As the New York Knicks move forward to forge a new winning tradition, Tom Thibodeau is bringing them back to their old roots.
The Knicks will hold their training camp in Charleston, South Carolina from October 3 to 7 at The Citadel, according to The Post and Courier.
It will mark the first time the Knicks will hold camp in the Lowcountry since 2008.
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina is where the team used to hold training camps in their glory days in the ’90s — a tradition that former coach Pat Riley started. Thibodeau experienced those good old days as an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy, who continued the tradition. Interestingly, the only year they missed going there under Van Gundy was before their Cinderella run to the NBA Finals during the lockout-shortened season in 1998.
They held preseason and, in some years, pre-playoff camps there from 1991-2008, per the New York Post, with a three-year break, most notably before the 2002-03 season as a sign of protest over the Confederate flag getting removed from the Statehouse dome, according to an ESPN report in 2002.
The Knicks will enter the season on a 10-year high, reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
With an intact lineup — save for the addition of free agent pickup Donte DiVincenzo and the subtraction of Obi Toppin, who was traded to the Indiana Pacers — the Knicks are banking on continuity and internal growth to make consecutive playoff runs for the first time since a three-year streak from 2010 to 2013.
Julius Randle is expected to be ready after a successful ankle surgery in June. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are fresh off their Team USA run. The only cloud of uncertainty hanging above their heads will be Immanuel Quickley‘s extension and Evan Fournier‘s future with the team.
Quickley, the runner-up in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year race last season, and the Knicks have until October 24, one day before the new season tips off. If no agreement is reached by then, Quickley will become a restricted free agent after the season.
On the other hand, Fournier is expecting a trade, but so far, the Knicks are unable to find him a new home without attaching a draft capital.
James Dolan: I Don’t Really Like Owning Teams
Knicks owner James Dolan made headlines again after his in-depth profile in the New York Times.
“I don’t really like owning teams,” Dolan told the Times.
Dolan described the economics of major league sports as “kind of sleepy,” despite saying the Knicks and Rangers are “near and dear to my heart.”
Dolan’s current focus is on The Sphere in Las Vegas, his most ambitious project that he hopes will be a game-changer in the entertainment industry and serve as his legacy.
Knicks Among Teams Monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Situation
The Knicks are among the handful of NBA teams monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s uncertain future in Milwaukee following the superstar’s ultimatum to the Bucks.
The other teams out to crowd the Knicks in a potential pursuit of the “Greek Freak” are the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors, according to Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne on the September 15 episode of the “Lowe Post” podcast.
Comments
Knicks to Hold NBA Training Camp Outside New York