USA Today is reporting that Dwight Howard has decided to sign with Houston. This is consistent with what I had been hearing earlier in the day, and it seems like it could be confirmed soon. Howard joins a Rockets team that got rid of a lot of depth to pursue him. Jeremy Lin and/or Omer Asik could be on the way out if this is a sign & trade. -Tommy
The Brooklyn-born Point Guard tweeted this. Does “home” mean Brooklyn, or NY in general? both teams had Telfair on their radar.
UPDATE: one source has said that Telfair was literally tweeting about going home… -Tommy
An Open Letter to JR Smith (Link)
Truer words have never been spoken. Click the hyperlink in the headline to read. -Tommy
The New York Daily News is reporting that Pablo Prigioni has agreed to sign an extension with the Knicks. Prigioni will be given a 3-year contract, of which the first 2 are guaranteed. It is believed that Pablo will take a bit less than half of the Knicks mid-level exception, leaving them with about $1.7 Million left of their MLE. The Knicks would like to use this money to re-sign Chris Copeland, although the high-scoring forward will likely have offers elsewhere that will be too high to pass up. What we know for sure is that Pablo will be back with the Knicks. Exact terms of the deal should be released shortly. -Tommy
Other: Interesting link about new ticket systems: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jesselawrence/2013/07/01/dynamic-pricing-could-generate-5mm-in-new-revenue-from-michican-ticket-sales/
JR Smith’s agent has confirmed that the Knicks’ sixth man will stay with the Knicks on a 4-year, $24.7 million contract with a player option for the final year. The Knicks made Smith their top priority and got the deal done.
Sources are reporting that there is mutual interest between the Knicks and free agents Nate Robinson, Elton Brand, and Matt Barnes. While Brand would likely be willing to take the minimum, Barnes could cost more and Nate would almost certainly demand most, if not all, of the Knicks $3.1 Million Midlevel Exception. While Brand seems like a strong candidate to join the roster, Nate still seems like a long shot (and signing him would likely signal the end of Chris Copeland’s days in New York, and maybe Pablo Prigioni’s as well). As for Barnes, he is the wild-card here. He might take the vet’s minimum, but he might get better offers elsewhere, and I am not sure if the Knicks would want to use their midlevel exception on him. More to come, stay tuned. -Tommy
New York Knicks Memes 