New York Knicks Blog – Page 33 – NBA Blog

Willy Hernangomez plans to join Knicks

The Knicks are going to add some international talent to their frontcourt this offseason. Here’s Yahoo Sports reporting:

Spanish center Willy Hernangomez plans to join the New York Knicks on a multiyear contract this summer, his agent, Andy Miller, told The Vertical.

“It is my intent to reach an agreement with the Knicks and have Willy come to New York for next season and beyond,” Miller told The Vertical.

The Knicks hold the rights to Hernangomez, who was the 35th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

Knicks get Derrick Rose

Finals Game 7 was Sunday, the Draft is tomorrow, and you think that would be enough to keep fans busy, yet there are also some big trades dropping: the Knicks got Derrick Rose today, in trade from the Bulls.

Can D-Rose stay healthy? Will he regain his quickness and dominance of the past? And will he mesh with Carmelo Anthony, who tends to hang onto the ball for a while? And will Rose help make young Kristaps Porzingis better?

We already have something to look forward to next season. Fun stuff.

For full trade details, click here: Bulls trade Derrick Rose to Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis pleased with hiring of Jeff Hornacek

Whenever a team hires a new head coach, it’s only natural that players on the team will say positive things about their new leader. Still, it’s always interesting to see the exact wording the players use and what they choose to emphasize about the coach. Here’s ESPN NY reporting on the Knicks:

Just like nearly everyone else following the New York Knicks’ coaching search, Kristaps Porzingis was surprised when he first heard the club decided to hire Jeff Hornacek.

“There were a lot of names, coming up — David Blatt, [Frank] Vogel. Hornacek just came out of the nowhere,” Porzingis said in an interview with ESPN this week from his youth camp in Liepaja, Latvia. “I think it’s a really good decision from [team president] Phil [Jackson] and [GM] Steve [Mills].”

Yes, Hornacek received approval from one of the most important members of the Knicks franchise this week. Porzingis told ESPN that he’s looking forward to working with his new head coach.

“I think he’s a very smart coach. He knows how to use his players and that’s exactly what we need,” Porzingis said.

Street in Queens, NY named after Anthony Mason

Anthony Mason was an awesome NBA player. A versatile, rugged forward with handles like a guard. Super fun to watch. And he passed away far too soon. Mase will be remembed in many ways, one of which now comes in the form of a street named in his honor. Here’s the New York Daily News reporting:

Fans, friends, civic leaders and former teammates gathered Saturday in Jamaica, Queens, to honor Anthony Mason, the late, great Knicks’ bruising forward, renaming the street where he grew up, for him.

“Anthony Mason Way,” was added to 147th St. at Rockaway Blvd. for the player who died last year at 48 of congestive heart failure.

“This is a beautiful event,” said his son, Antoine Mason, 23. “The tough thing is, it’s not about anybody else here. It’s about the guy who’s up there.”

A city hoops legend and a graduate of Springfield Gardens High School, Mason was feverishly dedicated to the game. He’d break into the school gym to practice his game through the night, his son said.

Knicks sticking with triangle-like offense

Does the triangle offense work for a team that doesn’t have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, etc? Perhaps not, but maybe there are elements of it that can be applied elsewhere. Maybe. Here’s the New York Post with an update on the Knicks and new head coach Jeff Hornacek, who was formally introduced at a press conference today:

The triangle isn’t folding, it’s just slightly changing shape.

That was the vibe from Jeff Hornacek’s formal introduction Friday as the new coach of the Knicks. He strongly suggested he will maintain principles of Phil Jackson’s beloved triangle offense, while blending in the more spread, “up-and-down” style he favored during his previous stint in Phoenix.

“To me, it’s just a way to space the floor. There’s something about the triangle. Maybe we’ll call it the circle offense,” Hornacek said. “You can run any play you want out of the triangle. It’s going to be a part of our offense. It’s something that’s worked, won championships.

“We’re going to run the triangle, but I wouldn’t call it the triangle. There’s a lot of aspects of the triangle,” Hornacek added in his non-televised interview. “We can space it out farther and run some things I did in Phoenix. So there will be aspects of the triangle. It’s basic reads. You can call it triangle or call it what Golden State runs. There’s the idea we can blend it somehow.’’

Knicks hire Jeff Horancek as head coach

It’s been out for a while now that Jeff Hornacek was to become the new head coach of the New York Knicks, but the news became official yesterday. Hornacek becomes the 28th head coach in the franchise’s 70-year history in the National Basketball Association.

