New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has never been known as an offensive whiz, and that may be proving true again this season.
Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports this weekend that a couple of top Knicks players have privately expressed frustrations about how the team’s offense has played out this year. Begley adds that the offensive performance of the Knicks’ starting lineup has been particularly underwhelming.
While the Knicks are 12th in the NBA in offensive efficiency this season, they are a bottom-ten team when it comes to pace. Begley notes that the Knicks scored just 13 points in the first quarter against the lowly Houston Rockets on Saturday. It is not clear which players specifically may be frustrated. But leading scorers Julius Randle (19.6 points per game this season, down from 24.1 last season) and RJ Barrett (15.3, down from 17.6) are both in the midst of scoring downturns.
The sky is not exactly falling for the Knicks, who are still a respectable 9-7 on the year overall. But this is not the first time that we have heard of frustration from within about Thibodeau’s offense.
Photo: Greg M. Cooper-USA Today Sports
New York Knicks fans probably wanted to kick a hole through the television after what they saw on Wednesday.
The Knicks lost 104-98 to the Orlando Magic on their home floor to fall to 8-7 on the year. Magic guard Cole Anthony put up 15 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, including a clutch jumper late in the fourth quarter to put Orlando up by four.
Anthony also had the viral moment of the night when he dissed the Knicks by using their own “bing bong” line against them after his postgame interview. Take a look.
If you are not familiar with the legend of “bing bong,” you can read about it here. It has become a major rallying cry for the Knicks and their fans this season. But it has also left them vulnerable to troll jobs by other teams whenever the Knicks lose.
The 21-year-old Anthony, who has been balling out this season with nearly 20 points per game, is the son of former Knick Greg Anthony. That had to make the disrespect that much more painful for Knicks fans.
The Indiana Pacers are doing Reggie Miller proud by dunking on the New York Knicks.
The Pacers topped the Knicks by the final of 111-98 on Wednesday. After the game, they tweeted about their victory by writing, “Bing Bong.”
It was a pretty brutal diss from Indiana because “Bing Bong” has become the new rallying cry of the Knicks and their fans. If you are not familiar with the backstory, you can read about it here.
Save for one meeting in the 2013 postseason, the Pacers-Knicks rivalry has largely been dormant ever since the days of Miller. The two teams play each other three more times this season though, and this might be the shot that reignites the bad blood of years past.
Photo: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Spencer Dinwiddie may have come from the Brooklyn Nets, but he insists he does not have anything against their crosstown rivals.
The new Washington Wizards guard responded this week to a report by Marc Berman of the New York Post. The report claimed Dinwiddie did not find the New York Knicks to be an appealing fit as a free agent destination.
“Why y’all still writing this stuff about me?” Dinwiddie tweeted. “I never said that. “I’m just happy to be on the @WashWizards.”
Dinwiddie, 28, agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the Wizards in a sign-and-trade with the Nets. He is coming off surgery for a partially torn ACL but is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.
As for the Knicks, Dinwiddie did once throw some shade at them. But the notion that he did not want to play for the Knicks seems to be inaccurate.
Photo: Erik Drost/Flickr via CC-BY 2.0
The New York Knicks have been looking to add a star player to their backcourt, and Kemba Walker certainly fits the bill.
Walker, who was traded from the Celtics to the Thunder in a blockbuster deal earlier this offseason, has agreed to a buyout with Oklahoma City. He will now sign with the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Walker had two years and $74 million left on the deal he signed with Boston prior to the 2019-20 season.
Walker is from The Bronx, so playing for the Knicks will be a dream come true for him. The 31-year-old point guard has always spoken about what it means for him to play at Madison Square Garden, and he will now call the storied venue home.
Injuries were a problem for Walker in Boston, but he is still one of the better point guards in the NBA. He averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists in 43 games with the Celtics last season. If he’s healthy, he should be a great addition to a young Knicks team both on the court and in the locker room.
The New York Knicks are expected to once again pursue just about every top free agent and star player available via trade this summer, and DeMar DeRozan is not surprisingly on their list.
DeRozan and the Knicks have mutual interest in a potential deal, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.
