Briefing: April 1
Happy Birthday Mitchell Robinson, Knicks clinch top lottery odds, Kristaps Porzingis accused of rape
Good Morning,
Happy Birthday, Mitchell Robinson! The rookie stand-out turns 21 today.
Happy Birthday, Mark Jackson! The Brooklyn-born, former Knick turns 54 today.
April Fools…
Knicks play the Bulls at home on MSG Networks at 7:30 EST tonight. Zach LaVine (thigh), Kris Dunn (back) and Otto Porter (shoulder) are all out of the Bulls’ lineup. Walt Lemon Jr, an undrafted guard from Bradley, will start for the short-handed Bulls.
The Knicks reportedly knew Tim Hardaway Jr.’s left leg, which sustained a stress fracture last season, was compromised when they traded him to Dallas, according to Marc Berman. The Mavs shut down Hardaway Jr. on March 21 due to a stress reaction in his left tibia that will likely require surgery and keep the ex-Knick sidelined until next season.
Mitchell Robinson spent his final moments as a 20-year-old in the gym. His agent posted several videos on Twitter showing the rookie big man practicing his long-range shot (imagine if he masters it!) around 11:50 PM on the eve of his birthday.
Steve Mills and Scott Perry traveled to Tulsa last Sunday to see draft prospect Jarrett Culver. “They wanted one more look,” according to Marc Berman.
Duke was eliminated from the NCAA tournament. Queue the Zion to the Knicks memes! Of course, if not Zion, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish are projected to be top picks in the 2019 draft. It’s quite possible the next game one of the three plays will be for the Knicks.
Knicks clinch top odds: For the first time since 1987 (when the lottery odds were flat), the Knicks will have a tie for the highest odds (14%) to land the top pick in the draft. They “clinched” at least a Top-3 pre-lottery position with their loss to the Heat on Saturday.
A sober reminder: Does it feel like the Knicks have won a lot of basketball games this season? Um, it feels like they have lost pretty much every night, right? Well, the Knicks have won 18.4% of their games. They have a 14% chance of landing the top pick. Keep your expectations for Zion in check.
What happened this weekend?
Before we get into the whole Porzingis situation…
Frank Ntilikina will miss the final two weeks of the season. The Knicks announced that the second-year guard re-aggravated his strained groin muscle during the March 24th game against the Clippers. Subsequently, he was re-evaluated by Knicks medical staff, and following the re-evaluation, the team’s medical staff recommended shutting him down.
Has he played his final game as a Knick? Fans are left wondering if Ntilikina will suit up for the blue and orange again. He was Phil Jackson’s final draft pick, which was made only days before he was fired. When asked if he will be back next season, Fizdale responded, "He's on our roster, isn't he?"
Return to the court: Ntilikina says he wants to play for the French National team this summer in the FIBA World Cup, per Stefan Bondy.
MUST READ: Jonathan Macri reflects on who should be held responsible for Ntilikina’s season gone awry.
Dwyane Wade played in his final game at Madison Square Garden in a 100-92 win over the Knicks. It was a strange scene for Knicks fans. The Garden did the right thing in honoring Wade’s amazing career. Fizdale, who is very close with Wade, narrated a tribute video during the game. But there were a large number of Heat fans that made the arena feel foreign. It might have been Wade’s final game inside the Garden walls, but it felt more like a celebrity game than a final game against the New York Knicks in the majestic Garden.
Zach Lowe is impressed with Damyean Dotson. In his recent 10 things column, Lowe hints that Dotson could turn into a Joe Harris type player. He notes how Phil Jackson did a lot wrong, but he found high value with this second round pick (netted in the Derrick Rose trade).
Emmanuel Mudiay made a play for a jersey swap with Dwyane Wade and it didn’t end so well…
Porzingis accused of rape
Kristaps Porzingis is accused of violently raping a woman he knew from his apartment building hours after suffering a major ACL injury last February. Porzingis’ legal team claims the allegation is part of an extortion plot for $68,000.
