Would you believe the Knicks play basketball tomorrow!?
That’s right, and they do so against the Philadelphia 76ers of all teams, one that surely pays homage to the age of their roster with their moniker.
Here’s the latest we heard straight out of Tarrytown and elsewhere on Wednesday.
Mike Brown
On eventually discussing Miles McBride’s contract situation with him:
“There will probably be a time and place where I talk to him about that because he’s human, and we all want what’s best for ourselves, our families,
as well as the organization. That’s a nice balancing act, but at the end of the day, he wants to be here, we want him to be here, and that’s something that I have faith in Leon and Deuce’s representatives to figure that out.”
On staying out of the Knicks’ contract negotiations:
“It literally is the [salary] cap’s above my head. I don’t know how that works, and we’ve got a lot of moving parts as we all know. So I’m gonna let that unfold how it unfolds and in the meantime, we’re all just worried about how we can help each other on the court more than anything else because we know off the court, things get taken care of the right way here.”
On Gregg Popovich reaching out during the Knicks’ playoff run:
“[Pop] is grizzled, experienced. He understands how this works. We actually talked a couple of times during the playoffs. After OG’s tip-in, he called me and talked me through a lot of things. It was great to have conversations with him from time to time.”
On the support he received from the NBA coaching community after winning the championship:
“The coaching community is tight. Everybody wants everybody to do well because they know that the guy across from them is the one that really knows what I’m going through or the other guy’s going through. So because it’s that hard we really try to uplift one another whenever we can and when we won it, a lot of guys reached out if not everybody, and said congratulations in some way shape or form. It was great.”
On the Knicks looking for more centers:
“We’re looking for bigs. We’re looking at that [center] position heavily.”
On adding Tony Bradley and the need for center depth:
“Tony’s a veteran guy that’s still in his prime and has a good feel for the game, knows how to play the game the right way and he’s hurt us in the past. And, to be honest, when a guy hurts you in the past, you tend to remember him more than others. So to be able to add him to camp was a positive for us because, again, I said this last year: KAT has one of the most [difficult] spots out of everybody because I want to move him around when I play him at center. I want to play him at power forward, and at power forward, one through four is interchangeable.
“Same with OG [Anunoby]. OG we put him at the 5 last year. We probably will do it a little bit more this year as well. But to be able to do that, you’ve gotta have enough centers around on the team, so having Tony here with his skill set and feel is definitely a blessing because we’re looking at that position heavily.”
On planning to use Karl-Anthony Towns and OG at multiple positions:
“I want to play him at center, I want to play him at power forward.
“OG, we threw him at the five some last year. We probably will do a little bit more this year as well.”
On Josh Hart suddenly embracing the power forward label for the conditioning test:
“Josh was a power forward but when it came to the conditioning test, the power forwards and centers have an easier time [requirement]. Not much, but an easier time than guards. So all year I was calling him a power forward and he was cool with it but I could tell he didn’t really like it. But as soon as he heard about the conditioning test, he said he was a power forward.”
Miles McBride
On wanting to remain with the Knicks for the rest of his career:
“Obviously, I love being in New York. I’d love to continue my career here, end my career here. Best fans, feel like we’ve done, obviously, something great this past year, and the years leading up to that. And I want to continue with this team.
“I’ve addressed a little bit earlier with some comments. But I’ll let the front office and my agency handle that.”
On being disappointed by the lack of a contract extension while remaining professional:
“It’s a little hard at times, but I’m gonna be a professional. I want to go out and do my job. So that’s in my ability, and to help the team win for as long as I’m with the team.”
On not allowing his contract uncertainty to affect his play:
“In a sense, every year you have to prove yourself. I feel like there’s uncertainty across the board for everybody in the league. Everybody’s going for big contracts and this and that. So I don’t let it really bother me. At the end of the day, I just want to go out there and give it my shot, play my best basketball.”
On whether he sees similarities in Mitchell Robinson’s departure and his situation:
“No, no. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s a business.”
On being fully healthy after recovering over the summer:
“I’m feeling a lot better. It’s kind of crazy thinking about how unhealthy I was playing through that playoff run. You go through surgery in an area where you need it. The easy medical term is sports hernia but it was a lot more complex than that. So having a summer under me, getting back fully healthy, it’s been so much better being able to move around how I want to move.
“They took my hip flexor, my abdomen and my groin and they pulled it and they put it in my pelvis and they did it on both sides. So trying to open a door, reach for a remote and everything you do is in that core, in that core section.
