Category: News

[Photo] Long Road Back: Porzingis Walking After ACL Surgery

Kristaps Porzingis’s journey back to health is off to a good start. The Knicks star posted a photo on Instagram showing him walking with a protective brace around his surgically repaired left knee. Porzingis is barely a week removed from ACL surgery, but it’s good to see him locked in on the 9-12 month recovery time ahead of him.

Frankly, this entire timeframe is going to be filled with stress for us Knicks fans. There’s never been a player with KP’s height, style, and talent that’s suffered an ACL tear. We have no idea if he’ll come back without missing a beat or diminished physically. All we can hope for is that his youth lends to a full recovery.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfuF9tMDKsO/?taken-by=kporzee

 

A Unicorn in Boston? Kyrie Tells KP He’d “Love” to Play with Him

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As Kristaps Porzingis begins the long road back from last week’s ACL tear, a star player from a division rival has begun an early recruitment.

Kyrie Irving revealed during All-Star weekend that he sent encouraging words to Porzingis on his recovery. And during the Knicks-Celtics October 24 meeting, he made it clear he’d love to play with the 7’3 Latvian.

“I told him I would love to play with a big like you, man, when we played them in the beginning of the season when he came to Boston,’’ Irving. “He’s so versatile. So I wish him nothing but the best and hope he comes back even stronger.”

KP and Irving were going to be teammates this All-Star weekend on LeBron’s squad. The injury will keep Porzingis out into halfway through the 2018-2019 season.

“One thing that absolutely sucks in sports and life is going through injuries,’’ Irving continued. “I sent him well wishes. That dude is so freaking talented. It’s tough man. I just hope mentally he’s able to jump over those hurdles. It’s tough coming back knowing the process and having that window you’re trying to hit of how long you’ll have to wait in order to do certain things. He’s always in the gym. He’s a hard worker. I wish him nothing but the best.’’

So why should this be somewhat alarming? If you recall, Porzingis did a sit-down interview earlier this year with Rachel Nichols. He revealed that when the Phil Jackson drama went down about him possibly being traded, he received texts from many players wanting to play with him. The scary thing for Knicks fans is none of these urges to play with KP involved players coming to New York.

Some observers have argued that Irving, who becomes a free agent in 2019, might be willing to return to the Tri-State area (he’s a Jersey native) to bring a championship back to the Garden. But here’s the thing — Danny Ainge has shown to be on the most shrewd GMs in the league. The odds are that in two years Boston will still be a top team. At the very least, still ahead of NY when it comes to title hopes.

So why would Irving come here when it’d be easier to incorporate KP’s versatility as a final piece into a title contender?

I’m far from a fear-monger, but there’s a lot riding for the Knicks on this summer’s draft pick and trade moves.

Dead Weight: Joakim Noah Will Stay Knicks’s Problem

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Stop the presses everyone — Joakim Noah is upset! The veteran center was sent home last week after a spat with coach Jeff Hornacek over playing time. The present word is that Noah has no interest in a buyout on the three years and $56 million remaining on his contract.

Somewhere, Phil Jackson is smirking…

Out of all the nonsensical moves the Zen Master made in his tenure, none are worse than this signing. The hefty pricetag makes Noah virtually untradeable, giving the Knicks the unappealing options of paying Noah to rot on the bench, haggle him nonstop about a buyout, or stretch the money out over several more years and compromise our future cap space.

From my vantage point, the most attractive option is to simply wait Noah out. He’s still prideful and full of competitive fire. With it clear he won’t get playing time, Noah might eventually be willing to compromise on a buyout rather than waste the last few years of his career in street clothes.

If he does stick around, the playing time issue could literally change in an instant.Say O’Quinn gets injured — who’s going to back up Hernangomez in spot minutes? Having Noah around in a situation like that would be helpful (especially if you’re still on the tanking bandwagon).

Can you deal with Noah on the bench for the rest of his contract, or would you rather the Knicks push for a buyout at all costs? Let me know in the comments.

