<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-mitchell-robinson-trade-jericho-sims');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: The Knicks center not named Mitchell Robinson on trade market');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/The-Knicks-center-not-named-Mitchell-Robinson-on-trade-market.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: The Knicks center not named Mitchell Robinson on trade market</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T13:44:07-08:00">December 19th, 1:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T13:44:07-08:00">December 19th, 1:44pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks hold a 16-10 record as of this story’s writing. New York is in third place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks want to make a deep postseason run, so they may look to make an upgrade or two via trades.</p><p>There are also players on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-player-must-traded-soon">Knicks roster already emerging as trade candidates</a>. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-cryptic-response-reported-mitchell-robinson-timeline">Mitchell Robinson is dealing with an injury at the moment</a>, but he was previously mentioned in trade rumors. A recent report suggests that Knicks center Jericho Sims <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/jake-fischer-latest-man-in-demand?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=153361674&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">could be a “trade candidate,”</a> according to NBA insider Jake Fischer’s sources, via The Stein Line.</p><p>Sims, 26, is currently in his fourth NBA season. He has spent his entire career with the Knicks, something that seemingly could change based on Fischer’s latest report.</p><p>Sims’ current 12.5 minutes per outing is the lowest mark of his career. He is averaging 1.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game during that span. In all reality, Sims has yet to truly receive enough playing time in the NBA to make a significant impact. The most minutes per game he has averaged is 15.6, which he recorded during the 2022-23 campaign.</p><p>A change may be best for Jericho Sims at this point in his career. The Knicks could end up making him available for a possible trade. Sims should draw interest given his intriguing ceiling and considering the fact that he is still only 26 years old. At the very least, Sims could make an impact as a backup center for a team.</p><p>Perhaps, if he finds the right situation, Sims may even start at some point down the road. The chances of anything like that coming to fruition with the Knicks are slim, though.</p><p>A potential Sims trade from the Knicks will be another scenario to keep an eye on as NBA rumors continue to swirl around the league.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: The Knicks center not named Mitchell Robinson on trade market

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-kobe-bryant-almost-tossed-lakers-to-curb-for-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Kobe Bryant almost tossed Lakers to curb for Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kobe-Bryant-almost-tossed-Lakers-to-curb-for-Knicks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Kobe Bryant almost tossed Lakers to curb for Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-05T11:16:56-08:00">December 5th, 11:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-05T11:16:56-08:00">December 5th, 11:16am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski recently appeared on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, and he revealed that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant once thought he <a href="https://twitter.com/7PMinBrooklyn/status/1864731466913153197" rel="noopener">would end up playing</a> for the New York Knicks.</p><p>“It’s funny Kobe always though, he was convinced he was going to end up with the Knicks,” Wojnarowski said on 7PM in Brooklyn. “He goes, ‘they’re gonna amnesty me, and no one’s gonna claim me on waivers, and I’m gonna go sign with the Knicks.’ I said like, ‘they’re not gonna amnesty you.’ I said,  ‘they’ll burn this city down.’ He loved the Lakers and he only ever really wanted to be there. He would fantasize about the garden.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Warning Knicks fans: Kobe ALMOST came to New York 💔 <a href="https://t.co/L6g0QuZwbe">pic.twitter.com/L6g0QuZwbe</a></p><p>— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/7PMinBrooklyn/status/1864731466913153197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>There are several stories that have surfaced regarding Bryant possibly leaving the Lakers. Obviously, that never happened. He remained a Laker for his entire career, and the thought that he would get amnestied never came true. Even though he fantasized about Madison Square Garden, he never ended up playing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-miles-mcbride-reflects-on-new-york-fans-serenading-him-with-unique-chant">for the Knicks</a>.</p><h2><b>Kobe Bryant defended Carmelo Anthony with Knicks</b></h2><p>When Phil Jackson took over with the Knicks, him and Anthony did not get along very well, and during that time, Bryant defended Anthony. Wojnarowski and Anthony spoke on what Bryant would say during the podcast.</p><p>“He loved this guy (Carmelo Anthony),” Wojnarowski said. “I remember standing with him at the Staples Center. I would always talk to him kind of on the way to his car. He was defending you. He was like, ‘I told Melo stop apologizing. Play the way you play, stop apologizing.’ It was right in the middle of the Phil stuff.”</p><p>Anthony recounted what Bryant would say to him regarding Jackson, saying that he should play the way he is meant to play.</p><p>“He told me, ‘why the f*** you keep apologizing? F*** that Mother******. Stop apologizing,'” Anthony said. “You know what, yeah Phil you right my bad, I apologize. He like, ‘Mother****** why you keep apologizing? Stop taking all these shots.’ I said, ‘shooters shoot.’ He said, ‘No mother****** stop taking all them bullets.'”</p><p>Of course, Jackson coached Bryant with the Lakers. It is notable given the history he had with Jackson that Bryant would defend Anthony. Jackson’s tenure with the Knicks did not end well. Eventually, the franchise moved on and now it is much more successful with Leon Rose running things.</p><p>Regardless, it would have been interesting to see Bryant and Anthony play together <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-young-player-who-deserves-more-minutes-tyler-kolek">with the Knicks</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Kobe Bryant almost tossed Lakers to curb for Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-ny-breaks-silence-on-nbas-rumored-investigation-of-rick-brunsons-promotion');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks break silence on NBA’s rumored investigation of Rick Brunson’s promotion');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Knicks-news-NY-breaks-silence-on-NBAs-rumored-investigation-of-Rick-Brunsons-promotion.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks break silence on NBA’s rumored investigation of Rick Brunson’s promotion</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-18T21:48:59-08:00">November 18th, 9:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-18T21:48:59-08:00">November 18th, 9:48pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Monday night, the New York Knicks organization released a statement regarding the NBA’s apparent investigation on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-rick-brunson-honest-donte-divincenzo-confrontation">timing of Rick Brunson’s promotion</a>. The Knicks took umbrage to the idea that there was something more sinister going on behind the scenes that led to this career advancement, <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1858727185277681965" rel="noopener">perhaps alluding to some collusion</a> especially considering that Jalen Brunson, arguably the Knicks’ best player, agreed to a contract extension that may have been below his market value.</p><p>“In response to the rumored NBA investigation into Rick Brunson’s promotion, Brunson took Johnnie Bryant’s place and assumed the same salary as Bryant. It’s offensive that anyone would claim Rick didn’t deserve the promotion, Rick has done a tremendous job and will continue to do so. We see this as more harassment of the Knicks due to our opposition to certain NBA matters,” the Knicks’ statement reads, per Ian Begley of SNY.</p><p>The NBA is rumored to be looking into some sort of “cap circumvention” that could have been involved in the Knicks’ promotion of Brunson within head coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff. From the outside looking in, there is reason for the league to be watching this space closely.</p><p>After all, the Knicks hired Rick Brunson as an assistant coach the same year they signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal following a breakout postseason performance for the Dallas Mavericks. Perhaps this could be construed as greasing the wheels and making Brunson’s decision to join the team that much easier.</p><p>And then this past July, Brunson agreed to a huge contract extension worth $156.5 million over the course of four years — <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-makes-blunt-admission-on-taking-113-million-discount">leaving around $113 million</a> on the table as a result. Around the same time, it was announced that former Knicks assistant Bryant was going to join Kenny Atkinson’s staff on the Cleveland Cavaliers — with Brunson assuming Bryant’s position in the aftermath.</p><p>Considering how dire the Knicks’ cap situation is at the moment that they’re doing their best to stay below the second tax apron, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-karl-anthony-towns-trade-helps-knicks-timberwolves-hornets">being hard-capped</a> by the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, the league is perhaps keeping a close eye on their cap dealings. But clearly, the Knicks organization isn’t too pleased with this development — and understandably so.</p><h2><b>Knicks draw battle lines against the NBA</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jalen-and-Rick-Brunson.jpg"></figure><p>It may be understandable for the NBA to ask some questions regarding the Knicks’ dealings involving the Brunson family. But the Knicks’ aggrieved reaction is valid as well. After all, it calls into question the credibility of Rick Brunson, as the investigation implies that the organization was simply keeping him around to accommodate Jalen Brunson.</p><p>However, Rick has a long history of working under head coach Tom Thibodeau, so it’s not as if the Knicks gave him his big coaching break just as his son became the team’s best player. Rick worked with Thibodeau when they were still with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, while the elder Brunson also has coaching experience with the Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets — making him very much qualified to assume Johnnie Bryant’s role following his departure.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks break silence on NBA’s rumored investigation of Rick Brunson’s promotion

