The New York Knicks have had an interesting offseason since being defeated in the Eastern conference playoffs by the Indiana Pacers and after bringing back J.R. Smith and signing Metta World Peace from the Lakers, one player may not be too happy about the moves in young star Iman Shumpert.
Reports have come out this offseason that owner James Dolan was unhappy that Shumpert did not want to play in the summer league and wanted to trade him, but now that talk has died down, but not all the tension between the two sides. According to the Daily News, sources said that Shumpert was upset at some of the moves the team made this offseason and with the new addition of World Peace. The report says that they feel that Peace is over the hill and that Shumpert has not been thrilled with the team so far this offseason.
The Shumpert trade rumors came out in an interview with Dwight Howard and Stephen A. Smith on ESPN and Shumpert came out to deny the reports about not liking the team's moves this offseason on Twitter. Shumpert is one of the top young players for the Knicks and he dealt with an injury recovery last season from an ACL issue and showed why the Knicks should hang onto him, as he is an elite defender.
Shumpert averaged 6.8 points, 1.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds last season and in 12 postseason games and played some excellent defense and the 22-year-old is now part of a young core that includes draft pick Tim Hardaway Jr. as well. Shumpert is working in the summer league like he was asked and the team also may now sign Bobby Brown from the summer league after he averaged 18.8 points and 5.3 assists last season in Italy.
The number 24 pick in the draft Hardaway has a new four-year, $6 million deal and he will get his first taste of the NBA with the summer league. He likely will work on his perimeter defense as well as his shot selection and based on how some of the other rookies have played, Hardaway will get plenty of chances to shine. Leslie could end up being a nice addition to the roster after signing as an undrafted free agent and his athleticism could be something the Knicks use this season coming off the bench.
He wrote: "Can we please DEAD these dumb ass rumors! I love my team as well as the new additions. I wanna win! #thatisall
-Iman Shumpert"
Shumpert is going to participate in summer activities and maybe that's why the deal didn't go down, but the team also loves the way he plays and sees him as a future star, even if the owner does not. Shumpert missed over two months last season and playing over the summer could be a way to get him ready for a full slate and training camp this year. Last season the Knicks won 54 games and ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense while coming in at 11th ranked in the league in points per game. Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title and after adding Metta World Peace and bringing back JR Smith, the team is expected to improve again after coming back from a rough decade.
Last season the team went 54-28 and ranked seventh in scoring defense while ranking 11th in points per game. The team hopes to improve in both areas and adding Smith will play a big part in that.