.
Not even saying a gay person is a drama queen?
That’s a very rich argument, I’ll use it on my thesis, thank you. You just saved me writing about 50 pages.
Don’t you see that you’re doing the same thing, right now?
@ 50 – you do have a point. Debate over – we have reached the point of diminishing returns.
‘Diminishing?’
DFTT
Well, after skimming through all that, I think I’ll go have a ham sandwich…
🙂
But seriously, I have no idea what it is like to be gay. I can only imagine that the decision to “come out of the closet” must be extremely difficult for anyone, but perhaps especially so for a male pro sports athlete.
dang, didn’t he just have a situation related to some gluteal “soreness”…it seems very few pleasures come without any pain…
well fortunately for dwight he has another year on his contract, for a guy whom bounces from team to team, can’t imagine this will help him land a new contract in another year or so…no matter what kind of numbers he puts up…
society as a whole has made some really good gains this millennium in terms of being more accepting of others…an NBA locker room though, filled with a lot of young competitive and aggressive males, I’m not so sure…
it’s a bit of a shame he’s such a unsympathetic public figure…he will though have an opportunity to do some good beyond basketball…
it’ll be interesting to see how he responds, and, more importantly how other players in the league respond to this situation…
as someone mentioned earlier – I’m hopefully some other high profile athletes will show their support…
the whole butt soreness thing is kind of amusing in retrospect – however, there is no doubt there are some very serious and important issues tied in with these circumstances…
doesn’t seem like dwight’s inner circle have responded so well in the early stages of this particular media spotlight…hopefully at 32 dwight’s mature enough to focus on doing some “greater” good at this point…
As with Jackie Robinson, whoever breaks the barrier is going to have to be a very strong, centered person. Because it’s obvious to anyone other than internet trolls how much abuse that person is going to encounter. They need to be better than everyone else – in terms of talent, conduct, and so on – for there to be any hope of “it” (being black, gay, whatever) becoming accepted. They will still get death threats. They will still be on teams where some players, or groups of players, refuse to associate with them. The dynamic in the locker room will be more strained. Etc etc. The male athlete who be open about his non-straight sexuality will have to be extraordinary in order to carry that burden.
Dwight Howard is not that person. And that’s fine (except for any criminal allegations about threats of murder, obvious!)…but any argument that it isn’t a big deal (assuming he is “queer”) is absurd.
Aside from the comment I just made that awaits moderation, I’ll note that all of my posts from the last few days begging for the ban hammer to be used against a certain poster have not even made it that far…they simply disappeared immediately upon post. But…man, I was right about that one.
Anyway, this is exactly the point with those signings/trades – Mudiay, Hez, to a lesser extent Vonleh. What is the upside?? So Mudiay may be playing better: we get the chance to resign him, like everyone else. Same for the others…though at least Vonleh’s cap hold is low, and he plays a position of need. The signings made little sense a few months ago, and just as little now.
I mean, strategically it might give us an option should Burke bolt to have Mudiay in the fold, but why not just sign Burke to a longer deal after last year? It was clear that he’d at least be a decent backup point.
I just don’t see a strategy here.
@58
I think they are/were trying to clear as much cap space as possible to chase a big name FA in 2019. That’s why cap holds could be crucial in the decision making early next year. They need to decide who the young core is going forward.
I hope that they wait another year to chase an FA, but I guess if KD does indeed look to go elsewhere, they are going to try to get him.
Is there a timing reason for renouncing holds early? Why not wait till we’ve got a FA on the line?
I’m not sure Burke was a sure thing at the end of last season. It wasn’t a huge sample size, sustainability was a real concern. I can also see Burke betting on himself and not wanting a cheap multi-year deal.
This is just disrespectful and you are not posting here in good faith. In fact, you bring nothing of value to this board whatsoever and are a half wit.
Time to ban this jerk.
The moderation stuff seemingly happens randomly, and that’s odds, but I would be beyond shocked if Mike K. and B.C. were behind any kind of censorship re: calling out someone like ProjectKnicks. They have never expressed opinions remotely close to his. Doesn’t compute, so I’d assume some kind of weird moderation hell before anything like censorship.
I wonder if certain words get a post flagged for moderation? I notice that the post referred to above had a certain word beginning with the letter q. Perhaps that was the reason?
Please ban ProjectKnicks. We should not provide a platform for his brand of hate.
Bruno, thank you for sharing your story and I am sorry that you were treated by such disrespect from members of this community. Unrelated but I think you post interesting and thoughtful content.
Last year I shared my non normative preferences with my wife of five years and family and employer. It’s a very difficult process. To diminish these stories is typically born of ignorance. Thank you to those posters who listen without judgement.
@36 Ellen DeGeneres lost her sitcom over her coming out (during an episode on HER sitcom, no less). She didn’t fall all the way out of show biz, but in her own words, decided to take every gig she could to basically build her national profile back up.
You’re either a fanatical idealist with no real world experience or a troll.
So silly to respond to PK. He’s a real asstrole.
@65
Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. I hope you find a good way to enjoy being yourself in whatever non-normative ways you choose!
In regards to the disrespect, I mean, who cares… it’s annoying obviously but it’s just a troll trying to attack someone, in the end he’s the one who’s desperately trying to cling to a position of privilege by mistreating others and reaffirming this perceived power. I’m glad there are a lot more great posters here who either share my feelings or are in disagreement but do so in a manner where we can have actual discussions on the matters.