Tag Archives: knicks rumors

BREAKING: Tyson Chandler out 4-6 Weeks

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The Knicks have announced that All-Star Center Tyson Chandler has a small non-displaced fracture of his right fibula and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

This is obviously a huge blow to the team. Chandler is the team’s anchor on defense, and when he is not on the floor, opposing offenses are much more efficient. In addition, Tyson’s absence will be felt greatly on the boards and even on offense to some extent, as he is the main screener in pick-and-roll plays. You can take the it-could-be-worse approach, considering that Chandler will only miss about a month, but as we know, setbacks happen.

So what do the Knicks do now? Cole Aldrich will be activated immediately, of course. Kenyon Martin and Amar’e Stoudemire will have to step up and take bigger roles on the team, if their bodies are up to it. Chris Smith’s roster spot is in serious jeopardy as the team will almost certainly need to sign a big man. This doesn’t seem like a season-ender for the Knicks— at least, not if Tyson is actually only out for 4-6 weeks. But other guys— including Carmelo Anthony— need to step it up. If the Knicks continue to turn the ball over and miss open shots, they are in trouble.

Can the Knicks find a way to stop getting killed on the boards like they were after Chandler’s first-quarter exit last night? Can the defense tighten up? Can the team get back on track, or at least tread water until Chandler returns? We’ll see…

-Tommy Rothman

Knicks Will Debut Orange Jerseys Tonight vs. Chicago

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The Knicks will wear their new orange alternate uniforms for their Halloween game against the Bulls tonight in Chicago.

 

BREAKING: Knicks keep Toure Murry, Chris Smith, Cole Aldrich

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The Knicks announced that they have elected to keep PG Toure Murry, PG Chris Smith, and C Cole Aldrich on the 15-man roster, while releasing Jeremy Tyler, Ike Diogu, CJ Leslie, Josh Powell,  and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

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It’s a bit surprising that Tyler was waived. Tyler showed great potential during summer league, and Coach Woodson indicated that he would likely make the team despite missing the preseason with a foot injury. The Knicks are now left with 5 big men: Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kenyon Martin, Andrea Bargnani, and Aldrich. Given that all 5 of these guys have battled injury recently, it makes one wonder why the team chose to keep 2 guards and only 1 big man. 

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Speaking of the guards, what is Chris Smith doing on this team? He played a team-low 20 minutes this preseason and shot a dreadful 1-7. J.R Smith said yesterday that he hoped his little brother would make the team on his own talent, but this is clearly not the case. Based on what we have seen from Chris during the games, it seems that he is not a quality player by any means. Mike Woodson admitted that Chris’ status as J.R’s brother would be considered when making the final roster cuts, and it appears that having the last name “Smith” will, in fact, keep Chris with the team. 

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I have no problem with Murry making the roster. Toure showed great promise during the Summer League and continued to play very well during the preseason. He definitely earned a spot on the team.

 

If I’m Ike Diogu right now, I’m feeling pissed off. Diogu showed up to camp, played hard, played well, showed a decent post game and a nice mid-range jumper…. and got released, because the Knicks wanted to keep J.R Smith’s brother. Again, Chris showed nothing during the preseason, so it seems as if, no matter what happened, Chris was guaranteed a roster spot. If that was the case, why not tell Diogu that from the start, so that he could showcase his talent with another team?

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I am a bit concerned over the lack of healthy, reliable big men on the team. Of course, I am nitpicking here. If a need for another big man arises, the Knicks can always release Chris Smith or any other player on the team and sign Tyler, Diogu, or any big man who is a free agent. Murry, Smith, and Aldrich will not be playing major minutes as things stand right now, and neither would Diogu, Tyler, Powell, Leslie, or Douglas-Roberts if they had made the team. Would I like to see Tyler and/or Diogu on the opening day roster? Yes. Will the 13th, 14th, and 15th men on the team make-or-break our season? Probably not… 

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… unless ToureSanity is waiting in the wings…

-Tommy Rothman

 

Knicks to Debut New Orange Alternate Jerseys Tonight vs Raptors… or not….

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As you may remember, Iman Shumpert leaked a picture on his Instagram over the summer in which he was wearing a never-before-seen orange jersey over the summer, leading to speculation that the Knicks might have a new alternate jersey.

The rumors have been confirmed. The Knicks posted a sneak-peek of the jerseys they will wear for tonight’s preseason game against the Raptors.

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It will be interesting to see how often the Knicks wear these orange uniforms once the real season starts.

UPDATE: For whatever reason, the Knicks decided NOT to go with the orange jerseys tonight… but it seems like we’ll see them before too long.

-Tommy Rothman

Knicks Injury Updates (Stoudemire, Martin, Felton, Shumpert, and more)

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– Amar’e Stoudemire has been cleared to practice. He hopes to play in the season opener.

– Kenyon Martin is still rehabbing the ankle injury he suffered last season and his status for the opener remains uncertain, as the Knicks would like to handle him carefully so that he can contribute long-term.

– Iman Shumpert is not practicing today, but doctors examined his arm and found nothing major. It is believed that he will be fine with a few days of rest.

– Raymond Felton pulled his hamstring, and is not practicing today. However, he says that he would play if it were a regular season game.

– Metta World Peace is back in practice.

– JR Smith is making progress in his rehab from his knee injury, but will still miss at least the first five games due to his suspension for recreational drug use.

–Tommy Rothman

Melo wants to be a Free Agent

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Carmelo Anthony has an opt-out clause which gives him the option to terminate his contract after this season. On Wednesday, Melo indicated that he has every intention of using it.

“I want to be a free agent. I think everybody in the NBA dreams to be a free agent at least one time in their career. It’s like you have an evaluation period, you know. It’s like if I’m in the gym and I have all the coaches, all the owners, all the GMs come into the gym and just evaluate everything I do. So yes, I want that experience.” — Carmelo Anthony

 

So should Knicks fans panic? No. It makes sense for Carmelo to opt out. Even if he plans on staying, he would make more money by opting out and signing a new deal than he would be simply playing under his old contract. In fact, depending on what happens with Kobe Bryant’s contract next summer, Carmelo could become the highest paid player in the NBA.

 

Melo might leave. He probably won’t. He has indicated that he would like to stay and the team has indicated that they will make it their number one priority to keep him. But Carmelo has every right to explore his options, and that is exactly what he is doing. 

-Tommy Rothman