Find out what Jon Barry, Dan Patrick, Boomer Esiason and Bruce Bowen had to say about Jason Kidd’s retirement in the latest recapr.
In less than two minutes, recapr compiles the media’s coverage of New York’s sports stories, pulling together multiple angles and viewpoints – from Twitter to text to talk radio – giving you the whole story in one place.
Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com
Here are my scouting reports on players at today’s Knicks workout…Isaiah Canaan, PG, Murray State 6’1 195
Conclusion: He’s ahead of last year’s draft class offensively. Not a starter but a player you draft and develop in practice. NBA rotation ready if you need to spread the floor like the Knicks. I have him Projected anywhere from 35-45.
GEICO SportsNite talks to Newsday’s Al Iannazzone about the retirement of Jason Kidd after 19 seasons in the NBA
By: Adam Zagoria
The Knicks — who hold the No. 24 pick in the June 27 NBA Draft — will hold their first predraft workouts on Wednesday with the following players:
• Isaiah Canaan, Guard, 6-1, 195, Murray State, Senior
• Brandon Triche, Guard, 6-4, 210, Syracuse, Senior
Moke Hamilton, Special to TKB
On Monday, Jason Kidd — a 19-year NBA veteran and one of the greatest point guards of all-time — announced his retirement from the game of basketball.
Kidd retires with two years left on his contract with the Knicks. He was due $3.09 million from the Knicks for both the 2013-14 season and 2014-15 season, respectively.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Kidd agreed to forgo his remaining salary and as a result, the Knicks can wipe the $3.09 million due to him for each of the next two seasons off of their books.
That was not a forgone conclusion, though, as many media accounts have incorrectly intimated that a retiring player’s salary automatically comes off of his team’s books. That is simply not true.
Herein lies a thorough explanation of how a retiring player’s salary is treated, and more importantly, how Kidd’s retiring and forgoing of his salary affects the Knicks salary cap situation.
The most immediate answer is “not very much.”
But as always, the Devil is in the details.
Late Monday evening, Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York reported that J.R. Smith will decline his player option and will become a free agent.
J.R. Smith will not opt in with the New York Knicks, declining his player option
of $2.9 million, a league source confirmed with ESPNNewYork.com.
Smith will officially announce the decision before June 30, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Smith was the 6th man of the year this year, averaging 18.1 points and just over five rebounds a game. In the playoffs he did not play as well, averaging 14.3 points on only 33 percent shooting, but there are reports that he did play through an injury in which he had fluid in his left knee.
Matthew Falkenbury, theKnicksBlog.com
To be perfectly honest, this is not shocking news to me nor should you be surprised either.
Smith is looking to get paid after making a sacrifice and taking a very friendly team deal to remain with the Knicks after last season. He took the opportunity given to him by Mike Woodson to thrive off the bench and ran with it.
According to Moke Hamilton, this is what the deal is when it comes to Smith’s Salary Cap ramifications if the Knicks do in fact re-sign him:
Because Smith would be an early Bird free agent if he opts out this summer, under the first calculation, the Knicks can offer him a starting salary of $4.9 million by using the 175 percent rule.
Under the second calculation, they could offer Smith 104.5 percent of whatever is the average player salary for the 2012-13 season, a number we won’t know until July 1, 2013, when the league’s finances for the previous season are fully accounted.
But for all intents and purposes, we can safely assume that the average player salary will end up being around $5.34 million. Under the second calculation, the Knicks could give Smith a starting salary of $5.58 million.
So, that’s it.
The most the Knicks can offer Smith in year one of a new deal would be $5.58 million.
Now I think the Knicks will end up re-signing Smith because not only will teams that may be interested in signing him look at two things. His performance in the playoffs and his history of on and off the court nonsense in the league to date.
I don’t think teams will be giving him a big time contract because of his baggage and it seems like New York is a good fit for him because of his relationship with Melo and Mike Woodson.
The news is not a shock but now the real question is whether or not J.R. does come back to New York.
Jason Kidd has announced his retirement from basketball.
Kidd played 19 seasons in the NBA, most recently with the New York Knicks.
“My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years,” Kidd said. “As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court.”
