Category: New York Knicks Blog

The New York Knicks today announced multiple front office hirings: Gerald Madkins has been named assistant general manager, Craig Robinson as vice president, player development and G League operations, Harold Ellis as director, player personnel, Michael Arcieri as director, basketball strategy and Fred Cofield as scout.

“Last month, the day after I was hired, I started a full evaluation of the entire basketball operations staff,” Knicks General Manager Scott Perry said. “My first goal was to build-up the highest level front office in the NBA. We are adding a host of highly-regarded and respected basketball people to work with the Knicks to fortify the franchise for years to come.”

According to the New York Post, “with five new additions, there will, at most, be one current front-office member on thin ice, as a source told The Post. Phil Jackson’s top advisor, Clarence Gaines Jr., will stay on. The Knicks had a handful of openings that were never filled — with the death this season of scout Ben Jobe, the retirement of personnel director John Gabriel because of Parkinson’s disease, the departure of executive Chris Bernard and firing of developmental coach Josh Longstaff.”

Madkins returns to the Knicks organization where he was a scout from 2003-07 after four seasons as the L.A. Clippers assistant general manager (2015-17) and director of basketball operations (2013-15). Previously, he served as vice president of player personnel for New Orleans (2010-12), director of scouting for Houston and vice president of player personnel for Rio Grande of the Developmental League (2008-10) and West Coast scout for Seattle/Oklahoma City (2007-08). During his time with those organizations, he was involved in the NBA Draft selections of Anthony Davis (first overall, 2011); Russell Westbrook (fourth, 2007), Wilson Chandler (17th, 2006), Serge Ibaka (24th, 2007), David Lee (30th, 2004), Trevor Ariza (43rd, 2003) and Chase Budinger (44th, 2009). The California-native, played 48 games in the NBA for Cleveland and Golden State, and also played professionally in the Continental Basketball Association, Spanish Basketball League and French Basketball League. He began his post-playing career as a coach at California State University (2000-01) and then served as an assistant coach at his alma mater California, Los Angeles (2001-03).

Robinson spent this past season with Milwaukee serving as vice president of player and organizational development after serving as head coach at Oregon State (2008-14) and Brown University (2006-08). He led Oregon State to a 93-104 record (.472). The Chicago-native began his coaching career as an assistant at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1988-90) and then, became head coach at Chicago Lab School (1999-2000), before serving as an assistant at Northwestern University (2000-06). He was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton University, where he was a teammate of Knicks President Steve Mills. He was then selected by Philadelphia in the fourth round (93rd overall) of 1983 NBA Draft, before playing professionally in England for two seasons.

Ellis joins the organization after five seasons with Orlando as director of pro scouting. Previously, he spent four seasons with Detroit as a scout (2009-12) and as an assistant coach (2008-09) and six seasons with Atlanta as a minor league coordinator/scout. Prior to the NBA, he coached Rome (GA) of the WBA to back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006, earning himself consecutive Coach of the Year honors. He also served as a coach for Roanoke (G League), Rockford (CBA), and Las Vegas (IBL). He played three seasons in the NBA, averaging 5.8 points in 145 games for the L.A. Clippers and Denver, and also played in the CBA, USBL and in Greece. He’s a graduate of Morehouse College.

Arcieri, spent the past five seasons with Orlando, most recently serving as director of basketball operations during the 2016-17 season after being the director of basketball administration since 2012-13. His responsibilities included: CBA operations and legal counsel and compliance, salary cap and roster management, contract drafting and execution, player trade and negotiation assistance, budget development and oversight, as well as player evaluation. Prior to joining Orlando, he was on the team counsel with Texas (Developmental League) and a high school coach at Old Tappan, NJ. He was raised in Whitestone (Queens) and Ridgewood, NJ and is a graduate of Bergen Catholic HS, Wesleyan University and Brooklyn Law School.

Cofield was originally selected by New York in the fourth round (73rd overall) of 1985 NBA Draft and averaged 3.7 points over 45 games during the 1985-86 season. He also played for Chicago in 1986-87. The Michigan-native played collegiately at the University of Oregon and Eastern Michigan University.

The New York Knicks signed rookie guard Damyean Dotson today.

