Briefing: April 3
Spoiler alert in Orlando, Knicks sign Billy Garrett, Bezos wants to buy Knicks?
Good Morning,
Knicks travel to Orlando to face the Magic at 7:00 PM EST on MSG Networks. Orlando is fighting for their playoff lives. They are currently 0.5 game back of Miami for the 8th playoff seed, and only 1 game back of Brooklyn for the 7th seed.
Orlando has won five straight at home.
Magic injuries: Mo Bamba: out (left tibia fracture), Markelle Fultz: out (shoulder/wrist), Isaiah Briscoe: out (knee), Timofey Mozgov: out (knee).
Knicks injuries: Kadeem Allen: out (concussion), Dennis Smith Jr.: day to day (back), Allonzo Trier: day to day (calf), Noah Vonleh: out (right ankle), Frank Ntilikina: out for season (sore groin).
Knicks signed Billy Garrett for the rest of the season. Garrett will fill the final open spot on the Knicks. He was signed after Kadeem Allen suffered a concussion in the Knicks’ win on Monday.
Contract details: There was some confusion when the Knicks announced Garrett had signed a 10-day contract since there are only 9 days remaining in the season. They later corrected the announcement. Garrett will earn ~$42,000 for his 9 days of service with the Knicks based on a pro-rated amount of a minimum contract.
Kadeem Allen passed on interest from the Celtics to take an opportunity with the Knicks. Marc Berman reports that scouts have kept an eye on Allen since the All-Star break. It’s unfortunate his injury came when it did, as he loses a chance to showcase his game down the stretch.
Knicks players appreciate Fizdale: “According to more than one current Knick, the almost universal affinity his players have for him is a result of his equitable treatment of his players and his never getting into the habit of telling anyone what they want to hear.” [Moke Hamilton]
A person briefed on the Porzingis trade call between the Knicks and Mavs “expressed the belief on Monday that the N.B.A. would not have allowed the trade to go through if the case against Porzingis appeared to be strong.” [New York Times]
Mitchell Robinson is unbelievable…
Knicks Gaming kicked off their 2019 season. Before the game, they received their championship rings. (View)
MUST READ: A fun look back on the Knicks’ memorable 1999 playoff run by Steven Louis. In the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, a bruising and volatile Knicks team rallied to earn the 8-seed, then fought through injury and improbability to make the NBA Finals. Twenty years later, New York fans are still chasing the high. (Read more)
What does the Oak Man know?
Charles Oakley: “I heard that. Jeff Bezos wants to buy the Knicks.”
In the first of his three-part series assessing the Knicks season, Jonathan Macri takes a look at New York’s roster…and doesn’t hold back.
If someone asked me now to look back at my 23-year-old self, cut the bullshit, and honestly rank the reasons I decided to go to law school, they’d appear in the following order:
3: Helping people with their problems (7% of the reason)
2: I thought it would be a good place to meet girls (11.5%)
1: Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, the theme music from Law & Order, and like a dozen scenes from A Few Good Men, but this one more than any other (81.5 %):
The scene is flawless. It’s peak Cruise, and arguably Moore’s best moment in the movie. When I watched it, all I wanted was to get a job where I could stand up and yell in someone’s face, preferably about my knowing the law and them not.
Fast forward 12 years and 2.5 careers later. It turns out being a lawyer isn’t actually that fun or cool, which should really be a disclaimer before this movie begins. Luckily it wasn’t a total loss because I learned a valuable lesson – one that has single-handedly gotten me through this rectal exam of a season.
Like Lt. Kaffey says, what you believe doesn’t matter when you’re a lawyer; it’s all about what you can prove, or if you’re a defense lawyer, knowing which shit to throw against the wall and in what order to throw it.
After watching the Baby Knicks try to learn to walk all year, the wall is completely brown. I’ve trotted out a lot of arguments, mostly because I feel that a first year coach with the youngest roster in the NBA collectively deserves the benefit of the doubt, but also because I’m a fan, and as a fan, I just find it easier to think the best.
So all year, I’ve done what a good lawyer does: take the facts and make the best of them. This has often required me to bite my tongue in service of the greater good. When the ship is going down, the band must play on. And played I have, with enthusiasm, grace, and I’d like to think a little bit of dignity. It has been an honor.
But, well…I’ve watched every game of a 15-win season and the last lifeboat is leaving, so fuck it:
Remember when…
April 3, 2013: Just 24 hours after dropping 50 points on Miami, Carmelo Anthony scores 40 points in a 95-82 victory at Atlanta to lead New York to its 10th straight win.
April 3, 2011: Knicks end seven-year playoff drought, clinching first playoff berth since Apr. 7, 2004 with a 123-107 win over Cleveland at the Garden.
April 3, 2001: Marcus Camby turns in his first career 20-20 game (first for a Knick in more than four years), pouring in 23 points and hauling in 20 rebounds in 94-82 win over Orlando at Madison Square Garden.
April 3, 1957: Knicks trade center Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, forward Harry Gallatin and the rights to guard Dick Atha to Detroit for forwards Mel Hutchins and Charlie Tyra. Also, trade guard Dick McGuire to Detroit for 1958 first-round draft pick (Mike Farmer).
April 3, 1949: Knicks sign first-round draft pick Dick McGuire.
April 3, 1783: Famed author Washington Irving, creator of fictitious narrator Diedrich Knickerbocker, is born in New York City. The “Knicks” team name derives from Irving’s term Knickerbocker, which was used as a pseudonym for descendants of the original Dutch settlers to what later became New York.
NBA Buzz
Russell Westbrook posts an historic 20-20-20 game in memory of Nipsey Hussle. (Read more)
Wizards fire Ernie Grunfeld. (Read more)
Kevin Durant ejected, 1 technical shy of suspension. (Read more)
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!