 

Back on Track: Porzingis, Ntilikina and Bench Power Knicks Over Nets 119-104

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Coming into Monday’s game against the Nets, the Knicks had effectively hit rock bottom. Just 24 hours before, the team had squandered a 19-point lead at home to the Pelicans. KP was in a shooting and confidence slump. Ntilikina had been MIA on offense the last week. And the team fell five games below .500 for the first time this year.

But nothing says bounce-bank like seeing the Nets on the schedule. The team delivered a high-level performance that saw both Porzingis and Ntilikina have strong games, and the bench contributed 70 points for an easy 119-104 victory in Brooklyn. With a seven-game road trip looming, this was a much-needed confidence-booster for a team facing their most important stretch of the season.

PORZINGIS WAKES UP: Before Monday’s game, KP claimed to have had an epiphany. He acknowledged that he’s been forcing up too many shots in an effort to live up to his billing as the “first option.” He now realizes that to be the leader goes beyond scoring. Against the Nets, he focused on letting the game come to him and making the “right play.”

This approach resulted in one of his best shooting games of the season (8/14, 26 points). He was also a terror on defense, grabbing 9 rebounds and two blocks. He appeared relaxed and did everything in the flow of the offense. And the biggest thing for me was he appears to have his stamina back.

NTILIKINA SHOWS LIFE: With Jarrett Jack having logged heavy minutes the night before, it was up to Ntilikina to handle the PG load. The rookie responded by nearly dropping a triple-double (10 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds). We’ve been begging for him to look for his jumper and he did, which allowed for more floor spacing and better ball movement. There were still a few times where he passed up shots when driving into the lane, but we have to trust that’ll come with more experience.

https://youtu.be/ZQ0xe6D1cRo

BENCH MOB: Every bench player aside from Joakim Noah saw the floor and contributed. New signee Trey Burke hit his first jumper as a Knick and managed to dish out two assists in eight minutes. Even with the limited time, you could see his ability to get to the rim will prove very valuable when the offense breaks down.

The Nets’s leaky defense had Michael Beasley looking like Shawn Kemp in the fourth quarter. After a slow start (3/8), Beasly started abusing Brooklyn in the post and scored with several dunks, including a putback on his own miss. In 29 minutes, he was 10/18 from the floor with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The other big contributors were Kyle O’Quinn (11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) and Doug McDermott (13 points).

New York begins their road-trip on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies.

https://youtu.be/dhr1oyqqsbs

 

 

 

[Video] Watch Porzingis’s Epic Block on Melo

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There wasn’t much for Knicks fan to cheer last night as the Thunder hammered them 105-84 in OKC. The lone bright spot was Kristaps Porzingis, who stepped into his role as the #1 option with a double double (31 points, 12 rebounds) on former mentor Carmelo Anthony. The biggest play was KP recovering to swat Melo’s layup.

Enjoy these small wins because it’s gonna be a LONG season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bac3I19h5-J/?taken-by=nyknicks

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https://youtu.be/BP0-0rxxCqc

Melo Watch Ends: Anthony Traded to OKC

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The Carmelo Anthony saga in New York City is over. The New York Knicks have officially completed a trade that will send the 10-time All-Star to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round pick, reports confirmed Saturday afternoon.

Trade talks revved back up this week as the Knicks wanted to make a deal before next week’s training camp. The tight deadline made Anthony, who possessed a no-trade clause, expand his approved destinations beyond Houston to Oklahoma City and Cleveland. Previously, Houston trade talks failed due to the Knicks not wanting to take back the long-term contract of Ryan Anderson. Cleveland was contacted by New York several days ago after declining over the summer to deal Kevin Love for Anthony.

The Knicks, who wanted to obtain scoring and shorter contracts for Anthony, received that with Kanter, who averaged 14 points, 7 rebounds last season and has one year remaining plus a player option for 2018-2019. McDermott averaged 9 points over 66 games last year for the Bulls and Thunder. The second round pick comes courtesy of Chicago.

The 33-year-old Anthony is waiving his $8.1 million trade kicker to complete the deal.

The Knicks will open the season on the road against the Thunder on October 19.