“So trying to keep up with those young guys in the Finals was tough.”
On the Knicks moving on from their championship summer:
“The summer that you’re champions, obviously, you only get to experience that for the summer, and then you’re right back to playing. I feel like we all had a good time. Everybody did the right thing over the summer. And we got right back to work when it was time to get back to work.”
On the Knicks’ championship bringing estranged families back together:
“I have people coming to me and saying, ‘I haven’t talked to my family member in 10 years,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, we should not be the reason that’s happening.’ But, you know, that’s cool to hear. Like I said, it’s not what I want to hear, necessarily, but those are cool moments to hear that what we’re doing on the court was able to bring people back together.”
On getting to take the Larry O’Brien Trophy to his high school:
“So you actually get to request it. You have to get approval from the front office and somebody in the front office is supposed to have it that weekend. They kindly let me have it, so shout out to Leon [Rose] for that. He let me have it for that weekend.”
Landry Shamet
On the security of his new Knicks contract:
“It definitely gives you a sense of perspective and appreciation that I’m grateful for. To be believed in and have that offered to me, for me and [his fiancée] Cammi to be able to stay here in New York and continue to grow this thing, it’s pretty special. To be asked to be a part of it is humbling and I’m grateful for it every day. It means a lot.”
On feeling proud after earning long-term security with the Knicks:
“In a way, it just makes me proud of myself. That’s why you work through the difficult times and the challenging and the questioning ones. Typically, there’s really good stuff on the other end of that. It feels good, it feels good to be a part of this moving forward. I don’t want to drop my level or get complacent or any of that, that’s definitely not the feeling. It’s more, it just feels good to know that you don’t have that heavy wave right on your ass again this training camp.”
On whether he has rewatched his Eastern Conference Finals 11-of-12-from-three performance:
“I haven’t watched it all back in full, no. I’ve seen little clips.”
On staying ready for his playoff opportunity:
“Playoffs are funny in that way, and I feel like I’ve been privy to that with my past experiences, where you sit and you’re not in the rotation, but you’re one or two games away from being called on, being relied on to do something. I don’t know, I kind of just had a feeling, I’ve seen this movie before. It worked out.”
On what his new contract means after years of uncertainty:
“Last couple of years I’ve been pretty open with you guys. It definitely gives you a sense of perspective and appreciation that I’m grateful for. To be believed in and have that offered to me, for me and Cammi to be able to stay here in New York and continue to grow this thing, it’s pretty special. To be asked to be a part of it is humbling and I’m grateful for it every day. It means a lot.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy to his wedding:
“I took it on a date. I took it to my wedding. I asked to have it. I couldn’t have a wedding without Larry there, you know?”
On traveling with the trophy and still being amazed by winning it:
“He had a rider and all, and we made sure we got him there first class, and we got it done. So, I spent some time with the trophy this summer, and every time I see the trophy, I still can’t believe it.”
Julius Randle
On being happy for his former Knicks teammates after their championship:
“I’m happy [for the Knicks], man. I kept in touch with guys. I’ve had a lot of great moments here in the city. I spent five years here, my family has grown here; so I was extremely excited, happy for those guys. A lot went into that; it’s not just myself, years before me.
“So, just happy for those guys. I was just last month on a trip with OG [Anunoby] in Brazil, just kicking it, talking with each other. So it was a great thing, not just for them, for the organization, [but] for the city that has craved that — we know how New York is — so has craved that winning formula, winning environment. And we plan to do the same thing here.”
Aaron Judge
On what Knicks and Yankees championships in the same year would mean:
“A Knicks championship in June and a Yankees World Series in October would bring world peace.”
On the Knicks’ championship run and his faith in the Yankees:
“It’s tough to go up against world champs like the Knicks, and the run they went on, it was so incredible with the ups and downs. But I got a lot of faith in these guys, man. We’ve got a special group here with a lot of grit.”
On the Yankees drawing inspiration from the Knicks:
“We’re definitely inspired by the Knicks, and we’ve got to keep the winning going in New York.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
On wanting the Yankees to create the same excitement in New York as the Knicks:
“Oh yeah, for sure, I can’t wait. I can’t wait until we go on that run. That’s what I want. I want the city to be on fire.
“It was amazing for me, especially for having friends on the (Knicks) team and being around them while it was going on. It was sick to watch.”
