New York Knicks

The New York Knicks' search for a point guard may land on Tyus Jones.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported the Knicks could target Jones in free agency this summer if their planned pursuit of Jalen Brunson fails.

Jones has been a reliable role player across his seven NBA seasons but has never gotten a heavy-minutes role. He averaged a career-high 8.7 points and 4.4 assists with the Memphis Grizzlies this season.

When Ja Morant missed extended time, Jones stepped into the starting lineup and guided the offense capably. He averaged 12.7 points and 6.6 assists as a starter this season.

"He's just a great connector out there. I love the spirit, leadership he plays with, the way he moves the ball," Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins told Chris Hine of the Star-Tribune last month. "He's improved defensively from the first two years we've been here. He's taken ownership there. I love how he's shooting the ball as well. Obviously when he's played a bigger role, he's filled those shoes brilliantly. He plays so well, plays great team basketball."

Not only has Jones been a steady leader of bench units throughout his career—his assist-to-turnover ratio regularly ranks at or top the NBA leaderboard—he also has a familiarity with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau dating back to their time in Minnesota. 

Thibodeau was the coach for the first 40 games of the 2018-19 season, which saw Jones set the NBA record for assist-to-turnover ratio. 

The Knicks have been on a desperate search for a lead ball-handler for several years. They took a chance on signing Kemba Walker to a two-year contract last offseason, but that move blew up in their face amid Walker's continued injury history. Even if Jones is an unspectacular option, he would be a solid addition for the turnover-averse Thibodeau. 

As the Utah Jazz look to find answers after another postseason disappointment, the New York Knicks don't appear to be hiding their interest in Donovan Mitchell. 

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, one Western Conference general manager called the Knicks' apparent recruitment of Mitchell "amateurish."

MacMahon noted the Knicks had executive vice president William Wesley, forward Julius Randle and assistant general manager Allan Houston sitting in the stands at American Airlines Arena for Game 1 between the Jazz and Dallas Mavericks on April 16. 

"Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, the breakout star of the series, is expected to be targeted by the Knicks in free agency this summer," MacMahon wrote. "However, executives from other teams assume that the Knicks executives' prominent appearance—particularly 'World Wide Wes,' a former CAA consultant considered one of the game's great relationship builders—was part of New York's long-running, wink-wink plan of trying to get Mitchell to push the Jazz to trade him to his hometown team."

SNY.tv's Ian Begley reported last week that prominent members of the Jazz were "surprised and upset" when they saw William Wesley (aka World Wide Wes) sitting courtside at the game. 

There has been speculation for some time that Mitchell may not remain in Utah much longer.

Ric Bucher of Fox Sports reported in January, as the Jazz were in the midst of a five-game losing streak, there was "incessant buzz around the league is that there are those in Mitchell's circle who believe he is too big of a star for Salt Lake City."

The Knicks certainly figure to be in the market for any top stars who might be available in trades or free agency this offseason. They finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 37-45 record this season after making the playoffs with a 41-31 record in 2020-21. 

The Jazz will have to figure out what their direction is going to be moving forward. They have lost in the first round of the playoffs three times in the past four seasons. 

Mitchell told reporters after Thursday's season-ending loss to the Dallas Mavericks he wasn't thinking about his future right now. 

"My mindset is to win," he said. "Right now, I'm not really looking at that. … I'll think about it in a week. Right now I'm not thinking about that."

Utah does have Mitchell under contract through the 2024-25 season. He also has a $37.1 million player option for 2025-26.

If Mitchell decides he wants to leave the Jazz, the Knicks certainly figure to be one of the first teams in line to make a bid. They need a star in the backcourt and a go-to scorer. The three-time All-Star has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the past three seasons.    

Former New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni looks back on the Linsanity era as one of the greatest moments of his coaching career.

"The greatest 10 days, two weeks, month, whatever it was. Greatest time ever," D'Antoni said on The Old Man and The Three podcast (40:54 mark).

D'Antoni was the Knicks' coach when Jeremy Lin ascended to stardom seemingly out of nowhere during the 2011-12 season. Playing initially on a 10-day contract, Lin caught fire from Feb. 4 to Feb. 22, 2012, averaging 23.9 points and 9.2 assists in 11 games while bringing New York City together to cheer him on.

