Knicks News Roundup - (The Knicks NOT Trading for Donovan Mitchell Looks Better and Better)

We're just a week away from the start of training camp! And the Knicks 2023-24 season opener is precisely one month from today (October 25th) at MSG vs. the Celtics.

🏀 Speaking of training camp, according to South Carolina's Post and Courier, the Knicks will hold their camp on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, SC.

New York will hold Media Day (the Knicks call it "Content Day") at its Westchester practice facility on Monday, October 2. The Bockers will then head south, working out at The Citadel's McAlister Field House from Oct. 3rd through the 7th. 

Spending training camp at The Citadel, away from the hustle and bustle of NYC, was an annual tradition for the Knicks in the 1990s under head coach Pat Riley and continued when Jeff Van Gundy took charge. They made the track every year from 1992 through 1999. However, in February of 2000, the organization announced that it would not travel to South Carolina due to the state's continued policy of flying the Confederate flag over the state Capitol building in Columbia. 

"We're making a decision that we think is in the best interests of our team," said Steve Mills, the Knicks' executive vice president for franchise operations at the time. "We obviously don't want to put our players in a situation that they're uncomfortable with… We, as an organization, identified it as an issue and knew it was something the players were going to have a strong view on. We thought we ought to have Jeff speak to them." Larry Johnson, Charlie Ward and Chris Childs spoke out publicly, making it clear they preferred not to go.

The flag was removed from the grounds of the State House in 2015.

🏀 Given Giannis Antetokounmpo's comments earlier this summer about potentially leaving Milwaukee if he felt the team was not wholeheartedly committed to and capable of winning a title, it is no surprise that the Knicks front office is keeping tabs on the situation.

As a reminder, Antetokounmpo told the New York Times in August that he will not sign an extension with the Bucks before the start of the 2023-24 season (he became eligible to do so last week) and won't sign one until he's confident the Bucks can consistently compete for a 'chip. "At the end of the day, being a winner, it's over that goal. Winning a championship comes first," Giannis told the Times. "I don't want to be 20 years on the same team and don't win another championship."

SNY's Ian Begley reported last week that Leon Rose and company are, as expected, watching closely. Per Begley, "The Knicks could put together a solid trade offer for Giannis. They own the rights to four future first-round picks and have all of their own first-rounders moving forward. They have players signed to reasonable contracts." He adds, "I assume the Knicks have a good idea of where they stand if Antetokounmpo becomes available via trade," and Leon Rose will have "Giannis in mind" when considering future moves. 

During an appearance on the Behind the Play podcast last week, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Giannis remaining in Milwaukee is a coin flip. "I would say right now it's 50/50 at best, and I don't think that's new information to the Bucks. I think the Bucks knew that already," said Windhorst. "They knew that even before they got knocked out of the playoffs last year."

"If you look at the Bucks' roster, which is primarily in its 30s, if you look at their asset base, which is depleted, and you look at Giannis, who's 28 years old, these are on different tracks," Windhorst said. "It's not impossible they could pull some sort of maneuver–and I don't think any of this comes as a surprise to the Bucks. I think it's uncomfortable that he's being so public about it. I think this is the way it is."

🏀 Like Giannis, Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell is also eligible to sign an extension this summer. And, like Giannis, Windy believes Mitchell will decline to do so. "I do not expect him to sign an extension with the Cavs this summer," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on NBA Today on Thursday. However, Windy added that this was the expected course of action and should not "cause a major alarm."