Derrick Rose met the New York media for the first time today and officially began his tenure as a New York Knick. True to his personality, Rose was very candid about his thoughts on the trade and want he plans to accomplish going forward.
“I hope I can play the rest of my career here, but I understand this is a business,” said Rose, who’s in the last year of his contract. “We’ll see how this one year goes, but I’m putting my all into this. I’ve been working my butt off.”
Undoubtedly, the comment that will get the most airtime is Rose’s thoughts on why the Bulls traded him.
A Hip-Hop mystery has finally been solved. From the moment The Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumous Life After Death hit stores in March 1997, fans have been vexed by the anonymous Knicks player that was robbed and cuckolded by his woman on the narrative classic “I Got a Story to Tell.” A few years back on ESPN’s Highly Questionable, former Knick John Starks confirmed the story was based in truth but declined to name the “victim.” Today, Fat Joe reveals the name as none other than Knicks enforcer Anthony Mason.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mase, he was one of the toughest players in the 90s and built like a tank. For some, it’s hard to imagine him getting played like this, but someone having the drop of you with a gun is a great equalizer. Another thing to keep in mind, as Joe mentions, is rappers embellish everything to the extreme. What could have been Biggie running out the back door could easily morph into the more entertaining cheating turned stickup fiasco.
Whatever happened, credit to Biggie for displaying his greatness and turning it into a classic and at times humorous song (a basketball game getting rained out???). We’re left to imagine if Biggie would have kept Mase’s name a secret had he lived.
Free agent guard Tony Wroten is finalizing a multi-year contract to join the Knicks for the next two seasons.
Wroten was released by the Sixers in December after struggling to return from a torn right ACL in January 2015. The 22 year old lead Philadelphia in scoring last season with 17 points per game. This year, he averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 18.0 minutes, last playing in December.
At 6’6, the Knicks are hoping Wroten can strengthen their struggling backcourt with his defense and penetration ability.
*****************
This is a good signing. Since the second year of the deal is reportedly not guaranteed, the rest of this season is essentially a tryout to see if Wroten can mesh with our group. While Wroten does not solve our PG problems, he has playmaking ability and can be a scoring threat instead of the predictable iso dumps to Melo when the shot clock is running down. Defense is where I’m really hoping he can be serviceable as we’ve been getting cooked by athletic PGs all year.
For the last few months, Wroten has been leaving cryptic messages on social media about possibly joining New York. Now he has his chance to show and prove.
This weekend was abuzz with trade rumors aftera story broke that Knicks, Cavs and Celtics were in preliminary talks about a trade that would send Carmelo Anthony to Cleveland, Kevin Love to Boston, and high draft picks to New York.
The crux of the piece is that Anthony, who is aging and suffering from recurring soreness on his surgically repaired left knee, would want to join forces with his close friend LeBron James in hopes of winning an NBA title. Another theorized trade includes Anthony going to the Clippers, where he would also be teaming with a close friend in Chris Paul.
There’s only one problem — Melo loves New York and has no desire to leave. Much like two summers ago when everyone claimed his best shot to win a title was going to Chicago, now the rumblings from media and some fans is the Knicks need to go into rebuild mode. Last night, Melo emphasized his commitment to the Knicks and doubled down this morning in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio:
There’s always some trade shit going, I don’t pay attention to those rumors. I’m not going anywhere.
So there you have it. Melo is staying, just as Knicks President Phil Jackson said going into All-Star weekend. The irony is Melo has been the one elite player in five years that’s wanted to play and win in New York. And here we have some fans and media that want to run him out of town and start over. Have you forgotten the Dark Ages that were the early to mid 2000s already?
Having lost 9 of their last 10 games, Knicks President Phil Jackson has announced today the firing of second year head coach Derek Fisher.