DeRozan has been mentioned as a potential fit for the Knicks for quite some time now. New York is looking to improve its backcourt following a successful season in which they went 41-31 and secured the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, but it was their first trip to the postseason in eight years.
While he was not really known as a facilitator early in his career, DeRozan changed his game with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged a career-high 6.9 assists while still scoring an impressive 21.6 points per game last season. Reggie Bullock, who was New York’s starting shooting guard, is also a free agent.
Some reports have claimed DeRozan would be willing to give the Lakers a discount, as he is from Los Angeles and wants to play there. However, that seems unlikely given how much money the four-time All-Star would have to give up.
If the Knicks do try to sign DeRozan, we know they will have plenty of competition.
Carmelo Anthony is not the same electric scorer he used to be, but there still appears to be plenty of interest in the 37-year-old on the free agent market.
The New York Knicks are among the teams that have interest in signing Anthony, ESPN’s Jordan Schultz reports. Carmelo has a good relationship with Knicks president Leon Rose, who used to be an agent with CAA and represented the 10-time All-Star earlier in his career. Schultz was told by sources that the Knicks have “made it clear” that they are targeting Anthony.
New York’s biggest competition may come from the Los Angeles Lakers, who are also said to have interest in Anthony. LeBron James and Carmelo are close friends and have made it known for years that they want to play together. With Anthony still chasing a championship ring and the Lakers recently adding Russell Westbrook, there’s a strong chance Melo could take less money to sign with L.A.
Anthony averaged 13.4 points while playing 24.5 minutes per game with the Portland Trail Blazers this season. He’s a solid scorer who has 17 years of NBA experience, which is likely why a team like the Knicks would want him.
Many Los Angeles Lakers fans might be happy to see Dennis Schroder go, but the guard looks set to attract plenty of interest as an unrestricted free agent.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Schroder turned down a four-year, $84 million offer from the Lakers earlier in the year. The guard appears to want more money and a larger role than the Lakers can offer, and a sign-and-trade may be on the table.
The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks are mentioned as two teams that are likely to have interest in Schroder. Both have the means to land Schroder via a sign-and-trade, though the Knicks will also have the cap space to sign him outright without negotiating with the Lakers.
Based on other reports, whoever wants Schroder will likely have to pay the guard a lot of money. He has youth on his side, as he turns 28 in September, but he’s never really been a featured option on a team. His play down the stretch with the Lakers convinced some that he never will be, either.
Schroder, an eight-year veteran, averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists for the Lakers last season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be open to trading Collin Sexton this offseason, and it should come as no surprise that the New York Knicks are reportedly among the potential suitors.
The New York Knicks have been the “most aggressive” of the teams pursuing Sexton, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
There are said to be as many as six teams interested in Sexton, but it makes sense that the Knicks are at or near the top of the list. The Knicks had a huge turnaround in their first year under Tom Thibodeau, and it is not a secret that they are looking to add a star player this offseason. They are also weak at the point guard position.
Sexton averaged 24.3 points per game in his third season with the Cavs. The 22-year-old has emerged as one of the top scorers in the NBA, which is why there is plenty of interest in him around the league.
Sexton has one year left on his rookie contract, and Cleveland may not want to make a massive financial commitment to extend him. There has been talk that they could try to package him with another star player to create maximum flexibility going forward.
The Cleveland Cavaliers appear willing to listen to offers for guard Collin Sexton, and several teams may be prepared to do what it takes to land the young scorer.
According to Sam Amico of Hoops Wire, the Heat, Knicks, Lakers, Pelicans, Pacers, and Thunder are among the teams considering making a run at Sexton. Talks are said to be in the “exploratory stage,” and no real offers have been made yet.
Amico adds that several of these teams would be willing to take on Kevin Love’s contract in order to facilitate a Sexton trade. This is something Cleveland may look to do if it decides to move Sexton, as the 32-year-old has two years and $60.2 million remaining on a deal that has become quite cumbersome for the rebuilding Cavaliers.
The 22-year-old Sexton is clearly available. He averaged 24.3 points per game last season, but there remain questions about whether he can coexist with Darius Garland. The Cavaliers also hold the No. 3 overall pick, and with a potential max extension looming for Sexton, trading him may be the team’s preference.