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-giannis-antetokounmpo-very-unlikely-trade-target-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘very unlikely’ trade target for Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NBA-rumors-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-very-unlikely-trade-target-for-Knicks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘very unlikely’ trade target for Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-08T09:43:33-08:00">November 8th, 9:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-08T09:43:33-08:00">November 8th, 9:43am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Milwaukee Bucks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the Milwaukee Bucks currently struggling to start the season, trade rumors have heated up, and<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-not-seeking-trade"> Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name has come up</a> in them. There are several teams reportedly monitoring the situation, including the New York Knicks.</p><p>Last week, Marc Stein mentioned that the Knicks could be in play for Antetokonmpo after trading for Karl-Anthony Towns, but now it’s looking like it’s <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/07/sports/knicks-need-to-focus-on-core-issues-not-giannis-antetokounmpo/" rel="noopener">unlikely that they’ll do it</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘very unlikely’ trade target for Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-targeted-grizzlies-guard-before-karl-anthony-towns-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks targeted Grizzlies guard before Karl-Anthony Towns deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Knicks-targeted-Grizzlies-guard-before-Karl-Anthony-Towns-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks targeted Grizzlies guard before Karl-Anthony Towns deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-25T14:48:08-07:00">October 25th, 2:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-25T15:58:52-07:00">October 25th, 3:58pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Memphis Grizzlies</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When a team with high expectations gets thumped by the reigning champions in the season opener, there are bound to be some overreactions. That impulsive response is only amplified when the squad in question hails from the largest sports market in the country. Following the New York Knicks’ 132-109 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, some people are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/key-advantage-knicks-must-resurrect-to-stay-afloat-amid-injuries">expressing concern about their identity</a>.</p><p>Completing a late-offseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns elevated the starting five’s talent level to terrifying heights, but it might sacrifice some of the defensive tenacity fans have come to know and love during the Tom Thibodeau era.</p><p>Well, it turns out that the organization was actually looking to enhance the team’s toughness before landing the All-Star big man.</p><p>The Knicks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bronny-james-lakers-debut-hides-rookie-should-talk-about-siegels-scoop" rel="noopener">expressed interest</a> in a Memphis Grizzlies guard who could be a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-interested-in-marcus-smart-trade">popular name on the rumor mill</a> in the coming weeks and months.</p><p>“Between their draft assets and young talent, general manager Zach Kleiman and his Grizzlies front office can be aggressive in their pursuit of more talent between now and the trade deadline,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported.</p><p>“Former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart is also seen as a possible moving piece if the Grizzlies were to pursue a star due to the weight of his $20 million contract.</p><p>“A few teams inquired about Smart in the offseason, one of which was the Knicks, sources told ClutchPoints. However, New York’s interest in Smart came earlier in the offseason prior to the team acquiring Towns.”</p><h2><b>Do the Knicks have anything left up their sleeve?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-Marcus-Smart-shoots-at-pregame-warmups.jpg"><figcaption>Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Team president Leon Rose could potentially be compelled to pursue Smart, particularly if New York’s defense falls below Thibodeau’s strict standards. The Knickerbockers are already making substantial financial commitments to several players, however, so it would be tricky to add Smart to the backcourt.</p><p>But his value is apparent. The former top-10 draft pick is a high-motor guy who coaches love and a defensive pest who many ball-handlers dread. Injuries have prevented him from making a mark in Memphis (played just 20 games last season), but Smart could be a fine complement to Ja Morant and Desmond Bane if the Grizzlies decide to keep him on their roster.</p><p>While there will inevitably be some chatter, no actual momentum should logically be gained this early in the 2024-25 campaign. Marcus Smart will earn more than $20 million in each of the next two seasons, which incentivizes executives to be cautious when deciding how to use their capital.</p><p>Though, when the Feb. 6 trade deadline draws nearer, a veteran guard who can potentially lock down an opposing star in the playoffs will command the attention of multiple teams <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-trade-rumors-scotty-pippen-jr-backup-pg">if he is available</a>. In a year when hope is bursting through the roof at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks cannot be ruled out from making yet another big maneuver.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks targeted Grizzlies guard before Karl-Anthony Towns deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-walker-kessler-trade-karl-anthony-towns-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks eyed Walker Kessler trade before Karl-Anthony Towns deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Knicks-eyed-Walker-Kessler-trade-before-Karl-Anthony-Towns-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks eyed Walker Kessler trade before Karl-Anthony Towns deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T19:31:28-07:00">October 6th, 7:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T19:31:28-07:00">October 6th, 7:31pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">New York Knicks have acquired Karl-Anthony Towns</a> from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster trade that shook up the NBA landscape amid a relatively lackluster offseason, thanks partly to the new CBA that limited teams’ approaches to roster-building. Still, this trade is massive not only because of the names involved, but because it may also shift the power balance in the Eastern Conference. However, the Towns trade may not have happened had the Knicks landed Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz instead.</p><p>During free agency, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-big-splash-isaiah-hartenstein-87-million-contract">Isaiah Hartenstein joined the Oklahoma City Thunder</a> to go play with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, which depleted the Knicks’ frontcourt depth.</p><p>“New York made multiple trade runs at Utah’s Walker Kessler to fill its well-chronicled void at center,” NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote on The Stein Line, <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-all-the-latest-from-the" rel="noopener">citing league sources</a>. “It is believed that Utah wanted at least two future first-round picks for Kessler… after the Knicks had exhausted much of their remaining cache of draft picks in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-stunning-mikal-bridges-nets-rockets-trade">trade with Brooklyn for [Miles] Bridges</a>.”</p><h2><b>Are the Knicks better off with Karl-Anthony Towns instead of Walker Kessler?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Karl-Anthony-Towns-shooting-against-Walker-Kessler.jpg"><figcaption>© Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>An unspoken rule in trading for players is that you always trade for talent, and KAT has plenty of skill and upside to offer the Knicks. For instance, he remains one of the league’s best shooting big men.</p><p>His shooting will open up the floor for Jalen Brunson to operate, whether on pick and pops or drives-and-kicks to Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, or Towns himself.</p><p>Moreover, coach Tom Thibodeau can play Towns with Mitchell Robinson without sacrificing much on offense or clogging up the paint. Both Robinson and Josh Hart can still crash the boards and keep the ball moving.</p><p>However, they would probably start KAT at center and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/what-karl-anthony-towns-means-mitchell-robinson-future-knicks">bring Robinson off the bench</a>, especially considering his injury history.</p><p>At this point, he might be better playing 20-25 minutes a game, spotting for Towns when he sits down or when they need additional defense in the frontcourt.