New York Knicks Rumors: Recapping the Latest News and Speculation

The New York Knicks are having an intriguing year. At times they look like they could stand up and challenge the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat to be a third "Beast of the East." At other times they look, for lack of a better word, average. 

Whatever else there is to say about them, there is this: There is a lot to be excited about for the first time since Patrick Ewing patrolled the lane. 

Here is the latest in all the news and rumors on the Knicks. 

Knicks Not Pursuing Dwight Howard

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:

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Several teams believe the Magic won’t trade Howard, and that’s why those teams won’t bother getting involved in talks with them. The New York Knicks refuse to engage the Magic, if simply because they don’t want players like Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler affected by talks that organization officials privately believe would go nowhere anyway.

"

This is a smart move for the Knicks. Even if the Magic were open to trading Howard, the likelihood that Howard would add the Knicks to his "list" is small. There's too much to risk and too little of a chance to gain Howard. 

Additionally, there's only so much fracturing and rebuilding a team can do. The team is just now starting to find a semblance of rhythm, and even that is still going to take some time to work out. It's better for the Knicks to let this team gel than to try another major trade. 

Will Baron Davis Be the Closer?

There may be some signs the Lin-Sanity bandwagon might be about to lose some of its biggest support—in the form of head coach, Mike D'Antoni according to Newsday:

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Mike D'Antoni said he's sticking with Lin, but he didn't rule out using Baron Davis at the end of games when Lin struggles like that. "Maybe," he said. "We'll see. I'm comfortable going with Jeremy. I think at the end of games, Jeremy finds a way to be positive, and he was.

"Jeremy's going to finish games right now. He's going to start games. And then we'll see what happens as we go forward. But I'm comfortable with him.

"

This is probably more being made of what was said than what was implied in what was said, but one still has to wonder why it was said at all. It's not like the New York media is known for its reluctance to sensationalize. Virtually anything ever said to them can be turned into something salacious, much less something like this.

Undermining Lin's confidence is a danger with this sort of comment, and D'Antoni should know better than to speculate about anything down the road.  

Tyson Chandler Receives His Championship Ring

Last night Tyson Chandler received his championship ring form Mark Cuban. Chandler was the starting center for last year's NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

When you're on a different team when you receive your ring, I can't help but think it does two things. First, it probably takes some of the luster off the moment for the player.

For the team he's on now though, it has to be tremendously inspiring. If I'm Carmelo Anthony or Amar'e Stoudemire, and I see Chandler getting that ring, I'm thinking, "We need to get ourselves one of those things."

In other words, Chandler getting his ring is good for Chandler. It's good for the Knicks too.  

Lin-Flation?

According to the New York Daily News:

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For the second straight year the Knicks are raising ticket prices. The team announced on Monday that prices next season will increase by an average of 4.9%, mostly in the upper bowl, which is being renovated.

Last season, the bump for some seats was as high as 49%. The Knicks announced last years price hike just days after acquiring Carmelo Anthony.

Some might try to attribute the latest spike to Jeremy Lin’s emergence, but with Lin under contract only through the end of this season and no guarantee he will be with the Knicks when the increase takes effect, it’s tough to pin the move on Lin-flation.

"

The Knicks don't need the extra money to pay for Lin's less-than-lucrative contract, but there's no denying that the excitement and attention he's brought to the team allows the Knicks to charge a bit more for the tickets. 

Bill Walker Done for the Year

According to the New York Daily News:

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Bill Walker’s season may be over after it was announced that the backup small forward will need elbow surgery. Walker was in the rotation when the Knicks ran off seven straight wins, filling in admirably for Anthony.

But Walker’s minutes figured to go down once Anthony returned and with the addition of J.R. Smith. Walker sustained the injury on Feb. 17 against New Orleans and had sat out the previous six games. “It's weird the way it happened,” D’Antoni said. “I thought it would get better. He needs to get it well.” The Knicks said Walker will be out 4-6 weeks. 

"

Walker provided some starts in place of Anthony, and he was a part of the team that Lin helped lead to a seven-game winning streak, but he's hardly a difference-maker. Walker cracked double digits eight times this year. 

His best came against Miami when he scored 21 points, all of which came on three-pointers.