What happened? Multiple media outlets are reporting that Porzingis allegedly invited a woman who lived in the same Sky building in Midtown West to his apartment around 2:00 AM on the night in question.
As described by the woman to the Knicks legal staff: “She went up to Porzingis' apartment with a notebook to get his autograph. Once she was inside Porzingis' apartment, 'Porzingis had his way with me without my consent.'" [ESPN]
“One source said the woman reported Porzingis held her down on a bed, punched her several times in the face, and raped her.’ [New York Daily News]
“The woman told cops he hit her in the face several times, spit on her, called her "my bitch" and "my slave" and said he owned her. We're told the accuser claims he stopped assaulting her as she was putting up a fight.” [TMZ]
Why are we finding out now? “The woman told cops she waited over a year to talk to police because Porzingis allegedly promised to give her money to keep her quiet, the sources said. She told cops Porzingis promised to give her $68,000 to pay for her brother’s college tuition, but then reneged” [New York Post]
What other details do we know? ESPN obtained documents, emails, and text messages exchanged between the woman and Kristaps Porzingis and shared their findings in a report released by Adrian Wojnarowski:
Mediation: The woman accusing Porzingis of rape asked the Knicks to help mediate the $68,000 payment that she claims Porzingis agreed to in a hand-written contract (which spelled Porzingis name wrong) after an “extremely aggressive encounter” on the night in question.
The woman asked NYK legal team to keep the information between her and the organization. The Knicks quickly shut off communication when Porzingis retained his own counsel.
Beyond $68K, woman requested that Porzingis return her “favorite Jordan slides” that she had left in his apartment. Porzingis acknowledged that she had left them there.
Ongoing relationship: An NYPD source familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail the allegations were “ridiculous.” The source says Porzingis and the women “had a consensual sexual ongoing relationship.” The NYPD source is quoted as saying, “I'm not sure how long it was going on but it continued well after her alleged incident which is a huge red flag.”
ESPN confirmed in their report that the woman sought a romantic relationship with Porzingis in the weeks following the alleged assault. ESPN obtained text messages between Porzingis and the woman, “some of those messages included the woman sending explicit photos of herself.”
What is Porzingis saying? His attorney issued a statement “unequivocally” denying the allegations and claims the woman is extorting Porzingis:
We made a formal referral to federal law enforcement on Dec. 20, 2018, based on the accuser's extortionate demands. We also alerted the National Basketball Association months ago, and they are aware of the ongoing investigation of the accuser by federal law enforcement.
The Player’s Association stands behind Porzingis:
What was said on the trade call: The Knicks notified the Mavs of the situation. The NBA, Player’s Association, and obviously, Porzingis, himself, knew about the allegations leading up to the trade.
Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Knicks informed the Mavs of the rape allegations on the February trade call.
The Dallas Morning News reports the Knicks told the Mavs during the trade call they were “convinced that Porzingis was telling the truth.”
A Dallas reporter citing “league sources” reports the Knicks used the word “extortion” instead of “rape” in communicating the situation prior to the trade becoming official.
What now? We let the investigation unfold.
Must Read: What Potential Legal Action Could Kristaps Porzingis Face After Rape Accusation? By Michael McCann
Remember when…
April 1, 1993: Pat Riley earns his 100th victory as Knicks head coach in a 91-83 win over the Cleveland Cavilers at Madison Square Garden. Patrick Ewing scores 30 points and grabs 12 boards in the win.
April 1, 1973: Knicks take a 2-0 series lead in Eastern Conference Semifinals, defeating the Bullets 123-103 at the Garden.
April 1, 1971: Knicks wrap up Eastern Conference Semifinals in five games, defeating the Hawks 111-107 at the Garden.
NBA Buzz
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Lakers convinced LeBron to sit out final two weeks. (Read more)
Trae Young hits buzzer-beater and is coming into his own. (Read more)
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!