New York Knicks Blog – Page 61 – NBA Blog

Deron Williams confirms that yes, the Nets would prefer to run New York

D-Will

Mostly looking to just play basketball

Deron Williams has entered the fray — sort of.

Asked about teammate Paul Pierce’s assertion that the Nets will eventually take ownership of New York from the Knicks, Williams told ESPNNewYork.com, “That’s my teammate so I’m with him. Of course we want to run New York. The Knicks are our rival. I don’t get into too much of the talking. We’ll decide all that on the court. We have four games to play against them and then the playoffs so I’ll let Paul do the talking and I’ll just go out there and play.”

The Knicks and Nets have engaged in a war of words ever since Nets forward Pierce told ESPN New York 98.7 FM in August, “I think it’s time for the Nets to start running this city.”

That sparked responses from Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith, who called Pierce “bitter” and added that there “will be consequences” for his words.

The Knicks and Nets will meet four times in the regular season.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Carmelo Anthony says he has no interest in leaving Knicks

Carmelo Anthony can become a free agent after the upcoming season, but he gave the strongest indication yet that his plan is to re-sign with the Knicks.

“I’m not going nowhere,” Anthony said during an interview Tuesday with Bloomberg Television’s “Market Markers.”

Anthony is due to make $23.3 million in the 2014-15 season. If he were to opt out, the Lakers likely would pursue him, but the Knicks can offer him significantly more. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the most the Lakers could offer is four years and roughly $96 million. Anthony could get a maximum five-year contract worth about $129 million from the Knicks, who can start negotiating with him in February.

Money aside, Anthony pushed for the February 2011 trade from Denver to be in the spotlight and try to help the Knicks win their first championship since 1973. He led them to 54 wins last season and their first Atlantic Division title in 19 years, but they lost to Indiana in the second round.

Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Nets vs Knicks trash talk is starting early

Non-stop rhetoric has ping-ponged back and forth across both boroughs, the playful woofing even coming in the simple form of that three-letter phrase used so much in social media circles.

Nets forward Reggie Evans types in a simple “lol” on his Twitter page, this after the Knicks’ J.R. Smith responded to Paul Pierce’s chatter about hating the Knicks by proclaiming the Knicks were going to win the 2013-14 NBA crown. Jason Terry, never one to back down from tossing verbal barbs, chimed in the other day, cracking that maybe Smith instead meant the Knicks were destined to win a streetball title.

Jason Kidd doesn’t mind it all, probably because he’s well aware his team features a handful of trash-talking players who have no problem taking turns behind the wheel of their proverbial garbage trucks.

“That’s who my guys are,” the Nets coach told Newsday Wednesday at Lincoln Center, where he was promoting Reel Code Media’s application at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. “They have to be who they are. Some like to talk, some don’t. So you probably won’t hear Brook [Lopez] get involved in that.

“But Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, that’s the makeup of what they like to do. It’s all in fun. The game isn’t won in the newspapers; it’s won on the court. You still have to play the game.”

Reported by Roderick Boone of New York Newsday

Knicks sign Toure Murry and Chris Smith

Training camp rosters around the NBA are slowly starting to fill up.

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed guards Toure’ Murry and Chris Smith. These are likely just non-guaranteed deals that will bring the players to training camp.

Murry, 6-5, 190-pounds, averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.20 steals over 20.8 minutes in five games for New York’s entry at the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV. He helped lead Rio Grande to the NBA D-League Championship last season, averaging 8.3 points, on 45.6-percent shooting, with 2.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.61 steals over 23.5 minutes in 46 regular season games (30 starts). He played four seasons at Wichita State University, averaging 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists over 29.3 minutes his senior season in 2011-12.

Smith, 6-2, 195-pounds, averaged 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists over 19.9 minutes in five games for New York’s entry at the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, NV. He originally signed with New York on Aug. 1, 2012, but was waived on Oct. 26. The Millstone, NJ native, played two seasons at the University of Louisville, averaging 9.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 27.5 minutes in 40 games (38 starts), and helped lead the Cardinals to the NCAA Final Four during his senior season in 2011-12. He is the younger brother of Knicks guard and reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith.