</p><p>Depth concerns wouldn’t matter as much in the playoffs, anyway, as coaches typically would stick to the eight- or nine-man rotation that got them there in the first place.</p><p>Still, if the Knicks had traded for Walker Kessler instead, they would have acquired a seven-footer who can <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kesslwa01.html" rel="noopener">block shots and rebound</a> on a high clip, and he wouldn’t need the ball much at all.</p><p>It’s likely though that the Knicks wouldn’t play Kessler and Robinson together, since it would dam up the lane for Brunson’s offense and playmaking.</p><p>As a backup center, though, Kessler would have been a clear defensive upgrade over Hartenstein. However, the Jazz big man wouldn’t provide as much upside as KAT, whose offense gives opposing teams several different problems.</p><p>Who knows, though, if KAT will fit well in New York?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks eyed Walker Kessler trade before Karl-Anthony Towns deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-tom-thibodeau-karl-anthony-towns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: How Tom Thibodeau really feels about Karl-Anthony Towns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-How-Tom-Thibodeau-really-feels-about-Karl-Anthony-Towns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: How Tom Thibodeau really feels about Karl-Anthony Towns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-02T12:10:55-07:00">October 2nd, 12:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-02T12:10:55-07:00">October 2nd, 12:10pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks made quite the splash before training camp, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns</a>. That trade also sent Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Towns is reunited with his old head coach, Tom Thibodeau, who coached him from 2016-19. <br><br>According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, sources close to Thibodeau said he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5811065/2024/10/02/karl-anthony-towns-knicks-position-center-forward/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">wanted the former Minnesota center</a> to come to the Big Apple. But sources close to Thibodeau have insisted since long before this trade went down that despite how it ended in Minnesota, he would be excited about a reunion with the four-time All-Star. Both Thibodeau and Towns are different in their own right.</p><h2><b>How can Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns work with the Knicks?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tom-Thibodeau-reacts-to-the-Karl-Anthony-Towns-trade-to-the-Knicks.jpg"><figcaption>© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thibodeau is a passionate X’s and O’s addict. Not to mention, his specialty is defense, and something that all of his players, both past and present know too much about. The <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/thiboto99c.html" rel="noopener">two-time NBA Coach of the Year</a> knows how to run an excellent defense. He helped lead the Knicks to have a top-10 metric in defensive rating. Although Thibodeau has an old-school mentality to defense, his teams have bought into the defensive philosophy. </p><p>KAT is more laidback and focused on the offensive side. He excels with shooting, post-offense, spacing the floor, and being a true inside-out threat. The <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/townska01.html" rel="noopener">four-time NBA all-star</a> has had a massive impact on the offensive efficiency of the Timberwolves. A nearly 40% three-point shooter for his career at his position is unheard of. <br><br>The Knicks were middle of the pack in terms of three-point shooting. They ranked 13th in the league with 35.8 attempts per game. That’s quite the improvement compared to Towns’s second year with Thibodeau in Minnesota. They <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?Season=2017-18&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=FG3A" rel="noopener">only attempted 22.5 threes</a>, which was the worst mark in the league. Even with the NBA offense evolving thanks to the three-point shot, the Knicks have a true offensive weapon.</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-karl-anthony-towns-fit">Knicks guard Jalen Brunson broke his silence on Towns</a>, Thibodeau hasn’t officially said anything about the trade. Regardless, the mutual relationship between the two is there. Towns had some of his best years while being coached by Thibodeau. With the Knicks transitioning from a big in Mitchell Robinson to Towns, the offensive scheme will look different.</p><p>Going from a rim-runner to someone who can operate on three scoring levels (inside, mid-range, and threes) will be a positive. Although the defense might not be where it was, the offense certainly makes up for it. Plus, Thibodeau can put Towns in successful positions defensively. </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: How Tom Thibodeau really feels about Karl-Anthony Towns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-1-behind-the-scenes-reason-knicks-karl-anthony-towns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-1-behind-the-scenes-reason-for-Knicks-making-Karl-Anthony-Towns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T16:14:07-07:00">September 30th, 4:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T16:14:07-07:00">September 30th, 4:14pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">New York Knicks trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns</a> had <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/this-week-in-can-only-marvel-at-the" rel="noopener">one major proponent behind the scenes</a>, as highlighted by NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>Gersson Rosas, the Knicks senior VP of basketball operations, was formerly with the Timberwolves from 2019 to 2021 as their president of basketball operations.</p><p>Stein noted that Rosas is to “have been pushing for a Towns trade even before this summer’s free agent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson’s subsequent slow recovery from an ankle injury heightened the Knicks’ need for immediate help at center.”</p><p>The Knicks traded Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick from Detroit in exchange for KAT. New York’s projected starting-five are Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Towns.</p><h2>Projecting into the Knicks’ future with this roster</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Knicks-Jalen-Brunson-speaking-at-NBAs-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>ESPN’s Bobby Marks, while on The Hoop Collective, explained how he’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-nba-insider-foresees-one-major-concern-after-knicks-karl-anthony-towns-trade">worried about the team’s depth</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1004&amp;v=2ls0Grlba3o&amp;feature=youtu.be">limited cap</a> to add any other pieces.</p><p>“You look at their depth, and it’s Deuce McBride. You’ve got Tyler Kolek, Cameron Payne. You know, we’ll see what happens in front of the Court. Robinson’s out. You still have Achiuwa. It’s a mixed bag, and you’re so restrictive,” Marks said. “You know, when this trade gets finalized, you know they’re going to be a couple hundred thousand, maybe even $100,000 below the second apron.”</p><p>In trading for Bridges, the Knicks sent Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, and five first-round draft picks to the Nets. New York gains a three-point shooter in Towns but also loses a great spot shooter in DiVincenzo.</p><p>It remains unclear when Mitchell Robinson will return or if the Knicks are <a href="https://x.com/krispursiainen/status/1840189610275594710?s=61&amp;t=ESTTaN6TmqKssUw0qXSmYw" rel="noopener">possibly shopping him</a>, according to Knicks Film School’s Kris Pursiainen.</p><p>After the KAT trade, Robinson took to Instagram to share several posts about his loyalty to the Knicks and his impact on defense.</p><p>ClutchPoints’ Drew Maresca may have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mitchell-robinson-posts-cryptic-messages-karl-anthony-towns-trade">said it best about a possible Robinson trade</a>.</p><p>“The “receiving and taking calls” news is a surprising development for two reasons: Robinson’s trade value is lower than the Knicks would like given his string of ankle injuries between December 2023 and May 2024; and more importantly, who would replace Robinson in the team’s rotation? Sure, Towns is a seven-footer, but he’s far from an ideal defensive center. Conversely, Robinson is a defensive menace, even slowing down former MVP Joel Embiid in last year’s playoffs. So, the idea of parting ways with Robinson seems tenuous at best.”</p><p>The Knicks’ regular season begins on the road against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mikal-bridges-not-planning-extension-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges not planning to sign 2-year extension with Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0803.jpeg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges not planning to sign 2-year extension with Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-29T16:56:04-07:00">September 29th, 4:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-29T16:56:04-07:00">September 29th, 4:56pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-karl-anthony-towns-stunned-timberwolves-knicks-trade">Knicks just pulled off the biggest trade</a> of the offseason in acquiring Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. But before that, they signaled their intentions to contend in the Eastern Conference with a previous trade. The Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, but he <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/277436/Mikal-Bridges-Unlikely-To-Sign-Two-Year-Extension-With-Knicks-With-Preference-For-Longer-Deal-In-2025" rel="noopener">reportedly isn’t looking to sign</a> a contract extension with the team just yet as per ESPN insider Bobby Marks.</p><p>“The indication I’ve gotten just from talking to people is that there is not going to be an extension,” Marks reported. “That he will wait until next year to look at what the extension. . .because he’s limited as far as the sixth-month rule as far as what he can extend for. Next year, he can extend for four years.”