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The circus is finally over. Still, I can’t say I’m happy. For all Melo’s faults, the way he was treated by Phil Jackson and the Knicks has left a sour taste on many players since Melo is well-liked across the league. It will take some time before our rep is rebuilt enough to entice free agents to come here.

That no-trade clause really came back to bite us, too. A player as talented as Melo and all we could get was Kanter, McDermott and a throwaway second round pick???

On the bright side, we get to see what Porzingis can bring with the offense centered around him sans the triangle

As for opening night against OKC, I’m expecting us to get smashed by at least 30.

 

Melo Responds to Phil Jackson Press Conference on IG

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Carmelo Anthony was essentially served his walking papers today at Phil Jackson’s press conference.

When asked if he wanted to keep Melo, Jackson bluntly stated the Knicks all-star would “be better off somewhere else.” Anthony, who just two days earlier affirmed he wanted to remain a Knick, took to Instagram to send a simple response.

I’m sure this is doing wonders for our marketability with free agents. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that Melo controls his destiny with his no-trade clause. Let’s hope he can go to a contender or elite team (Clippers, Wizards) and this charade and disrespect can finally end.

 

Joakim Noah Suspended 20 Games by NBA for Drug Violation

Memphis Grizzlies v New York Knicks
 (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Joakim Noah’s recovery time from knee surgery just got an involuntary extension. The Knicks center has been suspended for 20 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, the NBA announced today.

Noah tested positive for using over the counter supplements. The substance is known as SARMs, and per the US Anti-Dopy Agency is a drug that has “anabolic agents” without the side effects of traditional steroid use.

Noah, who is in the first year of a four-year, $72 million dollar contract with the Knicks, has not played a game since February 4 and was expected to miss the rest of the season due to left knee surgery. The suspension will begin once Noah is medically cleared to play at the beginning of next season.

Noah is averaging 5 points and 8 rebounds over 46 games this year.

What an embarrassment. However, I’m not convinced this is actually a bad thing. Anything that gets Willy Hernangomez more minutes and time to get acclimated as our starting center is a blessing. As for Noah, we’re stuck with him for three more years. No GM that wants to remain employed will take that contract, so we can only hope Noah gets himself together enough to contribute something.

 

 

 

 

Joakim Noah to Miss Rest of Season for Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

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Joakim Noah’s inaugural season with New York has likely come to an end with the news the injury-plagued center needs arthroscopic knee surgery.

Noah has missed seven straight games due to a sore left hamstring. Although the knee wasn’t specified by sources, it likely involves the same leg plagued by the hamstring issues. Noah last had surgery in 2014 to remove damaged cartilage from his right knee.

Noah signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Knicks last off-season. He is averaging 5 points and 8 rebounds.

Thanks Phil, the worst contract in the league is the gift that keeps on giving. Frankly, I’m getting Amar’e flashbacks from this signing but at least Stat could get buckets on offense. Our silver lining is knowing we can finish the season with Willy Hernangomez and Kyle O’Quinn splitting center duties.

 

Knicks Waive Brandon Jennings, Sign Chasson Randle

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In a surprise move, the Knicks have waived Brandon Jennings to sign Chasson Randle, who played in the Knick’s D-League and was recently waived from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The move was made once Jennings approached Knicks management about wanting to sign with a playoff team. The Knicks are currently four games out of the eighth seed.

Jennings was one of big free agent signings for New York last summer. On a 1-year deal for $5 million, Jennings averaged 8.6 points and 4.9 assists on 38% shooting for 58 games.

Randle is expected to be available for tonight’s game against the Raptors.

 

It’s been real, BJ. The irony is that Jennings always held it against New York that they passed on him in the draft. He finally gets to play for his dream team and can’t last an entire season. That says something about the dysfunction of the organization and locker room morale.

On the positive side, this helps our tank. Jennings was our floor general off the bench, but his shooting was streaky and defense horrible. The younger Randle will be an improvement on both ends and we get to further develop a player with upside. And unless Randle channels Linsanity from several years ago, we’ll likely still lose the majority of our final games and be in position for a good draft pick.

Gotta find the silver lining where we can with this season.