Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire teamed up with Jimmy Kimmel and “Cousin Sal” to prank Stoudemire’s former teammate, Metta World Peace. The prank reached the point where Metta felt compelled to dial 911. Enjoy:
According to sources, Carmelo Anthony is leaning towards leaving the Knicks in free agency this summer, and the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets have emerged as the frontrunners to land the star forward. Melo is reportedly unconfident in the Knicks’ ability to build a winning team this season, and is unwilling to wait until next year, when the Knicks will have a large amount of cap space (and a draft pick). He was also reportedly unhappy with Knicks President Phil Jackson’s public comments in which he expressed hope that Anthony would take a less-than-maximum contract to sign with the Knicks… even though Anthony would have to do that to sign anywhere else. Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the rumors.
The Bulls and Rockets are both well over the cap, but have ways to clear enough room to get Carmelo. Because both teams will likely need to make some trades to make Melo fit under their budget, the Knicks could get decent compensation from any team that signs Carmelo. Jimmy Butler, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Chandler Parsons, and draft picks could all be in play.
Carmelo doesn’t seem like he’s going to stay in New York just for the max contract, if the Knicks even offer him one. However, he would have a much better roster around him in New York today if he hadn’t forced a mid-season trade to the Knicks a few years ago instead of signing with them outright in the summer. Carmelo did this because he was worried signing as a free agent would cost him a ton of money, but it only ended up costing him about $4 million. Now, according to these reports he’s perfectly willing to give up $30 million (and his public image) to bolt for a new city, because he wants to win. Go figure.
These are just reports. Carmelo hasn’t opted out of his contract yet, which he will probably do by June 23rd, and he hasn’t signed with another team. The Knicks should still be in the ballgame, but according to Woj and his sources, the Knicks might need to move on.
-Tommy Rothman
Derek Fisher has agreed to replace Mike Woodson as the next head coach of the Knicks, according to multiple sources. The two sides are currently finalizing a 5 year, $25 Million deal which is expected to be completed shortly. Kurt Rambis is likely to be on the staff as an assistant coach; Fisher and Phil Jackson will begin assembling a staff once the deal is complete.
The Knicks have intensified their pursuit of 39 year-old Derek Fisher and are looking to hire him as their head coach this week. Fisher won 5 championships under Knicks President Phil Jackson during his playing career, the end of which he is expected to announce shortly. ESPN’s Marc Stein was the first to report the news on Fisher. Fisher is the all-time record holder in playoff games played and is considered a strong leader both on and off the court. Fisher served as the president of the NBA Players Association from 2006 to 2013.
Jackson has reportedly only shown interest in inexperienced coaches with whom he has a prior relationship, including Steve Kerr, who Jackson thought he had landed before the Golden State job opened up and Kerr took a deal with the Warriors. Fisher fits what Jackson is looking for: Smart, responsible, young (for a coach), a Jackson pupil, and somebody well-acquainted with Jackson’s “Triangle Offense”. Jackson reportedly plans on being very involved in the coaching of this year’s team even though he will not be taking the job for himself, so whichever coach Phil hires will certainly be running things the way the 13-time NBA champion wants them to be run.
I think Fisher would be a solid hire, and since he will be guided by arguably the greatest coach in the game’s history if he takes the job, the Knicks should have some newfound structure on the court this coming season. Everybody thought the Kerr deal was wrapped up, so there’s obviously no guarantee that Jackson will be able to reel Fisher in. But with New York’s main competition, the LA Lakers, reportedly dropping their pursuit of Fisher, expect the longtime point guard to be announced as the Knicks’ coach before too long.
-Tommy Rothman
We’ve lost him, guys. We’ve lost him forever.
JR Smith has his shoelace tricks. Lance? He gets a bit more physical.
New York Knicks Memes 