Various Knicks players already working out together

Training camp is still a few weeks away, but some Knicks have shown up early at the team’s practice facility in Greenburgh to work out together.

Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, C.J. Leslie, Amar’e Stoudemire and Beno Udrih, among others, were at the the facility this past week, according to two people with knowledge of the workouts.

It is common for players to get together on their own to work out. Some Brooklyn Nets worked out together in Los Angeles recently.

Last season, the Knicks worked out together at the team’s practice facility before training camp.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

J.R. Smith suspended five games for violating anti-drug program

The NBA announced today that J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks has been suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. Smith’s suspension will begin with the first game of the 2013-14 season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

According to the New York Daily News, “the punishment suggests that Smith did not test positive for a performance-enhancing drug but instead tested positive for marijuana. According to the league’s drug policy a player is suspended five games after a third positive test for marijuana A second offense results in a $25,000 fine while first positive test calls for the player to enter a program. Smith, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, is currently recovering from knee surgery and is not expected to be ready for the Knicks Oct. 30 regular season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. In a statement released by the league on Friday, the NBA said “Smith’s suspension will begin with the first game of the 2013-14 season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.”

More from the Daily News: “Smith signed a three-year deal worth $17 million which includes a player option after the second year of the contract. Smith averaged a career high 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists during the regular season.”

Jeremy Tyler has foot surgery, out 8-10 weeks

Jeremy Tyler

Still trying to prove his place in the NBA

Knicks power forward Jeremy Tyler underwent surgery to repair the fifth metatarsal on his right foot Thursday and is expected to be out 8-10 weeks, according to the Knicks.

Tyler signed a contract with the Knicks that is not fully guaranteed. This is significant because New York can waive Tyler without paying him a full season’s salary. It is unclear if the Knicks have guaranteed a portion of Tyler’s contract. If so, they would have to pay him that portion if they were to release him.

Tyler, 6-foot-10, had a strong showing with the team in summer league and made an impression on the Knicks’ coaches.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

No timetable yet for return of J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith continues to progress in his rehab from offseason knee surgery. But there is no timetable for his return.

“No, not yet,” Smith said Saturday. “I wish.”

Smith had left patella tendon surgery and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee in mid-July.

The initial recovery time for Smith’s surgery, which was performed by team orthopedist Dr. Answorth Allen, was approximately 12 to 16 weeks. That meant Smith would likely miss part of training camp and the beginning of the regular season.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

No, J.R. Smith does not own an armored truck

J.R. Smith

Not a tank or armored truck owner

When the Knicks re-signed Smith, they also renewed their acquaintance with his flamboyance. He denied he was driving a $450,000 armored truck that was parked outside a restaurant where he was dining in the Meatpacking District last month. Smith said the vehicle was his friend’s and he came in a Bentley.

“I don’t know how that got out,’’ Smith said. “I wasn’t even in the truck. I was standing next to the truck. It’s not my truck. It’s one of my friend’s. The Bentley was just over there. I don’t know why they didn’t think that was mine.”

Smith also no longer has blonde hair after his mother and coach Mike Woodson made him dye it back to its original color.

“My mom was killing me, [Woodson] didn’t like it at all,’’ Smith said. “He told me he wasn’t playing my golf outing if I had it blonde. My mom was the deciding factor. She said it was time to bring back the old me.”

Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

J.R. Smith says Paul Pierce will pay for his anti-Knicks comments

Paul Pierce has sparked a war of words between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks.

Earlier this month, Pierce said that he believed that the Nets would eventually own New York.

J.R. Smith is the latest Knick to take umbrage to Pierce’s comments.

“I just look at him as a bitter person just getting out of Boston. He doesn’t really know what New York is all about. He’s been playing in Boston his whole career,” Smith told ESPN New York on Saturday.

Smith, speaking without anger in his voice, added: “He just knows, just know that his words have consequences and he’s going to have to pay for them.”

Pierce, an ex-Celtic, said earlier this month that his hatred for the Knicks “has grown a little” since he joined the Nets in July following a blockbuster trade.

Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York