The move comes with the Knicks on a season-worst five game losing streak. Despite nagging injuries to key players Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Lance Thomas, the Knicks play in recent weeks has been marked by poor starts and haphazard fourth quarter execution. Since returning to .500 with a January 12 win over the Celtics, the Knicks have gone 3-11 and now sit at 12th in the Eastern Conference standings.
In his two years as head coach, Fisher has amassed a 40-96 record.
Assistant Kurt Rambis has been elevated to interim coach duties.
****************
It had to be done and I commend Phil for having the guts to sack one of his pupils.
It’s clear that Fisher was unredeemable in areas that are flat out unacceptable as head coach: his rotations, play calling and ability to adjust to the flow of the game. This has resulted in a team that lacks confidence and identity.
No sane Knicks fan believes this team is a contender, but they’re damn sure better than 12th place in the East. Let’s hope a good point guard is the next trick Phil has up his sleeve.
MIAMI — The Knicks made it three in a row last night with an efficient, disciplined performance on both ends against the Heat.
PAINT DOMINANCE: On the offensive end, the Knicks got huge games from the starting frontcourt of Melo (25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals), Robin Lopez (19 points, 2 blocks) and Kristaps Porzingis (12 points, 2 blocks). Melo shot 75% from the field, using a balanced attack from inside and mid-range. Porzingis struggled with his shot, but hit double figures in the second half by getting to the line. And Rolo put his full arsenal on display with putbacks, spin moves and his pet baby hook shot.
D-WILL SPARK: Once again, Derrick Williams was the key bench contributor, helping New York maintain their fourth quarter double digit lead. He had 13 points (5/8) to go along with 8 rebounds. The most clutch bucket was a fourth quarter three-pointer with the shot-clock expiring. It pushed the lead back to double digits and seemed to deflate Miami’s confidence.
PORZINGIS STAYS FOCUSED: Chris Bosh had a monster game (28 points) and seemed to relish taking our rookie to school. He got a nice driving dunk at KP’s expense, and Whiteside followed up with his own slam over the Latvian giant. Porzingis didn’t get rattled, and came back from the Bosh dunk for an alley oop on the next possession. Earlier, he had two good blocks on Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade.
He’s not going to block every shot, but I like the fact Porzingis is never afraid to contest, even after getting yammed on like below.
The Knicks accomplished perhaps their best feat thus far this season with back to back wins over the elite Atlanta Hawks.
Ball movement? You got it and it started with Carmelo Anthony, who had 7 assists last night and flirted with a triple double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists). On Sunday’s game he had five. In two games, New York tallied 27 dishes.
Defense? The Hawks were held to 35% from three and went from 23 fast break points on Sunday to just 8 Tuesday night. They shot an average of 44% from the field, but never got a consistent offense going due to the Knicks’ pesky interior defense, helmed by Robin Lopez and Kristaps Porzingis combining for 7 blocks in the two outings.
Backcourt production? Arron Afflalo exploded for 38 points on Sunday, torching Atlanta by hitting his first seven three pointers and going 14/17 from the field. Calderon was +9 in Sunday’s game, but had his best moment last night when he hit a clutch driving layup over several Hawk defenders to put New York up 105-101 with 18 seconds remaining. He finished with 7 points and six assists.
Bench spark? Jerian Grant had his best game as a Knick on Sunday. He looked for his shot and passed, scoring 8 points and dishing for 7 assists. Last night, it was Derrick Williams providing much needed production with 15 points.
Coaching? Derek Fisher went with a nine-man rotation and exploited matchups. His subs gave the starters adequate rest, and he stayed with the players that provided a hot hand.
Toughness? The Knicks didn’t fall apart when the Hawks tightened up last night and tried to bully them. Robin Lopez retaliated quickly from a Paul Millsap cheap shot, and Porzingis got right in Kent Bazemore’s face for the same tactics (with Melo having his back).
The team still has a ways to go, but the chemistry is building. And with this squad already equaling last year’s 17 wins, you can’t help but be optimistic.