“Jeff has a tremendous basketball acumen and possesses strong leadership skills,” said team President Phil Jackson. “During his career as both a player and coach, he has demonstrated the ability to elevate the game.”

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next coach of such an historic franchise,” Hornacek said. “I look forward to working with Phil – a coach and teacher of the game I have admired for many years – and collaborating with him and our staff to take this team to the level that Knicks fans expect.”

Hornacek, 53, most recently led the Phoenix Suns as its head coach over parts of three seasons from 2013 through 2016, while engineering a 23-win improvement and a 48-34 record in his first year leading the organization, becoming the runner-up in the 2014 NBA Coach of the Year voting. He became just the third person in NBA history to be named both Player and Coach of the Month over the course of their career (December 1991, December 2013). He concluded his Phoenix coaching career with a 101-112 (.474) overall record.

The Elmhurst, Ill-native, began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz under head coaches Jerry Sloan and Tyrone Corbin from 2010-11 through 2012-13 following an illustrious 14-year playing career.

Do not expect a Knicks, Carmelo Anthony trade

The Knicks finished 32-50 last season. For vast improvement to be expected, major roster changes would probably have to take place. Will veteran star forward Carmelo Anthony still be the heart of the team? Seems likely. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Carmelo Anthony gave an assurance he won’t waive his no-trade clause this summer.

Anthony spoke for 15 minutes Thursday, at a TechCrunch conference at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, about Melo7 Tech Partners, the company he started a year ago that invests in tech start-ups, then took questions from a couple of business-news outlets.

When asked by Yahoo Finance if he will be on the Knicks next season, Anthony said, “Oh, yeah, you’ll see me here for the Knicks. Absolutely.”

Phil Jackson has not consulted with Melo on Knicks coaching search

The New York Knicks are currently built around forwards Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Those are the key players right now. But while Porzingis just finished a very solid rookie season, Melo is the star. And if there’s one guy that Knicks boss Phil Jackson would consult with about a decision that greatly affects the entire team, it’s Melo. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

Carmelo Anthony’s input hasn’t been needed, or asked for, yet.

The Knicks star forward has yet to speak to Knicks president Phil Jackson about the ongoing coaching search, but plans to be involved at some point, after raising concerns late in another dreary season about the direction of the franchise and wanting to be involved in the decision-making process.

“I hope so,” he said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday when asked if he would have a role in who the next coach is.

One thing Anthony feels certain of is that Tom Thibodeau would have accepted the Knicks job had it been offered.

Knicks coaching candidates include Kurt Rambis, David Blatt

Kurt Rambis was the New York Knicks’ interim head coach this past season. David Blatt was in charge of the Cavaliers, before the team decided to part ways and go with Tyronn Lue. Those two coaches are reportedly favorites to lead the Knicks next season, per ESPN.com:

The New York Knicks’ coaching search remains focused, for now, on interim head coach Kurt Rambis and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, league sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein.

Team president Phil Jackson loosely discussed the Knicks’ head-coaching vacancy with Golden State Warriors assistant Luke Walton last week, but sources say that the Knicks, at this point, are not seriously considering anyone beyond Rambis or Blatt.

Jackson and the Knicks did not reach out to ex-Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to discuss the club’s vacancy before Thibodeau agreed to accept the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offer to become coach and team president on Wednesday, sources said.

Unclear if Kristaps Porzingis will play again this season

The New York Knicks are 31-47 this season, and led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony (22.0 ppg) followed by rookie Kristaps Porzingis (14.3 ppg). While Melo should see action as the season wraps up, the big rook may or may not return to action. Here’s the New York Post reporting:

And in the 78th game, he rested — for the first time all season. But Carmelo Anthony said he would return for the final four Knicks games.

Or at least three of them.

Though Anthony is expected to play Wednesday against Charlotte at the Garden, rookie teammate Kristaps Porzingis remained “doubtful” for the game as he rehabs a right shoulder sprain. Interim coach Kurt Rambis reiterated that Porzingis, on whose 7-foot-3 frame so much of the Knicks’ future resides, must be completely healthy before he even sees the floor again.

“He’s doubtful for [Wednesday],” Rambis said of Porzingis who did not practice Tuesday after missing the three previous games. “He is improving and that’s about where it’s at.”