In 76 games for the Knicks, Kidd averaged 6 points, 3.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Kidd was a 10-time All-Star. In his career, he averaged 12.6 points, 8.7 assists. 6.3 rebounds and 1.93 steals per game.
Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com
As the Knicks head to some key decisions the timing was important for Jason Kidd to decide what to do with his future. I think a telling sign was how Boston and Indiana were able to negate Kidd in the playoffs, specifically his catch and make ability.For me Kidd was an absolute joy to watch play this year during the regular season and his intangibles definite now become holes for the Knicks to fill.
There was no coincidence that playing Kidd off the ball led them to be incredibly turnover frugal and his ability to get tips and deflections helped them in key defensive situations.
He was a pro’s pro this year and one who I’d often find myself only watching whether he had the ball or not. The key to appreciating Kidd, to me, was to watch him away from the ball, particularly defensively.
Most importantly going forward, the Knicks will have valuable cap relief as the look to add more pieces and keep important momentum going forward in their hopes of winning a title.
Matthew Falkenbury, theKnicksBlog.com
Jason Kidd had an amazing career and he will be missed in the NBA.His performance this year for the Knicks will remembered for both the Good and the Bad.
The good coming early in the year when he was the starting shooting guard and was knocking down three’s at a clip nobody saw coming.
The bad comes from his performance at the end of the season and into the playoffs where his shot disappeared on him and he went 0-May.
The one thing that never wavered for Kidd was his intensity, quick hands and leadership. Kidd was the ultimate pro and did all he could outside of scoring to help this team win.
He stepped in when Felton got hurt and played pretty well. He made the huge shot against the Nets in Brooklyn to give the Knicks a win. His steals and rebounding ability continue to astound even at his advanced age.
For the Knicks, this puts finding a young point guard to back up Prigioni (if he does indeed return) and Raymond Felton at the top of the list of things to do this off-season. There was some talk about Nate Robinson this weekend and of course the Draft could be a place to find a PG as well.
The Knicks will also get much needed salary cap relief as well.
He will always be known as both a Maverick and a Net but his time here with the Knicks was a positive. Jason Kidd is a lock for the Hall of Fame and is one of the greatest point guards in NBA History.
Congratulations on a brilliant career Jason and all the best in the future.
Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com
My first thought when I saw this was that I honestly couldn’t believe they called that an offensive foul. As critical as I can be on officiating at times, I respect the fact that they’ve remained consistent with how they are calling Hibbert defending the rim. In my mind, just like it was with Carmelo when he attempted, that is not an offensive foul. Hibbert initiates contact with his arms so the idea that he’s going “straight up” isn’t valid for me. Still, Lebron’s reaction was pretty embarrassing.
“Instead of taking the blame for how the Knicks’ offensive ball movement stopped in the playoffs, Anthony is once again turning the failures of the team to other players. The Knicks have a team with great passers, good shooters and athletic cutters. They have a great pick-and-roll point guard and a great pick-and-roll finisher in Chandler. Shumpert is talented and versatile. They have all of these options.”
Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com
This is inaccurate. The Pacers, like the Celtics, limited pick and roll because they sagged Hibbert in the paint. This is why the Knicks had success with some flex cuts, although they didn’t run enough in Game 6. The Knicks don’t slash well and the playoffs, against a great defensive team like Indiana, isn’t a slasher’s game. JR can slash but doesn’t and while Shumpert is very athletic he’s not efficient towards the basket and around the rim. And in his defense Melo’s costly turnovers in the 4th quarter came off passes.The argument can be made that the Knicks don’t need help offensively because of their rankings. I disagree. Yes, they need rebounders and more versatile defenders as a whole, but they need an element that would pull a Hibbert or a Noah out of the paint and out 15-18 feet. If Chandler learns some confidence and to bang down pick and pop jumpers then great. But I don’t see that being an element he adds. For his sake I hope that he does but again, especially in big moments, that takes experience and reps. Can the Knicks find a cheap, veteran pick and pop guy? Kurt Thomas was one but he was a little past his prime expiration date.
How about the draft? They may have some options at 24 but my intel tells me they are honing in on a point guard.
Whichever way they proceed, the Knicks need to add the element of the pick and pop if they are going to have any chance in getting by Indiana or Chicago next year in my opinion.