</p><p>Marks also reported that it’s possible Mikal Bridges’ thinking could change before the Oct. 21 deadline to sign a contract extension. That the initial decision was before the Towns trade was made.</p><p>With Bridges and Towns now in the fold, the Knicks are expected to be contenders in the Eastern Conference. They finished last season with the second best record in the East and advanced to the East Semifinals before falling to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.</p><h2>Mikal Bridges ready to begin Knicks career</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Mikal-Bridges-attacks-the-defense.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Prior to the Towns deal, the Knicks big offseason move was bringing in Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Nets. Aside from Bridges’ talent on the court, the deal was significant in that it reunited him with his former Villanova teammates in Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart.</p><p>But fans will never get to see the Villanova quartet in action as DiVincenzo was sent to Minnesota as part of the Towns trade.</p><p>In any case, Bridges will help the Knicks on both ends of the court. Last season, he appeared in all 82 games for the Nets at a little over 34 minutes per game. He averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 43.6 percent shooting from the field, 37.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>With the Knicks’ new additions, Bridges and Towns look like they’ll slot right in to the starting lineup alongside Brunson, Hart and OG Anunoby. With Mitchell Robinson expected to be sidelined to start the season due to injury, Towns’ acquisition is big in that the Knicks have someone who can step right in and play center. They also lost Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges not planning to sign 2-year extension with Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-traded-karl-anthony-towns-stayed');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2-Timberwolves-who-wouldve-been-traded-if-Karl-Anthony-Towns-stayed.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-29T09:48:19-07:00">September 29th, 9:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-29T09:48:19-07:00">September 29th, 9:48am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The dust is still settling after the Minnesota Timberwolves chose to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. As it settles, it has left two different outcomes for either fanbase. New York fans are still celebrating since the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-karl-anthony-towns-stunned-timberwolves-knicks-trade">Knicks have obtained a bonafide star</a>. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/anthony-edwards-wont-love-the-karl-anthony-towns-trade-per-social-media">it’s shocked Minnesota fans</a>, considering Towns spent nearly a decade with the Timberwolves. Sadly for Minnesota fans, while the memories with Towns are priceless, keeping him on the roster was costing ownership. It <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryantoporek/2024/09/28/money-fueled-the-timberwolves-decision-to-trade-karl-anthony-towns/" rel="noopener">got even more expensive</a> when factoring in Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. So, unfortunately, someone from Minnesota’s big three had to go.</p><p>Mind you, this wasn’t a case of ownership being cheap. Instead, much blame should go toward the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Edwards is beginning a five-year max contract this season, Gobert has two years remaining on his max, and Towns was starting a four-year, $220 million max extension this season. Add the raises for Jaden McDaniels this season and Naz Reid last season, and the Timberwolves had entered the dreaded second apron that brings with it luxury tax penalties and obstacles for team-building meant to strongly discourage teams from crossing that threshold for more than a couple of seasons.</p><p>However, hypothetically speaking, Minnesota could’ve not traded Towns to New York. But if they chose to keep their Big Three together, the Timberwolves would’ve had to say goodbye to some other essential pieces instead.</p><h2><b>Who would the Timberwolves have to have given up to keep Karl-Anthony Towns?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Naz-Reid-and-Karl-Anthony-Towns-Chat-Timberwolves-Timeout.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Keeping Towns would’ve meant Minnesota <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5800924/2024/09/28/why-timberwolves-trade-karl-anthony-towns/" rel="noopener">saying goodbye to</a> Reid instead. Reid, a crucial player off the bench, won NBA Sixth Man of the Year last season and is wildly popular in Minnesota. The backup big man is only making $15 million this upcoming season and is bound to get a mammoth long-term extension with the Timberwolves. So, while Reid is making less right now than Towns, Minnesota had future financials in mind with this trade.</p><p>According to the same report, the Timberwolves would’ve had to let go of Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While Alexander-Walker is only making $4.3 million this season, he’s blossomed into a bonafide three-and-d roleplayer for Minnesota. Like Reid, Alexander-Walker is set for a significant extension as well. The Timberwolves had to be frugal elsewhere because of how tight things are financially for Minnesota.</p><p>The question ultimately boiled down to whether or not the Timberwolves wanted to remain top-heavy or be flush with depth. As well-run organizations should do, Minnesota wants to build a sustainable contender rather than one with a limited financial shelf life. It’s still a tough pill for Minnesota fans to swallow. Towns has been a major part of the organization and the community. But as they say, the NBA is a business. The Timberwolves are in the business of winning.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-real-reason-for-karl-anthony-towns-blockbuster-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Knicks-real-reason-for-Karl-Anthony-Towns-blockbuster-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-27T22:49:51-07:00">September 27th, 10:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-27T22:52:26-07:00">September 27th, 10:52pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves caused a major shakeup</a> in the NBA on Friday when Minnesota flipped Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick.</p><p>Shortly after the deal was done, reports began to leak out around the motivations for each team doing the deal. The Knicks were after Towns in the trade in order to <a href="https://x.com/IanBegley/status/1839863976332513770" rel="noopener">address the center position</a> and add some star power at a position of need, according to Ian Begley of SNY.</p><p>“Knicks, per league sources in touch with team, feel they had a great opportunity to address their biggest need at C in trading for a 4 time All Star &amp; 2-time All NBA player in Karl Anthony Towns,” Begley reported on X, formerly Twitter. “They see Towns, 28, as a great fit with their other high-end talent and someone who complements the rest of the core well, those league sources say.”</p><p>Towns’ combination of size and shooting will certainly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-karl-anthony-towns-julius-randle-knicks-timberwolves-trade">bolster a Knicks offense</a> that lacked some punch from beyond the arc last season. The Knicks will be sad to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-timberwolves-trade-ends-villanova-knicks-run">break up their core “Villanova Knicks”</a>, but this is a move they had to make to take another leap forward in the Eastern Conference.</p><h2><b>How will Julius Randle fit in with the Timberwolves?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Julius-Randle_cfa4ad.jpg"><figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Timberwolves clearly wanted to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-karl-anthony-towns-instant-reaction-shocking-knicks-trade">shake things up with the Karl-Anthony Towns trade</a>, and they did a good job to add shooting and depth with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.</p><p>The Julius Randle addition is a curious one, only because of the fit with the rest of the team. It’s hard to envision Randle playing next to Rudy Gobert without killing the spacing for Minnesota’s offense. Where will the driving lanes be for Anthony Edwards if Gobert and Randle are both clogging the paint, or if defenders are willing to sag off of Randle? Randle’s iso-heavy style may not blend with Edwards either.</p><p>You could play Randle with Naz Reid, but both of them are undersized for a center and the unit would suffer defensively unless the perimeter defenders were absolutely hounding ball handlers.</p><p>Randle’s contract is also an important factor here, and one that may drive him to perform well. Randle will play out this season and then has a player option on his deal for 2025-26 that is worth about $31 million. However, if he plays some of his best basketball this year, he can opt out and try to get more money either from the Timberwolves or someone else.</p><p>Randle has shown the ability to be an All-NBA player in the past. If he can bring that level of play to Minnesota, he can earn himself a new deal and help the Timberwolves compete for a championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-pursued-walker-kessler-trade-jazz');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks pursued Walker Kessler trade with Jazz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NBA-rumors-Knicks-pursued-Walker-Kessler-trade-with-Jazz.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks pursued Walker Kessler trade with Jazz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-24T07:38:28-07:00">August 24th, 7:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-24T07:38:28-07:00">August 24th, 7:38am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After he was almost traded to the New York Knicks, Utah <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-slapped-with-harsh-walker-kessler-trade-reality">Jazz center Walker Kessler could be on the move</a> soon. He was <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10132448-a-3-team-trade-for-pelicans-to-move-brandon-ingram-nets-to-deal-cameron-johnson" rel="noopener">reportedly involved in a botched trade</a> with the Knicks that could spell the end of Kessler’s tenure with the Jazz, according to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.