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The New York Knicks secured the services of Alexey Shved from Houston with the prediction that the Russian would head back to Europe next season.
That isn’t quite panning out though…
SHVED WANTS TO REMAIN A NEW YORKER
The Knicks thought that they would have Alexey Shved for the remainder of this season. But the Russian has put a spanner in that prediction.
Via NY Post:
Shved, 26, received scant playing time in Houston, and the Rockets didn’t see a future with him. Whatever he had been plotting, Shved denies Europe is on his mind now. In fact, he told The Post he hopes his future is as a New Yorker.
If the final 22 games for the worst team in Knicks history have any merit, it’s an audition for the skilled 6-foot-6 Shved. Knicks president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills are evaluating whether they will try to retain him — and vice versa.
For the right price, Jackson would love to have a guard who learned the triangle offense quicker than J.R. Smith issues an inappropriate tweet. Shved has shown an ability to knock down perimeter shots, drive the ball and, most importantly in coach Derek Fisher’s eyes, get to the free-throw line. The undrafted combo guard is riding out the final months of an outlandish contract lavished by former Timberwolves GM David Kahn that pays him $3.5 million this season.
“I don’t know who said this,’’ Shved said regarding European aspirations. “But I’ve never said this. I’m not thinking about that. I want to stay here.
“I’m not thinking about [free agency],’’ added Shved, who won a bronze medal on the 2012 Russian Olympic Team. “I still have this season. The next year I’m going to be a free agent, and that’s my agent’s job. I just want to finish this season in great shape and win a couple more games.’’
BARGNANI IS THE SAME
Andrea Bargnani is of the same mind as Shved, and he has no plans to head back to Europe after this season.
Bargnani is a unrestricted free agent as of July 1.
Via NewsDay:
Andrea Bargnani, who has averaged 18 points in the last four games, has missed 49 games with injuries. He was asked if he thinks about how different the season could have been if he had been healthy from the start.
“I try not to do that because it’s pointless,” he said. “It just gets you more frustrated.” Bargnani, a free agent after the season, said he wants to stay in the NBA and not return to Europe. “Absolutely. What’s the point of this question at this point of the season? But yeah, I want to play in the NBA.”
BUSS WANTS THE LAKERS TO BE CONTENDERS SOON
The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a transitional period (read: they’re terrible), and Jeanie Buss says she is as impatient with the painful rebuild as any Laker fan.
Jeanie oversees the Lakers’ business affairs, leaving the basketball side of the operation to her brother Jim and general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Jim Buss promised to step down if the Lakers aren’t contending for NBA titles in a few years, and his sister says changes have to occur if the franchise isn’t back in its rightful place “soon”.
Per the LA Daily News:
“I’ve been assured by our basketball operations that the team will be back in contention soon. If we are not meeting those goals, then changes have to occur,” Buss said in a recent interview in her office at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. “I have no reason not to believe them when they tell me that’s what they can deliver. I don’t see what would be holding them back.”Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak recently reported he will prioritize the team’s financial flexibility and youth this summer over signing veteran free agents, a strategy that might compromise Kobe Bryant’s quest to win his sixth NBA championship in the 2015-16 campaign in what could mark his 20th and last NBA season. Lakers executive vice president of player personnel Jim Buss, who is Jeanie’s brother, has promised the Lakers would reach the Western Conference Finals within three years.
And if not? […] “Then we owe it to our shareholders, fans and partners that we have to move in a different direction to get this team back into contention,” Jeanie Buss said. “We made a commitment that we would operate the team the way Dr. Buss ran it.” […] “I can understand where Phil (Jackson) would be a disruption,” Jeanie Buss said. “I asked my brother if Phil could have any role in the organization. He and Mitch made it clear they didn’t need Phil, nor did they need anybody else. They felt they have everything covered and didn’t need another voice in their vision and plan for this team.”