NEW YORK — The Knicks received by efforts from Robin Lopez (11 points, 6 blocks) and Derrick Williams (18 points) to snap a four-game losing streak and beat the Pistons 108-96 at Madison Square Garden.
Melo lead the way with 24 points and kept the Knicks close throughout until Williams exploded for 16 points in the fourth on 5-6 shooting. The team effort was rounded out with Calderon (15 points), Kyle O’Quinn (12 points) and Kristaps Porzingis (10 points).
The main threat coming in was Andre Drummond, and the Knicks did a superb job of throwing different bodies at him and keeping him from dominating the glass. Although no Knick had more than 7 rebounds, Drummond was held to 13 points (5/15) and 9 rebounds. Leading the way for Detroit were Ersan Ilyasova (19 points) and Reggie Jackson (17 points).
A big positive to take from this game is the Knicks are 11-2 when they score at least 100 points. But a glaring problem this season has been the losing streaks — this was the third time the Knicks had lost four straight. If we hope to get a playoff spot, these stretches of futility cannot keep happening.
The Knicks are back in action on New Year’s Day against the Bulls.
BOSTON — New York’s slide continued in Boston with the team showing urgency too late and dropping their fourth straight in a 100-91 defeat to the Celtics.
As was the case last night, the Knicks looked outmatched against a team that showed more poise, execution and diversity in their offense. This game was an alarming example of how inadequate our guard play is on both ends. The backcourt (including subs) produced 14 points on 6/23 shooting. Meanwhile, Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas alone had 21 points and a field day against Jose Calderon. The guards couldn’t keep their assignments out the paint, forcing the defense to collapse to help and opening up other opportunities for Celtics scoring.
On offense, no one is taking it to the hole consistently. We’re a mid-range shooting team that can’t shoot.The Knicks are 43% in field goals for the season. Last night, New York shot 21% from three and 37% from the field, making any hopes of a comeback nil despite getting within 5 points with five minutes remaining.
With no help from the guards, the scoring load fell on Melo and Porzingis, who both put up numbers but couldn’t be efficient. Melo lead all scorers with 29 points (11/26) and 10 rebounds, his second double double on back to back nights. KP went for 16 points (4/13) and 12 rebounds.
Every game is making it clearer is that the Knicks need to make a move for a dynamic guard (or two) before the trade deadline.
Derrick Williams took two women home last night and woke up $750,000 lighter in the jewelry department.
Williams told police that his Tribeca apartment was robbed by two women he took home early Saturday following the Knicks’ victory of the Sixers. According to Williams’ documented account, the unidentified women found a Louis Vuitton bag that contained the expenstive jewelry. They did not stay the night and left before dawn with Williams’ other friends. The Knicks forward discovered ttthe theft Satruday afternoon at 4 p.m. Williams refused to elaborate further when asked about the incident before last night’s home victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Police believe the crime may be the latest in a string of robberies where young women target wealthy men at clubs. Williams met the pair at the Up & Down club, and it’s likely the suspects used falsed names. According to the NY Post, a man was robbed of a Swiss timepiece worth $590,000 by two women he met at a midtown strip club earlier this month.
Williams is in the first year of two-year, $8.8 million dollar contract he signed with New York over the summer.
*******************************************
D-Will is going to have to charge this one to the game. It’s straight foolishness to have strangers up in your house like that. He’s rich and entitled to spend his free time as he sees fit. But if you’re up for a night of debauchery, take it to an reputable hotel suite. Hope he had insurance on those pieces…
![[Video] Derrick Rose Tells Bulls “Thank You” for Trade, Wants to Finish Career in NY](https://nykloyalist.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/derrick_rose_knicks_jersey.png?w=825&h=510&crop=1)
![[Video] Fat Joe Names Anthony Mason as Knicks Player from B.I.G.’s “I Got a Story to Tell”](https://nykloyalist.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/highly_questionable_fat_joe.png?w=825&h=510&crop=1)
NEW YORK KNICKS LOYALIST 