</p><p>“Per multiple sources, Utah has discussed Kessler previously in trade, including a stalled conversation with the New York Knicks,” Pincus said. “He doesn’t seem part of the team’s long-term plan.”</p><p>Walker Kessler averaged 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game for the Jazz last season. He’s only 23 and with two years remaining on his rookie deal, would have fit the Knicks’ timeline and immediate need for a starting center.</p><p>Knicks center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-new-york-gets-brutal-mitchell-robinson-injury-update-amid-pacers-series">Mitchell Robinson had surgery</a> on his left ankle in May. After the Knicks medical staff found a stress reaction following Game 1 of New York’s best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers, it ended his season.</p><p>In a season riddled with injuries, Robinson went under the knife for the second time in less than six months. A surgery to correct a stress fracture in December forced him to miss 50 games, and there’s no telling if he’ll be ready for the start of the 2024-25 regular season.</p><p>Robinson averaged 5.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 31 games last year.</p><h2><b>Knicks in the market for a Mitchell Robinson replacement</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/New-York-Knicks-center-Mitchell-Robinson.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>With the Knicks’ championship window conceivably cracked open, many wonder if New York can stay afloat with the rest of the NBA’s upper-echelon teams without a healthy starting center. Robinson, who hasn’t played 60+ games in a regular season since 2021-22, is going to have to ease into 2024-25 slowly as the Knicks are gearing up for what they hope will be a deep playoff run in 2025.</p><p>In the meantime, New York will be in the market for Robinson’s backup. The Knicks watched Isaiah Hartenstein sign a three-year, $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason, a tremendous blow to New York’s frontcourt as Hartenstein, for some, was seen as an upgrade to Robinson’s production in the most. While averaging 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, very similar numbers to Mitchell’s, Hartenstein emerged as a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden.</p><p>At the beginning of the regular season, expect to see Precious Achiuwa getting plenty of minutes at center. The 24-year-old center who was dealt mid-season from the Toronto Raptors could be a viable option while Robinson is on the mend. He averaged 7.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 2023-24.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks pursued Walker Kessler trade with Jazz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-tom-thibodeaus-knicks-contract-extension-coming-soon');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks contract extension is coming soon');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tom-Thibodeaus-Knicks-contract-extension-is-coming-soon.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks contract extension is coming soon</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-21T14:30:07-07:00">July 21st, 2:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-21T14:30:07-07:00">July 21st, 2:30pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have had a monster offseason so far in 2024, attempting to cement themselves as the biggest challenger to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-new-york-adds-jalen-brunson-backup-3-million-deal">Brunson recently took</a> a major pay cut to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-cam-payne-point-guard-new-york">help the Knicks</a> make other moves, which so far have included resigning OG Anunoby and trading for Mikal Bridges to help bolster their team.</p><p>Another key part of the Knicks’ success over the <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-free-agency-extensions?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146852628&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">past few years</a> has been head coach Tom Thibodeau, who joined the team in 2020 and has led them to the playoffs in three out of his four years with the franchise.</p><p>Now, it appears that Thibs could be the next member of the Knicks in line for a raise.</p><p>“There was a strong expectation in the desert that a contract extension for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau will be announced in the near future,” reported NBA insider Marc Stein on his Substack. “The Knicks have already had a mammoth summer headlined by a blockbuster trade for Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges and contract extensions for All-Star guard Jalen Brunson and swingman OG Anunoby. Thibodeau would be entering the final season of his original five-year contract without an extension but has been regarded for weeks as a lock to receive a new deal that pays at least $10 million annually after leading the injury-ravaged Knicks to just their second 50-win season of the 21st century.”</p><h2><b>What is the Knicks’ ceiling?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Thibodeau-leaves-the-floor.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>On paper, the Knicks certainly have the pieces to at least compete with the Celtics, following their formula of compiling as many two-way wings as possible to make their defense mega-switchable and their offense very difficult to contain.</p><p>The only true weak spot on the New York roster at the present moment is in the front court, as the team is a Mitchell Robinson injury away (unfortunately a relatively frequent occurrence throughout his career) from having no viable options to place around the basket after the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.</p><p>However, outside of that shortcoming, New York is filled with lengthy, athletic players who should alleviate some of the pressure off of Brunson and give Thibodeau arguably the most stacked roster he’s ever had to work with, even if it also happens to occur at a time when there is more competition in the league perhaps than ever before.</p><p>In any case, the NBA schedule is set to be announced in August.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks contract extension is coming soon

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-checked-trade-availability-trae-young-weapon');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks checked trade availability of Trae Young weapon');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Knicks-checked-trade-availability-of-Trae-Young-weapon.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks checked trade availability of Trae Young weapon</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-18T20:08:43-07:00">July 18th, 8:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-18T20:08:43-07:00">July 18th, 8:08pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay Postrado is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>If there is any area of need that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-isaiah-hartenstein-reveals-the-1-scenario-he-wouldve-taken-pay-cut-to-stay-with-new-york">New York Knicks need to fill</a> as soon as possible, it would be at their center position. Isaiah Hartenstein leaving the Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson-led system left a big vacuum in the middle of their schemes. So, it looks like some sort of move was in place to patch it up. Funnily enough, it sounds like the front office checked with a rival team the Atlanta Hawks. Who did they inquire about? It is none other than Trae Young’s favorite lob threat, Clint Capela.</p><p>You heard that right! The Knicks<a href="https://x.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1814047419191239052" rel="noopener"> considered acquiring</a> Clint Capela from the Hawks, per Ian Begley of SNY. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-new-york-adds-jalen-brunson-backup-3-million-deal">Jalen Brunson and Tom Thibodeau would have</a> most likely given up their own man in the middle in order to complete the package.</p><p>“I will say that Clint Capela in Atlanta was one big that the Knicks checked in on. I don’t know how far the talks went, I don’t know if they’re active at this very moment. But they did check in on Capela. You can infer that Mitchell Robinson would have probably been in that trade because Capela is a starting center. Or, maybe the Knicks could have said Robinson and Capela could be our platoon at center this season. Nonetheless, Capela has a higher salary and is a veteran center that they did check in on,” he said.</p><p>With this move unlikely to happen because of the huge cost the Hawks center would give, the Knicks are probably going to bank on getting some other big man to reinforce their frontcourt.</p><p>“The most likely scenario is the Knicks add a backup center and they go into training camp with this group as-is. They have been active in some trade talks earlier in the offseason. Nothing has happened to date but there’s still a couple of months before training camp,” Begley concluded.</p><h2><b>The Knicks big man situation</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Atlanta-Hawks-center-Clint-Capela-15-dunks.jpg"><figcaption>© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Acting swiftly but wisely when it comes to acquiring a center will be crucial for Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks front office. They need someone to take on the backup role because Mitchell Robinson is coming off an injury-riddled year. Their depth at the center position might spell their doom. As of the moment, only Jericho Sims can help substantially given that Julius Randle is also coming off an injury while Ariel Hukporti has not been tested in an NBA court.</p><p>If they do choose to pursue Capela, the choice would not at all be bad. He played 73 games alongside Trae Young and the Hawks last season which is a great sign when it comes to his fatigue management. Moreover, he will give the Knicks exactly what they need on the inside. His shots find the bottom of the net 57.1% of the time which gives him 11.5 points a night. Capela also knows his way around the boards well which is why he averages a double-double with his 10.6 rebounds around a shooter like Trae Young. Lastly, he also provides 1.5 blocks per game which the Knicks could really use down the line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks checked trade availability of Trae Young weapon

