Bounce Back

Kris Pursiainen recaps Game 3 in Vegas, plus gives some additional intel on a few topics of interest.

Good morning (or almost afternoon from my friendly confines in Sorrento). We have a three-part newsletter from Mr. Pursiainen in store today. Next up on Friday is Ray Marcano’s debut piece this offseason, and then Kris’ final missive on Monday before “25 for 25” debuts next Wednesday. Lots of goodies in store.

Before we get there though, I may have to issue a correction…sort of. In last week’s Mailbag, I laughed off the notion of Rokas Jokubaitis ever playing for the Knicks. We’re still a ways off from that happening, but it’s worth noting a report from earlier this week in which Jokubaitis hinted at leaving Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv very soon due to the situation in Israel. The report speculates about a move to FC Bayern Munich, but given the Knicks’ need to add a 14th player with no NBA experience, we can’t completely rule Jokubaitis out. I’ve heard he’s open to all possibilities. As for New York’s 13th roster spot, Ian Begley once again floated the names of Landry Shamet and Ben Simmons yesterday.

Bounce Back

by Kris Pursiainen

NEW YORK – New York Knicks 97, Brooklyn Nets 93. Let’s discuss! First, some quick notes…

Home, sweet home

Hello! It’s lovely to be with you all once again. I am back from my first ever Summer League, which was a borderline life-changing experience that helped me feel more encouraged than ever about a career in journalism.

I understand that a 23-year-old speaking highly of Las Vegas isn’t anything groundbreaking, but those who know how much the sport and culture of basketball mean to me can understand why I felt like an unsupervised toddler in a candy shop last week.

Connecting with players, coaches, front office executives, and media members from different NBA teams and hailing from all over the globe was a dream. You’re likely wondering what my favorite interaction with a Knick player or coach was. I regret to inform you that any good reporter knows when to keep quiet.

I did have the chance to introduce myself to the only current Finnish Knickerbocker. I’ll tell you all about that, gladly. Petteri Koponen is the head coach of the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL and the retired player who was a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach when the Knicks acquired his draft rights last summer. He enjoyed that I even knew any of this. I enjoyed how much of a kick he seemed to have gotten from being traded four years after retirement from playing.

I digress often, but I know how to acknowledge that I’m doing it. Onto more pressing matters…

Your eyes and ears in the desert…

Bench fixtures from the Thibodeau era like Rick Brunson, Darren Erman, and Dice Yoshimoto were present, donning team gear for New York’s Summer League games. Development coaches like Daniel Brady, Kwadzho Ahelegbe, and Corey Sherman were on the bench, actively coaching during games.

From the outside looking in, the team is operating as if the majority of its staff from last season is going to be back, except for the head coach.

The sense I got at Summer League from various conversations with several different league sources is that the Knicks themselves aren’t 100 percemt sure which coaches will, or will not, be returning from last year’s staff.

I reported last week that the team had interest in adding Darvin Ham to new head coach Mike Brown’s staff. Marc Stein had that interest first. The Knicks also tried tabbing Jay Triano for their ‘associate head coach/offensive coordinator’ position, per Stefan Bondy.

The other bit of simple intel I rounded up at Summer League is that New York seemingly has plans for their three two-way spots. The team has all three open as of now but agents that spoke with members of the organization came away under the impression that their elevator pitches fell on deaf ears and that they had already made up their minds.

And now for the basketball.

Knicks 2025 Summer League, Game 3