The Knicks offseason rumors sound .........
David Fizdale on Knicks' culture: 'We’re doing it the right way'
Hoops Rumors "The Knicks‘ new head coach, David Fizdale, has yet to coach a single game with the team, but he’s optimistic about the direction the organization is going. Fizdale spoke with NBC New York’s Bruce Beck and spoke glowingly of his relationship with Kristaps Porzingis and the team’s talent acquisitions in the NBA Draft (via the New York Post).
“It’s already happening,” Fizdale said about the Knicks’ franchise rebirth. “Kristaps will come back healthy. He was already having a big-time season last year when he got knocked down. We had an awesome draft with Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier — our two-way player. Scott [Perry] and these guys are sticking to an awesome plan, bringing in guys maybe that didn’t work out at a place before but are high draft picks. [With] good player development, good culture, they can turn into something they were expected to be. We’re doing it the right way.”
Fizdale was hired to replace Jeff Hornacek, who was relieved of his duties after the season. After a tumultuous exit from the Grizzlies last season, Fizdale himself is seeking a fresh start in New York." August 25
Ntilikina will skip FIBA World Cup qualifiers to prep for Knicks season
SNY TV "In order to better prepare for his second season with the Knicks and his first under new head coach David Fizdale, point guard Frank Ntilikina told the French outlet l'Equipe he won't play for Team France in the FIBA World Cup qualifying. "At the dawn of my second NBA season with the New York Knicks," Ntilikina said in a statement in French, "the timing appears very complex with a start of regrouping the team planned in early September and a new cycle to come with a new coaching staff. It is with great regret that I will not be able to finally join the group for this campaign."
The 20-year-old Ntilikina, who averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 78 games as a rookie with New York last season, studied film with Fizdale earlier this summer and said he learned a lot from Fizdale, the former Grizzlies coach who replaced Jeff Hornacek.
"For players, it's always important to know what the coach wants from them, especially for me as I learn to lead this team," Ntilikina said of Fizdale in July. "It was great. He helped me out i general, in my mind and how I approach the game. It was a great thing."" August 24
Kristaps Porzingis fully on board with revamped front office, coaching staff
Clutch Points "New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale recently traveled to Latvia to get acquainted with his talisman player Kristaps Porzingis, spending a few days with him in his native land. Porzingis had distanced himself from the Knicks brass after the way they had treated his former teammate Carmelo Anthony after former president Phil Jackson hung him out to dry in front of the media during exit interviews.
The Knicks now boast a brand-new front office with Steve Mills and Scott Perry at the helm and clean the last few remnants of the Jackson era with the firing of former coach Jeff Hornacek and his coaching staff.
Fizdale was asked if the relationship between Porzingis and the organization was back in order after the slew of changes that took place after Jackson’s firing."
“Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Kristaps is excited. I’m telling you right now, he’s excited,” Fizdale told WNBC, via ESPN’s Ian Begley. “…I really feel like that clicked with him. I think he likes the challenge of me saying I want him to be the MVP, I want him to be defensive player of the year. Real competitors, they want that. And I’m going right at it with him. I want him to look at himself that way.”
The link between a healthy front office and a happy Porzingis will prove key next offseason, as the unicorn will be eligible for a contract extension — one he wouldn’t be willing to consider if he wasn’t in the same wavelength as Perry, Mills, and his new coach Fizdale.
The recently-turned 23-year-old is recovering from a torn ACL, which he suffered back in February, still expected to miss additional time after the regular season gets started. August 23
NBA rookies believe the Kevin Knox hype, too
New York Post "Kevin Knox just got some love from his fellow rookies, but perhaps a few more chips for his shoulder, too. Knox’s dominant summer league appeared to impress his fellow rookies, but not enough to move to the top spot in any of the categories in a recent NBA.com survey of 36 rookies"
The Knicks’ No. 9-overall draft pick in June tied for third in a prediction of who would take home Rookie of the Year honors. Suns forward Deandre Ayton and Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton led the way, each with 18 percent of the vote, but Knox and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were next, each garnering 9 percent of the vote.
Knox also came in second in a vote for the rookie who would have the best career. Bulls big man Wendell Carter Jr. took home top honors with 13 percent of the vote — the fifth straight Duke player to win the category — but Knox and Clippers guard Jerome Robinson were close behind with 10 percent each. August 22
Noah Vonleh happy to have another shot in NBA with Knicks
Noah Vonleh may be regarded as another lottery-pick disappointment on the Knicks’ roster, but the 6-foot-9, 245-pound power forward has one exceptional attribute he will bring to the Garden — rebounding.
“To be in the NBA, you have to have an elite skill and do something really well,’’ Vonleh told The Post in his first comments since signing as a free agent July 24.
“Rebounding has always been the biggest thing for me. Since I was a young kid, I was always able to rebound. I got a good eye for what angle it’s coming off and just going after it. That’s my skill that got me in the NBA. That’s what I get myself going with.’’
And that’s what the Knicks lack. With 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis out indefinitely, the Knicks may have to start Mario Hezonja, a modest board man, at power forward.