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mikal-bridges-to-follow-in-jalen-brunsons-footsteps-with-next-knicks-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges to follow in Jalen Brunson’s footsteps with next Knicks contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mikal-Bridges-to-follow-in-Jalen-Brunsons-footsteps-with-next-Knicks-contract.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges to follow in Jalen Brunson’s footsteps with next Knicks contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-16T10:02:16-07:00">July 16th, 10:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-16T10:02:16-07:00">July 16th, 10:02am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Brunson turned some heads around the league when he decided to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-156-million-extension">sign a four-year, $156.5 million</a> contract extension, essentially eschewing the opportunity to sign a five-year, $269 maximum contract with the New York Knicks had he decided to wait a year, opt out of his contract, and re-sign. This is an unequivocal win for the Knicks.</p><p>While the amount of money Brunson gave up figures to be closer to $37 million rather than the $113 million number that’s being thrown around social media, <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/news/_/id/2387/understanding-jalen-brunsons-extension-with-the-knicks" rel="noopener">as broken down</a> by Keith Smart of Spotrac, the Knicks will take any discount that they can especially given how restrictive the new CBA rules are for teams that go deep into the luxury tax and the new second tax apron. With Brunson setting the culture for the team, it looks as though his teammates will be following his lead — most notably Mikal Bridges, the Knicks’ most recent blockbuster acquisition.</p><p>Bridges, per NBA insider Marc Stein, is expected by league sources to “follow Brunson’s lead and sign a team-friendly deal of his own”. There is no rush for Bridges, however, to put pen to paper. After all, he still has <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/26976/mikal-bridges" rel="noopener">two years left</a> on his contract, although it has to be said that two years fly by very quickly in the association.</p><p>It’s incredible just how well-run the Knicks are these days; after over two decades of mismanagement, they are now attracting quality players to play for the franchise, and for a discounted price as well. Jalen Brunson has done nothing but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-could-learn-tough-lesson-leaving-tens-millions-table">turn the Knicks’ fortunes</a> around; his presence and the eventual additions of his Villanova brothers Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and now Mikal Bridges seem poised to take the Knicks further than they’ve been in the 21st century.</p><h2><b>What’s Mikal Bridges’ next contract going to be worth?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Nets-Mikal-Bridges-dribbling-against-Knicks-Jalen-Brunson.jpg"></figure><p>Mikal Bridges is eligible to sign a new contract as soon as October 1, but it will only be for two years and around $72 million. The Knicks may not want Bridges to sign that deal anyway, as they would want to lock him down on a longer-term contract, especially considering how much they gave up to acquire his services.</p><p>But after the 2024-25 season, Bridges will be eligible to sign a four-year deal like his pal Jalen Brunson did. Perhaps Bridges will sign a contract extension worth around $120-130 million, which should take him until the 2029-30 season for an average annual value of around $30-33 million — a solid price for one of the best two-way players in the association.</p><p>Given the huge contract that OG Anunoby just signed with the Knicks (five years, $212.5 million), New York will be taking savings whichever way they can. They may have to dip into the second tax apron in the future, but at the very least, getting their Villanova-bred players to sign discounted contracts would give them additional financial flexibility in an NBA economical landscape that places a premium at such.</p><p>Bridges is only going to be entering his age-27 season (in fact, tomorrow, July 17, is his birthday), so he should have plenty of productive years left for the Knicks. His basketball life will be easier with New York in more ways than one — not only is he not needed to shoulder the offense anymore, he is also sharing a locker room with some of his best buddies.</p><p>He averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last season; expect those numbers to go down, but his efficiency should soar back to his Phoenix Suns levels as he’s slated to play with more talented teammates in a lesser role.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mikal Bridges to follow in Jalen Brunson’s footsteps with next Knicks contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-have-alperen-sengun-jalen-duren-on-trade-radar');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks have Alperen Sengun, Jalen Duren on trade radar');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Knicks-have-Alperen-Sengun-Jalen-Duren-on-trade-radar.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks have Alperen Sengun, Jalen Duren on trade radar</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-10T09:40:08-07:00">July 10th, 9:40am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-11T07:23:16-07:00">July 11th, 7:23am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks have assembled a roster that is worthy of challenging the Boston Celtics for Eastern Conference supremacy. The Knicks brought in Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets and re-signed OG Anunoby, giving them two of the best perimeter defenders in the league. However, these moves came at the cost of Isaiah Hartenstein, the center who stepped up admirably in the playoffs, as he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-knicks-must-replace-isaiah-hartenstein-after-leaving-for-thunder">signed</a> with the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.</p><p>Hartenstein’s departure leaves the Knicks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/biggest-need-knicks-must-still-address-2024-nba-free-agency">very thin</a> at the center position. Mitchell Robinson is still around, but he has an extensive injury history, which means that relying on him to last for the entire regular season and a potential deep playoff run may not be the best idea. Behind Robinson, Jericho Sims is the only other center on the roster, so it’s safe to say there is a need for the Knicks to acquire another center so that they can shore up their depth at this spot.</p><p>However, the Knicks front office may not be content with acquiring just any center. In fact, they are looking to acquire a cost-controlled center who could emerge as the team’s starter for the long run. <a href="https://x.com/NYPost_Berman/status/1811044241864306775" rel="noopener">Among the centers</a> that are reportedly on the Knicks radar are Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun and Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren.</p><p>The Knicks have also been the team that’s been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-slapped-with-harsh-walker-kessler-trade-reality">linked</a> the most to Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler. Kessler is a 22-year-old big man who has been one of the best shot blockers in the NBA despite only being in the league for two years. However, the Jazz’s trade price has been prohibitive, which means that the Knicks may have to look towards other trade targets of theirs to fill their need for another center.</p><p>Alas, Sengun and Duren may be even more ambitious targets for the Knicks than Kessler is. But whatever the case may be, don’t expect the Knicks to enter the 2024-25 season with their roster as presently constructed. They are not afraid to be aggressive, and with them being out a ton of first-round picks due to the Bridges trade, expect them to continue going all-in.</p><h2><b>Better luck next time in your Alperen Sengun pursuit, Knicks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Houston-Rockets-center-Alperen-Sengun.jpeg"></figure><p>Sengun is the Rockets’ franchise cornerstone. That alone will prevent any trade from happening, even though the lack of a rookie contract extension from the Rockets might cause rumors of a potential move to grow louder and louder. But at the end of the day, the Rockets are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rockets-not-ready-max-alperen-sengun-jalen-green">not offering Sengun an extension</a> for the sole purpose of preserving cap space in their continued pursuit of a superstar to expedite the team’s contending timeline.</p><p>Sengun is one of the most versatile offensive centers in the NBA; the Rockets have built their offense around him, and Sengun has delivered by stuffing the stat sheet night-in, night-out. He averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5 assists per game last season, acting as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-grading-alperen-sengun-breakout-season">Rockets’ own version</a> of Nikola Jokic or Domantas Sabonis, an offensive hub on the post who makes life easier for his teammates with his unselfishness and scoring ability in the paint.</p><p>Sengun will only be turning 22 years of age on July 25, and he’s already putting up numbers that made him worthy of All-Star consideration this past season. He’s posting numbers that are comparable, if not better, than what Jokic and Sabonis were putting up at the same age. So no, Sengun will be off-limits to the Knicks, especially when they don’t have too many trade assets left after they already made their big move.