"That's what I love about New York. It caught fire so fast, so unexpected, you were just living in a dream. Everybody," D'Antoni said. "We would go to practice, and they had 80 media people there at practice. ... It was unbelievable. What he did was unreal. ... The whole team, the atmosphere, the Garden, there's nothing better than that, other than winning a championship."

Linsanity abruptly ended during a Feb. 23 dismantling by the Miami Heat, who held Lin to eight points on 1-of-11 shooting and forced him into eight turnovers. Lin played the remainder of the season with New York before leaving for the Houston Rockets in free agency, but he never returned to those heights of his initial run.

"When I was going through Linsanity, I didn't understand the weight of it," Lin told Kimmy Yam of NBC News in February. "I knew that the Asian community supported me and I knew that it was an inspiration to everybody, but I didn't understand the depths of it."

Lin carved out a nine-year NBA career with the Knicks, Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He currently plays for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Longtime NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni divulged Tuesday that he badly wanted to select Stephen Curry in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft when he was the head coach of the New York Knicks.

Appearing on the Old Man & The Three podcast with former NBA guard JJ Redick and Tommy Alter (starting at the 54:30 mark), D'Antoni was asked which player he wished he had the opportunity to coach in the NBA, and he made it clear that Steph was at the top of his list.

D'Antoni thought back to the 2009 NBA draft, noting "we wanted [Curry] so bad, I could taste it."

The Knicks owned the No. 8 overall selection in 2009, but Curry went one pick ahead of them at No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors. New York had to settle for Arizona forward Jordan Hill, who averaged 7.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 409 career regular-season games.

Meanwhile, Curry has established himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history with eight All-Star selections, three championships, two scoring titles and two NBA MVP awards in 13 seasons.

Curry is also the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, making a record 3,117 three-point field goals during his illustrious career.

Given D'Antoni's penchant for coaching an uptempo, high-volume offensive style, he and Curry likely would have meshed well.

Adding to the agony of missing out on Curry was D'Antoni's story about how the Knicks had an opportunity to ensure they could select him. 

D'Antoni said the Knicks had a deal in place to move up to the No. 5 overall pick, but they would have had to trade a roster player in order to do so.

By D'Antoni's recollection, the front office felt they would land Curry at No. 8 regardless, so they decided against the trade and stood pat, which was a decision that came back to bite them.

While Curry helped lead the Warriors to five straight NBA Finals, the Knicks have reached the playoffs just four times since Curry entered the league and have only one playoff series win to their credit during that stretch. 

New York Knicks power forward Julius Randle has had a disappointing season after being named NBA Most Improved Player last year. But despite reported trade rumors, Randle doesn't want to go anywhere.

Knicks president Leon Rose told MSG's Mike Breen that Randle "loves it" in New York and has expressed a desire to remain with the team, per Ian Begley of SNY. Begley added that Randle has also expressed that same sentiment when speaking to beat reporters recently.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported last week that it appeared Randle was trying to force himself out of New York in a "James Harden type of way," referring to the Philadelphia 76ers guard orchestrating two trades in two years to reach his preferred team. Randle was asked about rumors that he asked management for a trade, and he told Begley "that's just not true."

Randle has not played since March 30 because of a sore quad, and he won't suit up for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Toronto Raptors. He ends the year with averages of 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, down from the 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists he averaged a year ago.

After reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013 last year, the Knicks (36-45) won't even be in this year's play-in tournament. The team has failed to find any consistency all year, and Randle is not exempt from that.

During a home game in January, Randle made a thumbs-down gesture to the crowd at Madison Square Garden. His body language throughout the season amid the team's struggles has not been that of a leader.

Whether Randle is still with the Knicks next year or not, it's clear that New York has a lot to do if it wants to contend for the playoffs in 2022-23.

New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett suffered a knee injury in the first half of Friday's game against the Washington Wizards.

The team announced Barrett won't return after being diagnosed with a sprained right knee. He scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 15 minutes prior to the injury. 

Barrett has stayed relatively health in 2021-22, although he missed four games in February due to an ankle injury and six games in December while in the health and safety protocols. 

That durability has remained key for the 2019 No. 3 overall draft pick, who started all 72 games for the Knicks in 2020-21.

Barrett plays an important role when on the court, entering the day averaging 20.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 69 appearances.

Barrett has been a go-to option offensively, but it hasn't led to much team success, as several veteran players on the Knicks did not reach expectations this season.

Depending on the severity of Barrett's injury, his season could be over. The Knicks will wrap up the 2021-22 campaign on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden.