NBA News 2012: Knicks decline to match Fields

Landry Fields of the New York Knicks during an open practice session at the Madison Square Garden in October 2010. {| class="messagebox" style="margin: 0.5em auto; width: 100%; background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding: 5px; direction: ltr;" |align="center"| link=|25px → link=|25px | : File:Landry Fields laughing.jpg. |align="center"| 100x100px|original file |colspan="3"| |} Category:Extracted images (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The New York Knicks decided Saturday night not to match the Toronto Raptor’s offer sheet to restricted free agent guard Landry Fields.

The Raptors signed Fields, 24, to a three-year contract worth nearly $20 million Fields on Wednesday. The Knicks had until Saturday to match it.

The 2010 second-round draft pick from Stanford averaged 8.8 points and 2.6 assists last season.

The final year of his new deal reportedly includes a sharp pay increase, similar to what the Houston Rockets offered restricted free agent Omer Asik, who played with the Chicago Bulls.

The Knicks reportedly also may not match the offer sheet given to popular point guard Jeremy Lin by the Houston Rockets.

http://www.hoopsworld.com

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• Looks Like Lin-Sanity Could Be On The Way To Rockets (houston.cbslocal.com)
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• Lin signs Rockets' three-year, $25.1M offer sheet (tracking.si.com)
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NBA News 2012: Lin-sanity has given way to Melo Mania for playoff hungry NY Knicks fans

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 29: (R) Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks and (L) Jeremy Lin #17 of the New York Knicks during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden on February 29, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)The New York Knicks squeaked by with a 113-112 win in Atlanta this afternoon over the Hawks. On the final play of the game, the Hawks’ Marvin Williams missed a dunk that would not have counted as time ran out before the ball left his hands, while being harassed in the air by the Knicks tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Melo had 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a hotly contested game between two teams that have already clinched playoff spots. The Hawks shot 15-23 from 3-point range to keep the game close throughout, with Williams finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

In his second game back in action, missing 13 games over the last month after suffering a bulging disc back injury, Stoudemire had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Fields showed up big for the Knicks which they’ll need in the playoffs, shooting well and scoring 18 points. Lack of a second consistent scorer probably cost the Knicks a win a week ago against their likely opponent in the playoffs’ first round, the Miami Heat. Anthony had 43 points against Miami, but with the game on the line the Heat’s three star players, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh overcame a Knick 4-point lead early in the fourth quarter to regain and maintain the edge the rest of the way. Atlanta occupies the 5th seed and is likely to play the Boston Celtics in the opening round.

There has been no mention thus far as to whether Jeremy Lin will be able to return for the playoffs, although he reportedly had stitches removed from knee surgery early last week. With no Lin or Stoudemire, Anthony has virtually carried the team to playoff eligibility by finally playing in New York like a superstar, with an all-around floor game, especially over the past three weeks. However, there is a glaring need for consistent point guard play if New York is going to be a force in playoff competition. Ironically, that has been their Achilles heel all year, except for the brief period that “Lin-sanity” reigned over the metropolitan area. Their opponents obviously knew that and started to play rough against Lin, whenever he came inside, penetrating the paint whether attempting to score or pass.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11993425-linsanity-has-given-way-to-melo-mania-for-playoff-hungry-ny-knicks-fans?utm_campaign=Outbrain&utm_source=Outbrain2Cents

Related articles

• 'Melo, Amar'e team for 61 as Knicks edge Hawks (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
• Stoudemire's absence should benefit Melo, but not necessarily Knicks (cbssports.com)
• Now is Anthony's time to show he can carry Knicks forward (cbssports.com)

NBA News 2011: Kyrie Irving among few impact rookies

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Over the past few seasons, rookies have had a varied impact upon the fantasy hoops landscape. Two years ago, Stephen Curry and Tyreke Evans were studs, and nine rookies cracked the top 150 on the Player Rater. Last year, Blake Griffin, John Wall and Landry Fields were the only three to do so. But what will the prognosis be for this year's class, widely panned as one of the weakest groups of all time? Well, beyond Kyrie Irving, who will see run in Cleveland and have a chance to put up numbers, few rookies will be on the fantasy radar come draft day. Before seeing how their minutes shake out and skill sets translate, it's difficult to rationalize the gamble of spending a valuable draft pick on an unknown fantasy commodity. This year, it'll be more about knowing which players to keep a close eye upon as the season unravels, and which have the upside to be modest fantasy contributors if opportunity shines upon them.

Impact Players

• Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Derrick Williams, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Kemba Walker, PG, Charlotte Bobcats
• Jimmer Fredette, PG/SG, Sacramento Kings
• Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors

Long-Term Upside

• Jan Vesely, SF, Washington Wizards
• Bismack Biyombo, PF, Charlotte Bobcats
• Brandon Knight. PG, Detroit Pistons
• Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Antonio Spurs

Sleepers

• Alec Burks, SG, Utah Jazz
• Norris Cole, PG, Miami Heat
• Markieff Morris, PF, Phoenix Suns

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/basketball/fba/story?page=11draftrookies

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NBA News 2011: NBA Retrospective Landry Fields

Image by ccho via Flickr
Landry Fields, 6-7, SG/SF, New York Knicks
10.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 52% FG, 74% FT, 39% 3PT

Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of any player from the 2010 NBA Draft, Landry Fields has been an integral part of the New York Knicks' early success, starting every one of their 30 games and in many minds, being the second best rookie in the league to date.

Drafted 39th by the Knicks after not being projected to be picked at all by most services, Fields is certainly a player who “fell through the cracks” somewhere in the evaluation process.

Younger than most players in his class, he saw very little playing time as a freshman and sophomore at Stanford, and didn't do very much to draw attention to himself when he started playing more in his junior season.

By the time he did start producing as a senior, he was putting up big numbers in what was deemed to be a very weak Pac-10 conference, and wasn't really on anyone's scouting list to start the season.

Fields wasn't considered more than a fringe prospect for most NBA teams even after his excellent senior season, as evidenced by him not being one of the 53 prospects invited to the official NBA Pre-Draft Camp and Combine--usually a kiss of death for non-International players.

Fields did play at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, but barely stood out, not being one of the 12 players (none of whom are currently in the NBA) named to the all-tournament team. He didn't even lead his team in scoring. That honor went to Morgan State's Reggie Holmes, a PIT all-tournament selection, who is now playing in Morocco of all places.

Considering where he started and where he is now, Fields' case might be the most unlikely we've seen in the seven NBA drafts we've covered.

Outlook:

Playing for the perfect coach in the perfect role for his skill set, Landy Fields has gotten himself into a great situation for his future, and he should continue to thrive if not improve even more if the situation remains the same. While he may not have had as much success on another team, it's quite clear talent evaluators (ourselves included) sold him short in many areas as a prospect, and it doesn't appear his early success is a fluke. While he likely will never be more than a great role player, Fields can still continue to improve with his shooting and ball-handling, while more experience can only make him a smarter player than he already is.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Rookie-Retrospective-Landry-Fields-3602

NBA News 2010: Wilson Chandler Serving Notice

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Quick trivia question: Amongst the 2007 NBA draft class, name the three players with the highest career scoring averages though their first three seasons in the league.  I'll give you the top two – Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.  Third on that list is Wilson Chandler.  No surprise if Chandler's name wasn't on the tip of anyone's tongue. 

Over his first three seasons in the Association, Chandler flew mostly under the radar.  Even on his own team Chandler seems to sometimes get overlooked, or lost in the shuffle.  In the incessant Carmelo Antony trade rumors, Wilson's name is often bandied about as one of the pieces that could be headed to Denver.  Ditto for the reports that had Chandler getting shipped out of town as part of a deal to acquire Rudy Fernandez from Portland.

As if that wasn't enough drama to deal with, Coach Mike D'Antoni announced on the eve of the regular season that Chandler would be bumped to the bench in favor of newly-named starting shooting guard Landry Fields, an unheralded second-round pick out of Stanford.  Oh, and add in the fact that Wilson is attempting to work his way back to 100% health after undergoing offseason ankle surgery and a sports hernia operation.   

Yes, it has been an eventful few months for Chandler.  Dealing with this type of turmoil and instability would have pushed some players to the brink.  Many would have sulked or pouted or bemoaned the unfortunate turn of events.  We have certainly seen it happen before here in New York.  At the least plenty of players might have easily gotten rattled and let it negatively effect their game.  But Wilson Chandler is not most players.  He is known for a unique, laid-back temperament, and it has served him awfully well this year.   

Through the Knicks first two games of the 2010-2011 season, Wilson was averaging 20.5 points (on 50% shooting), 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.  Just as important and impressive has been his stellar defense.  During the second half on opening night, Chandler was asked to slow down the Raptors top gun, Andrea Bargnani, who went off for 18 points in the first two quarters.  Chandler did just that, as Bargnani was held to just four points in the second half.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17768

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• Off the Dribble: Chandler Said He Did Not Take Part in Improper Workouts With Knicks (offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com)
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• Kelenna Azubuike and Wilson Chandler Jockey For Knicks Starting Role (bleacherreport.com)