</p><h2><b>Jalen Duren, more style than substance</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Pistons-center-Jalen-Duren-0-and-guard-Cade-Cunningham-2-celebrate.jpg"></figure><p>Jalen Duren has made a habit of stuffing the points and rebounds column over his brief NBA career. At his best, he is an unstoppable 20-20 machine due to how relentless he crashes boards and how easy he makes scoring in the paint look due to his elite athleticism. But the Detroit Pistons have not won much with him as the team’s starting center, and that is no accident.</p><p>Duren doesn’t quite have the grasp yet of what it means to be a defensive anchor for a team. In fact, there is a 26-minute compilation posted on Twitter (X) of Duren <a href="https://twitter.com/JA_718/status/1808549480662512060" rel="noopener">playing poor defense</a> due to his lack of positioning knowhow, substandard defensive awareness, and an overall lack of a sense of timing in contesting shots in the paint.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here's 25 minutes of Jalen Duren playing terrible defense <a href="https://t.co/458uiIFxrp">pic.twitter.com/458uiIFxrp</a> <a href="https://t.co/HSUM9cijH4">https://t.co/HSUM9cijH4</a></p><p>— Justin🇩🇴 (@JA_718) <a href="https://twitter.com/JA_718/status/1808549480662512060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Knicks may be better off looking elsewhere for a quality backup center, as the price that it would take for them to pry Duren from the Pistons will not be worth it.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks have Alperen Sengun, Jalen Duren on trade radar

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-slapped-with-harsh-walker-kessler-trade-reality');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks slapped with harsh Walker Kessler trade reality');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Knicks-slapped-with-harsh-Walker-Kessler-trade-reality.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks slapped with harsh Walker Kessler trade reality</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-09T07:07:27-07:00">July 9th, 7:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-09T15:34:29-07:00">July 9th, 3:34pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks have assembled a great collection of talent, and anything short of a run to the 2025 NBA Finals may be looked at as a disappointment.</p><p>Two weeks ago, the Knicks continued to go all-in, this time pulling off a trade with the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, assembling the so-called <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mikal-bridges-reacts-nets-trade-finally-becoming-official">Villanova Knicks and stacking up</a> on quality 3-and-D wings to deal with the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the reigning champion Boston Celtics.</p><p>However, bringing Bridges in came at the huge cost of five first-round picks, a pick swap, and a second-round pick. Moreover, the Knicks’ decision to trade for Bridges made it all the more difficult for them to keep Isaiah Hartenstein, the man who stepped up for them at the center position amid Mitchell Robinson’s injury woes.</p><p>Thus, it did not come as a surprise to see the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-eyeing-jazz-trade-isaiah-hartenstein-replacement">Knicks be linked</a> to a potential trade for third-year center Walker Kessler, who had a reduced role with the Utah Jazz this past season.</p><p>Alas, the Knicks may not have the assets to pull off a trade for Kessler. According to Ian Begley of SNY, the Jazz are looking for “at least a first-round pick” in exchange for Kessler.</p><p>While that price in and of itself is not too prohibitive, Begley said that, “that’s going to be a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kg9HfaUe6k" rel="noopener">tough price</a> for the Knicks to meet or match,” especially when they’re out a plethora of first-round picks in the aftermath of the Mikal Bridges trade.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>The Knicks cannot trade their 2026 and 2030 first-round picks (they can only trade a swap), and it’s unclear just how much value the protected Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards picks they own have.</p><p>While the Pistons and Wizards are the two worst teams in the Association this past season, which makes it likely for them to remain bad next season, their picks are protected from 1-10 and 1-13 respectively, for 2025. In 2026, the Pistons pick will only be protected from 1-11, while the Wizards pick will be protected from 1-8.</p><p>If the Wizards pick doesn’t convey by 2026, it will turn into two second-rounders. Meanwhile, the Pistons pick is protected until 2027 (1-9), and if it doesn’t convey, it will turn into one second-round pick.</p><p>No one can predict the future. The Pistons and Wizards could end up being good enough for those picks to convey to the Knicks. But the Knicks will need those potential first-round picks as well to supplement the team as their core becomes more and more expensive to keep.</p><p>Walker Kessler is only 22 years of age, and he has proven, at least, that he has a long-term NBA future — which is worth giving up a potential late lottery pick. But the Jazz may want to get a pick that’s guaranteed to land in the first round, and the Pistons and Wizards lend no such confidence.</p><h2>Walker Kessler, nothing but a pipe dream for the Knicks</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jazz-Walker-Kessler.jpg"></figure><p>With Isaiah Hartenstein departing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks are that much thinner at the center position. Sure, they still have Mitchell Robinson on the roster, but the team only has Jericho Sims <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/biggest-need-knicks-must-still-address-2024-nba-free-agency">as an insurance option</a> for now.</p><p>Given Robinson’s injury history, the Knicks’ backup center may have to brace himself for a larger-than-expected role. Sims may not be ready for that.</p><p>Sims does not have the mobility, defensive instincts, and rebounding acumen of Hartenstein, and he played nothing but garbage time for the final month or two of the 2023-24 season. The Knicks could bring back Precious Achiuwa, and he, at least, has earned a greater sense of trust from head coach Tom Thibodeau.</p><p>However, Achiuwa is a bit undersized for a center. The Knicks clearly prefer someone with more rim-protection skills than Achiuwa, hence their interest in Walker Kessler. But acquiring the Jazz center appears to be nothing more than a pipe dream.</p><p>Kessler, of course, endured a bit of a down 2023-24 season. He started fewer games last season than he did in his rookie campaign, his field-goal percentage went down by 66 percentage points, and Jazz head coach Will Hardy didn’t seem to trust him too much.</p><p>Still, the Jazz are embracing youth, so it seems a bit counterintuitive for them to trade away a 22-year-old center who’s shown that he can be one of the best shot-blockers in the Association. He’s only set to <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/78133/walker-kessler" rel="noopener">make around $7.8 million</a> over the next two seasons, so for his shot-blocking production at that low of a cost, he will indeed command a pretty penny on the trade market.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks slapped with harsh Walker Kessler trade reality

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-josh-hart-jalen-brunson-have-fun-debunked-tyler-kolek-illiteracy-rumor');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson have fun with debunked Tyler Kolek illiteracy rumor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Josh-Hart-Jalen-Brunson-have-fun-with-debunked-Tyler-Kolek-illiteracy-rumor.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson have fun with debunked Tyler Kolek illiteracy rumor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-08T13:04:35-07:00">July 8th, 1:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-08T13:04:35-07:00">July 8th, 1:04pm</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks, also known as the ‘<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/villanova-basketball-news-wildcats-have-perfect-4-word-reaction-to-mikal-bridges-trade">Nova Knicks</a> considering how four of their starters played together in college at Villanova, are a pretty tight group. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart literally host their own podcast together, and now that Mikal Bridges is in the fold after New York pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets, it’s safe to say that the team’s chemistry is at an all-time high.</p><p>Of course, there are other guys on the team who didn’t play at Villanova and need to be incorporated into the squad too, but that isn’t an issue for these guys. Just ask rookie guard Tyler Kolek, who was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-ny-land-tyler-kolek-as-trade-bonanza-continues">recently selected</a> by the Knicks, only to have the first big storyline surrounding his time with the team be about whether or not he could read. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take Hart and Brunson long to <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolJays/status/1809614468214886675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1809614468214886675%7Ctwgr%5E319b1479e2eb67a15cfb9a4269dca91e9ad86ff9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FBarstoolJays%2Fstatus%2F1809614468214886675" rel="noopener">get to the bottom</a> of this rumor.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart talking about the Tyler Kolek illiteracy rumors is pure comedy <a href="https://t.co/2oQd2bAmnW">pic.twitter.com/2oQd2bAmnW</a></p><p>— Barstool Bluejays (@BarstoolJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolJays/status/1809614468214886675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson already ribbing their new teammate</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tyler-Kolek-of-Marquette.