New York Knicks Blog – Page 65 – NBA Blog

J.R. Smith out 3-4 months after knee surgery

The New York Knicks have announced Sixth Man Award winner J.R. Smith has had patellar tendon surgery and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee.

The Knicks said Smith’s injuries, which were treated at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City by team orthopedist Dr. Answorth Allen, were chronic and gradually worsened. His recovery time is approximately three to four months, which could make him available between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15 — near the start of the 2013-14 season.

A league source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks were aware Smith likely would need surgery for his left knee, which started bothering him during the playoffs.

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Knicks expected to sign Metta World Peace

It was mean to happen. At some point, Ron Artest, currently known as Metta World Peace, was supposed to play for his home-town New York Knicks.

Better late than never.

Metta World Peace has reached agreement on a two-year, $3.2 million contract with the New York Knicks, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The second year of the deal is a player option, a source told Y! Sports.

World Peace and his agents met with Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald and coach Mike Woodson on Monday in Las Vegas and agreed to the deal in the meeting, league sources said.

Publicly, World Peace is still insisting he’s considering other options, including China, but league sources told Y! Sports he’ll be joining the Knicks next season.

Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

World Peace, or Artest, or whomever, should definitely help the Knicks, adding depth, defense, toughness, and the ability to give fun, wacky post-game interviews.

Metta World Peace could join Knicks, Clippers, or play in China

Metta World Peace wants to play for the New York Knicks, according to a person close to the veteran small forward.

World Peace cleared waivers late Sunday afternoon, making him an unrestricted free agent. A source told ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst that the Knicks, who can offer him part of their taxpayer mid-level exception [roughly $1.7 million], already have reached out to the former Los Angeles Laker.

While the Knicks are World Peace’s first choice, he is also holding onto the Los Angeles Clippers and China’s Shanghai Sharks as possible teams to join next season.

World Peace spoke Sunday with Yao Ming about playing in Shanghai, a source said.

Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine

Should Knicks add Metta World Peace?

Knicks executive Larry Johnson admittedly is worried, unsure the Knicks have done enough to keep pace with the Eastern Conference stalwarts, specifically the Nets. And he said he believes the addition of Metta World Peace would be a perfect step.

Johnson, who spends his summers in Las Vegas as UNLV’s most famous basketball alum, is with the Knicks summer league team while aiding MSG Network’s coverage.

“I think that’s what we need to do,’’ Johnson told The Post of adding World Peace, who was amnestied by the Lakers. “That would be a great addition for us. This guy is a proven champion. He’s won. Off the floor, he had some problems. He did some things off the floor that wasn’t supposed to be done, but I think he’s got this life in the right place.

“To get him right now would be a great addition to our team as far as strength, outside shooting, perimeter defense instead of [Iman Shumpert] always guarding guys.’’

Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Knicks interested in Samuel Dalembert

The Knicks are interested in one of the best centers still available in free agency, Samuel Dalembert, according to a player source.

On Friday, the first day of the NBA summer league at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald and Dalembert’s agent, Marc Cornstein, were spotted chatting. The Knicks currently have no real backup behind Tyson Chandler, as Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace are all gone, and Kenyon Martin and Earl Barron are still free agents.

At this point, however, the Mavericks are the front runners to land Dalembert, who averaged 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 16 minutes per game last season for the Bucks. Sources indicated to ESPNDallas.com that the Mavs are optimistic they will reach an agreement with Dalembert soon.

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Jeremy Tyler trying to earn spot with Knicks

The Knicks need a banger up front to contend with the Pacers’ Roy Hibbert. The 6-foot-10, 260-pound Jeremy Tyler is trying to prove he’s the guy.

Tyler, who played for the Warriors and Hawks last season, got off to a great start Friday in the Knicks summer league opener against the Pelicans with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance. He started at power forward, played 23 minutes and had five offensive rebounds.

The Knicks may re-sign aging Kenyon Martin but there’s a big chance the younger, taller Tyler will be invited to training camp — maybe even with a partial guarantee. Ironically, he grew up a fan in San Diego.

“The Knicks have always been my favorite team,’’ Tyler said. “I’d love to be part of the organization. People would say, ‘you’re from San Diego. Why aren’t you a Lakers fan?’’’

Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

New York Knicks re-sign J.R. Smith

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed guard J.R. Smith to a contract.

Smith is a scoring guard who can shoot his team into very good or bad places. He can be ice-cold and missing shot after shot, and then go crazy and hit multiple three-pointers in a row to pull a team back into the game.

Smith, 6-6, 220-pounds, became just the third player in franchise history to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award (joining Anthony Mason and John Starks) by averaging a career-high 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 33.5 minutes in 80 games off the bench last season. He earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the period ending Mar. 31, after posting three consecutive 30-point efforts off the bench, becoming the first NBA player to accomplish the feat in over 23 years.

“Re-signing J.R. was one of our primary goals this offseason and we are thrilled to have him back,” Grunwald said. “He made great strides this past season with his consistent play off the bench for us, and we look forward to his continued growth.”

The Freehold, NJ-native originally signed with New York as a free agent on Feb. 17, 2012, and then re-signed on Jul. 11, 2012. He holds career averages of 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 25.4 minutes in 618 games (130 starts) over nine seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Denver and New York.

Raptors trade Andrea Bargnani to Knicks

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has acquired forward/center Andrea Bargnani from Toronto in exchange for center Marcus Camby, forward Steve Novak, guard/forward Quentin Richardson (via sign-and-trade), a first-round draft selection in the 2016 NBA Draft and second-round selections in 2014 and 2017.

“Seven-foot versatile players with a good mid-range offensive game and an ability to stretch the other team’s defense are hard to come by in this league,” Grunwald said. “Andrea has proven to be a quality scorer who adds another dimension to our team. We are excited to add him to our frontline.”

Bargnani, 7-0, 256-pounds, was selected No. 1 overall by Toronto in the 2006 NBA Draft, and after seven seasons with the Raptors, ranks third on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 6,581 points, second in three-point field goals (579) and fourth in games played (418). He holds career averages of 15.2 points, on 43.7-percent shooting from the field, and 4.8 rebounds over 30.3 minutes in 433 games (316 starts). Bargnani posted a career-best 41 points, and added seven rebounds and six assists, versus the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 8, 2010.

“Andrea has great size and can create huge match-up problems for our opponents,” Head Coach Mike Woodson said. “He can score both inside and out. He will be a great complement to Carmelo, Tyson and Amar’e.”

The native of Rome, Italy, averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 28.7 minutes in 35 games during the 2012-13 season. Although Bargnani missed 46 games due to injury/illness, he scored in double-digits 11 times, reached the 20-point plateau eight times and scored a season-high 34 points on Nov. 23, 2012 at Detroit.

Camby, 6-11, 245-pounds, appeared in 24 games (four starts) for New York during the 2012-13 season – his second tenure with the Knicks. He averaged 1.8 points and 3.3 rebounds and being acquired from Portland, via sign-and-trade, on Jul. 11, 2012.

Novak, 6-10, 225-pounds, averaged 6.6 points, on 41.4-percent shooting from the field and 42.5-percent from three-point range, over 81 games (one start) during the 2012-13 season – his second season with the Knicks. He was claimed off waivers from San Antonio on Dec. 21, 2012.

Richardson, 6-6, 220-pounds, appeared in one game for the Knicks during the 2012-13 season – his second tenure with New York. He signed as a free agent on Apr. 16, 2013.

Knicks re-sign Pablo Prigioni

New York Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed guard Pablo Prigioni to a contract.

Prigioni, 6-3, 185-pounds, was the first Argentine-born player in Knicks history and made his NBA debut at age 35 after signing as a free agent on Jul. 24, 2012. He averaged 3.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.8 rebounds over 16.2 minutes in 78 games (18 starts) this past season and was inserted into the Knicks starting lineup on Mar. 18 to help lead the team to the franchise’s third-longest winning streak of 13. In 11 postseason games (10 starts), Prigioni averaged 4.5 points, 3.2 assists and 1.27 steals over 20.9 minutes.

“We are very excited to have Pablo back in a Knicks uniform. He is one of our catalysts on both the offensive and defensive end,” Grunwald said. “His tenacity, leadership and experience played an integral role in our team’s success down the stretch, and into the postseason.”

Dad wants Metta World Peace to finish career with Knicks

Ron Artest Sr. is hoping if his son, Metta World Peace, is waived today via the amnesty rule, he will attempt to finish his career with the Knicks.

Nevertheless, Artest Sr. said as of last night, World Peace is seriously considering retiring instead of finishing his NBA career in the Big Apple.

Artest Sr. told The Post his son’s strong preference is to remain with the Lakers and he may decide to end his career instead of signing with the Knicks, because he does not want to uproot his kids in Los Angeles.

According to an Orange County Register report, the Lakers intended to waive World Peace. Subsequent reports stated no decision had been made. Kobe Bryant took to twitter Monday night, stating the club should keep World Peace and try to win a title with what they have.

Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post