Dotson, 6-6, 205-pounds, was selected by New York in the second round, with the 44th overall pick, of the 2017 NBA Draft out of the University of Houston.

The Houston, TX-native played two seasons at the University of Oregon (2012-13 through 2013-14) before finishing his collegiate career with the Cougars (2015-16 through 2016-17). As a senior, he averaged 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 32 games, earning All-AAC First Team honors.

As a member of the Knicks’ entry in summer league this month in Orlando, Dotson averaged 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in five starts.

The New York Knicks re-signed guard Ron Baker today.

Baker, 6-4, 220-pounds, averaged 4.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds over 16.5 minutes in 52 games (13 starts) during his rookie season with New York, while also appearing in four games for the NBA G League’s Westchester Knicks, with averages of 12.5 points, 7.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds over 36.1 minutes. The Hays, KS native was originally signed on Aug. 1, 2016 as an undrafted rookie from Wichita State University.

Here’s the NY Post reporting the latest news on Charles Oakley, whose run-in last season with security at MSG has finally come to resolution. Maybe.

Well, it certainly doesn’t sound like Charles Oakley is crushed by his one-year ban from Madison Square Garden.

“I want to thank all my fans around the world. The case is over now that was the hard part. The easy part is stayin away from the Garden OAK,” the former Knicks All-Star power forward tweeted on his personal account Sunday.

As a result of his February brawl in the stands with MSG security, Oakley accepted a deal Friday that includes a one-year banishment from the arena, where he once labored for 10 seasons as a Knick.

As the memory of Phil Jackson steadily fades, the Knicks will soon make another front office hire. Here’s the NY Post reporting:

According to multiple league sources, Gerald Madkins will be named the Knicks new assistant general manager, leaving the Clippers, where he was director of basketball operations since September 2012.

Madkins, 48, who played parts of three NBA seasons with the Cavaliers and Warriors, has been an executive with four other NBA teams — including the Knicks, for whom he served as a scout from 2003-2007.

Sources said Madkins was “going to New York” after his time in Los Angeles, but the Knicks have not formally announced the hire. That could come this week. One other source, acknowledging the team’s interest, said any definitive claims of a hire were “premature.” But that could be a matter of a variation on Yogi Berra’s claim that “it’s not done till it’s done.”

New York Knicks General Manager Steve Mills announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Knicks paid full price for the signing. Per multiple reports, the contract is worth $71 million over four years.

Hardaway, 6-5, 205-pounds, returns to the Knicks after two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. During the 2016-17 season, the former 2013 first-round draft choice of New York recorded career-highs in scoring (14.5 ppg), assists (2.3 apg), rebounds (2.8 rpg), minutes played (27.3), field goal percentage (.455), three-point makes (149) and attempts (417) and free throw makes (164) and attempts (214). Overall, the four-year NBA professional has appeared in 281 games – with 62 starts – to average 11.0 points and 23.4 minutes.

“Bringing back Tim to his original NBA home is an exciting time for him and this franchise,” Mills said. “As a versatile wing whose game continues to improve, he will fit right into the core of players that make up a roster emphasizing youth, athleticism, accountability and unselfishness.”

The 25-year-old Orinda, CA-native was originally selected by New York with the 24th overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft and had appeared in 151 total games for the Knicks over two seasons to average 10.8 points over 23.5 minutes, before being traded to the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Jerian Grant on Jun. 25, 2015. Hardaway holds the Knicks’ franchise rookie records for three-pointers made in a season (130) and three-point field goals attempted in a single game (12) and in a season (358), earning 2014 NBA All-Rookie First Team honors. His father, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, is currently an assistant coach for Detroit.

Phil Jackson confirmed Wednesday night that the team is listening to trade offers for star Kristaps Porzingis. Sources told ESPN on Tuesday that the Knicks had talks with each team positioned in the top five in the lottery, trying to acquire both a pick and a young player with star potential in exchange for Porzingis.

Porzingis, 21, averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in 2016-17, his second NBA season. He skipped exit meetings with Jackson and general manager Steve Mills in April because of frustration over the dysfunction and drama surrounding the Knicks, who finished 31-51.

— ESPN NY