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>During his time in college at Marquette, a rumor originated from a Providence fan account on social media that Kolek was illiterate. Fans quickly began picking up on this and took it as the truth, despite the fact that there was literally nothing proving it to be true. And it didn’t take long for Hart and Brunson to pick up on it either it seems.</p><p>Kolek has tried on several occasions to prove it to not be true, going as far to post his 3.934 GPA for the first semester of the school year in 2023. Despite that, people still bought the rumor that he couldn’t read, and sure enough, it spread like wildfire on social media. So when the Knicks traded for Kolek from the Portland Trail Blazers after he was selected with the 34th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, you figured this would somehow become a topic of discussion among fans.</p><p>In a twist, though, it became a topic of discussion among Kolek’s own teammates. On their shared ‘Roommates Show’ podcast, Hart brought up Kolek’s alleged illiteracy, asking Brunson whether or not it was true. Brunson didn’t believe it to be true for a second, but he wanted to see what Hart’s thoughts on the subject were, so he let him do some digging on the matter. He quickly found out that the rumor was not true, putting an end to one of the most confusing sagas we have seen in basketball as of late.</p><p>That’s just the sort of banter Kolek is going to have to get used to now that he’s on the Knicks, and he’s been a good sport about the whole situation, which has made him even more popular with fans. He already seems to be bonding with Hart and Brunson too, and it will be interesting to see if that helps him put together a successful rookie campaign in New York.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson have fun with debunked Tyler Kolek illiteracy rumor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-precious-achiuwa-open-to-knicks-return-amid-big-man-search');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Precious Achiuwa ‘open’ to Knicks return amid big man search');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Precious-Achiuwa-open-to-Knicks-return-amid-big-man-search.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Precious Achiuwa ‘open’ to Knicks return amid big man search</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-03T16:44:55-07:00">July 3rd, 4:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-03T17:01:14-07:00">July 3rd, 5:01pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks made it to the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs and nearly beat the Indiana Pacers before falling to Coach Rick Carlisle’s team.</p><p>The Knicks got surprising production out of Nigerian power forward Precious Achiuwa during the year as he compiled averages of 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Now, Achiuwa is in the crosshairs of additional NBA teams as free agency continues. The <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39854744/nba-free-agents-team-team-lists-2024-2025">restricted free agent</a> made a statement about possibly returning that made the rounds on Wednesday.</p><p>The news came <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-reacts-fans-jaylen-brown-mix-up">amid Jalen Brunson’s reaction</a> to a fan’s Jaylen Brown mix-up. According to the rumor mill, the Knicks are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-eyeing-jazz-trade-isaiah-hartenstein-replacement">pursuing a trade</a> with the Utah Jazz to find Isaiah Hartenstein’s replacement.</p><p>Achiuwa is reportedly open to returning to NYC’s home team according to a report <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-lauri-markkanen-trade-talks-demar-derozan-kyle-kuzma-lakers-knicks-76ers/">from HoopsHype.com</a>.</p><h2><b>Achiuwa’s Aspirations, Revealed</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Achiuwa-defense.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>HoopsHype.com stated that Achiuwa “likes the Knicks and is open to returning,” according to league familiar to the website.</p><p>Achiuwa was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Knicks. He received interest from “several contending teams” on the open market according to Ian Begley of SportsNet New York. The 6-foot-8 Knicks forward has strong ties to the city, having played high school ball at Our Savior Lutheran in the Bronx, New York and St. Bendict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey.</p><p>The presence of Precious Achiuwa gives Coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks a strong inside presence they’re going to need with Isaiah Hartenstein now in Oklahoma City.</p><h2><b>Knicks’ Outlook For 2024 Offseason </b></h2><p>The Knicks have made a <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/knicks-to-acquire-mikal-bridges-from-nets">big splash this offseason</a>, gaining Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets for a haul of picks and drafting French shooting guard Pacome Dadiet in the first round.</p><p>The Knicks’ roster looks incredibly strong at the guard and forward positions for next season but a gaping hole has been left in the middle with Hartenstein off to OKC.</p><p>The returns of Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson from injury give Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team a fighting chance to dethrone the Boston Celtics as Eastern Conference Champions next season, but it’s going to take a total team effort from the last man on the roster to Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ budding superstar who is expected to continue his ascent to the top of the scoring guard charts.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Precious Achiuwa ‘open’ to Knicks return amid big man search

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-eyeing-jazz-trade-isaiah-hartenstein-replacement');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks eyeing Jazz trade for Isaiah Hartenstein replacement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Knicks-eyeing-Jazz-trade-for-Isaiah-Hartenstein-replacement.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks eyeing Jazz trade for Isaiah Hartenstein replacement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-02T14:12:20-07:00">July 2nd, 2:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-02T14:12:20-07:00">July 2nd, 2:12pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It was always going to be difficult for the New York Knicks to retain Isaiah Hartenstein after trading for Mikal Bridges and handing OG Anunoby a five-year, $212 million contract extension. Now that “I-Hart” is officially gone, though, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-knicks-must-replace-isaiah-hartenstein-after-leaving-for-thunder">New York needs to find</a> a replacement.</p><p>The organization <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-lauri-markkanen-trade-talks-demar-derozan-kyle-kuzma-lakers-knicks-76ers/" rel="noopener">is now targeting</a> Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler as an option, via HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.</p><p>“Knicks have also made inquiries on trade market, showing interest in Jazz C Walker Kessler, league sources told HoopsHype, along with Hornets center Nick Richards…There’s a belief from rival executives that Utah would listen to trade calls for Kessler,” wrote Scotto.</p><p>Kessler would be an ideal <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-center-mitchell-robinson-laughs-off-trade-rumor-questions-from-jalen-brunson-josh-hart">backup for Mitchell Robinson</a>, as the 22-year-old sports career averages of 8.7 points on 69% shooting, with eight rebounds and 2.4 blocks across 23.2 minutes per game.</p><p>What would it take for New York to land Kessler?</p><h2><b>The Knicks have the assets and cap space to make a Kessler deal happen</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jazz-Walker-Kessler.jpg"><figcaption>© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>While Kessler is promising, Utah may be inclined to part ways after his slightly disappointing sophomore season. The seven-footer declined in points scored, field goal percentage, and rebounds after his upstart rookie campaign.</p><p>Kessler’s upcoming season will be a crucial one, as it’ll go a long way toward proving that he was worth the 22nd overall pick in 2022. However, New York wouldn’t be as concerned with developing the Auburn alum into a star as much as having him be a useful part of its rotation, especially in the playoffs.</p><p>What’s more, Kessler is on a team-friendly deal. The 2023 All-Rookie First Team honoree will make just under $3 million next season, with a team option for 2025-26.</p><p>Currently, New York’s payroll for next season sits at <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/NYK.html" rel="noopener">just over $154.5 million</a>, via Basketball Reference. This is over the league’s salary cap but under the “First Apron Level” of $178.132 million. This new CBA rule allows teams more flexibility to operate above the cap.</p><p>While the payroll will go up slightly when the Mikal Bridges trade officially goes through, the Knicks will still have room for Kessler. New York also has plenty of draft capital left to send to the Jazz, including three first-rounders and one second-rounder in 2025.</p><p>However, Kessler isn’t the only option left.</p><h2><b>Nick Richards is another attractive candidate for the Knicks</b></h2><p>Richards is slightly older than Kessler at 26 years old, but he may be a more reliable option in the short term. The Kentucky alum is coming off the best year of his career, scoring 9.7 points on 69.1% shooting with eight rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 26.3 minutes per game. He also had a career-high 51 starts in 67 games.</p><p>With Mitchell Robinson’s injury history, the Knicks cannot roll into next year with unproven reserve Jericho Sims as the primary backup. New York could bring back Precious Achiuwa, but the Nigerian international is undersized for the center position at 6-foot-8. He works better as a “tweener” between the four and five spots.</p><p>Expect more reports to come out regarding New York’s exploration of the center market with Hartenstein, Jonas Valuncunas, and Andre Drummond all off the board.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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