Former Knick Bernard King was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame today. King played for the Knicks from 1982-1987 and established himself as one of the greatest pure scorers the team– and the league– has ever seen. King holds the Knick record for points in one game with 60, and is very popular amongst NBA fans despite having his career derailed by knee injuries.
Congrats, Bernard!
-Tommy Rothman
Well, we all saw it coming, right?
In the least surprising breaking story of all time, JR Smith has been suspended for failing THREE drug tests for recreational substances such as Marijuana. Smith’s was already in danger of missing the first few weeks of the season with a knee injury. His suspension will begin the first game he is physically able to play, so if he is ready to come back 2 weeks after opening day, he will have to wait an extra 5 games after that.
The Knicks recently gave Smith a new contract, and he has wasted no time in showing why the Knicks were able to get such a bargain on the mercurial Smith. One person who is not happy? The fictional Mike Woodson twitter account
This is another frustrating off-court setback for J.R, who has had disciplinary issues through his career.
-Tommy Rothman
Knicks PF Jeremy Tyler was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot Thursday and will be out for 8-10 weeks, meaning he will miss all of training camp and at least the first week of the regular season. This is a minor blow for the team (which needs frontcourt depth) and a big blow for Tyler (who needs minutes). For Knicks fans, it is yet another frustrating injury. Eternal cynic Frank Isola put it best:
This injury could lead to Tyler’s release, or at least open it up for consideration. The foot fracture may have been a driving reason behind the Knicks’ decision to invite PG Toure Murry to training camp today . If Tyler is on his way out, it opens up a roster spot for Murry (and leaves the Knicks with another spot to give to a big man).
I still expect Tyler to make the team, but the competition is about to ramp up a bit.
-Tommy Rothman
The Miami Heat made a strong push for Toure Murry, but the D-League Stud and Summer League Standout will be joining the New York Knicks in training camp in an attempt to win a roster spot. Murry looked very good in Vegas, and has produced throughout his career (at the lower levels), but has an uphill battle ahead of him as the Knicks already have several guards under contract. One person Murry will be competing with is Chris Smith, who signed with the Knicks on a non-guaranteed contract with a training camp invite this week. Murry also has to compete with free agent guards such as Rip Hamilton (who the Knicks might have interest in). And of course, Murry also needs to compete with bigger players, because the Knicks only have one roster spot left and definitely need more depth in the frontcourt. It’s always nice to keep somebody away from the Heat, and Murry has promise, but whether he makes the team remains to be seen
-Tommy Rothman
Veteran SG Richard “Rip” Hamilton is still a free agent, and it appears that the Knicks might be interested. Hamilton brings veteran leadership and a championship pedigree to the table, and his skill set, although diminished, would still provide a boost to the roster. However, the Knicks already have a ton of guards on the roster, so unless this is insurance for J.R. Smith’s knee, I don’t know how necessary it is to sign Hamilton. It seems more logical to give the final roster spot to a big man, but stay tuned. -Tommy Rothman
I would say his celebration is pretty fitting
New York Knicks Memes 