HoopsHype.com Rumors

Jared Zwerling: Copeland: "After Game 6, I didn’t take my jersey off for a long time. I just sat there and was staring at it. [New York] is a part of me." Twitter @JaredZwerling

New York Knicks, Chris Copeland 

Julian Mozo: #NBA Pablo Prigioni: "It's not true that I want to leave New York because my wife didn't adjust to the city. She is pissed off." Twitter @JulianMozo

New York Knicks, Spain, Pablo Prigioni 

Julian Mozo: "If I can choose, I prefer to play in United States and stay in the #NBA", said Prigioni on the rumors about returning to Spain. Twitter @JulianMozo

New York Knicks, Spain, Pablo Prigioni 

Jackson added that he has never had contact with the Clippers, who announced Tuesday they won’t be signing coach Vinny Del Negro to a new contract, about an opening, and also said that he was never contacted by the Knicks. “No,” Jackson said, adding he wasn’t disappointed about it. “They’re pretty locked into the people they’ve got there, and they have a nice rapport between [general manager Glen Grunwald] and [coach Mike] Woodson. “That Indiana connection goes back a long way. They think alike, they have a good idea of what they want to have. That’s pretty solid.” New York Post

Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, Coaching 

Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald thought Mike Woodson should have won Coach of the Year this season. So he is hardly listening to fan and media complaints that Woodson had a bad playoff. Woodson, 55, finished third in the Coach of the Year voting, won 54 games, the Atlantic Division title and the Eastern Conference’s second seed. Woodson’s regular-season record as Knicks coach is 72-34, but critics point to his playoff miscues. He never has been out of the second round in eight seasons as a head coach with the Knicks and Hawks. The naysayers knock Woodson for his misuse of rookie Chris Copeland, his blind allegiance to slumping J.R. Smith, his insistence on forcing a rusty Amar’e Stoudemire into the rotation midstream and ignoring 3-point ace Steve Novak versus Indiana. New York Post

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Coaching, Glen Grunwald 

“I think Woody did a great job,’’ said Grunwald, an Indiana classmate of Woodson’s. “I think he’s my coach of the year still, although he finished third. He did an excellent job this year. We wound up where we didn’t want to be — out of the playoffs. We all have to take a look at ourselves from the front office to the coaching staff to the players.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Coaching, Glen Grunwald 

Grunwald confirmed the Knicks are unable to do a sign-and-trade for free agents Chris Paul or Dwight Howard because of new collective bargaining agreement rules forbidding luxury taxpayers from partaking in free agency. They only have the $3.1 million mini-midlevel exception, plus the 24th overall pick in June’s draft. New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, Trade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard 

Anyone else think it seemed odd that Glen Grunwald seemed more convinced Jason Kidd would be back than J.R. Smith? Speaking of Kidd, he stressed the positive exit interview - but as Frank Isola tweeted earlier - I still would not be surprised if Kidd looked for a buyout for a lesser role with a contender to finish his career. Sulia

New York Knicks, Jason Kidd, JR Smith, Glen Grunwald 

But he wasn't so glowing about Smith. "Like I said before, I think it’s best in general for us to maintain some continuity, the same group, the same core group together," Grunwald said. "But I’m not going to comment on any individual player because we’re not finished with our evaluation. I don’t think you should read that one way or another - I just don’t think it’d be fair for me to start talking about, ‘yeah, we really want him back’ or ‘yeah, maybe he comes back.’ I think right now we’re just going to go through the evaluation. I’m very happy for J.R. He had a great year. Obviously, he’s disappointed how it finished for himself as it is for our team, but now I think that’s going to make us stronger and more committed to next season." Sulia

New York Knicks, JR Smith 

Asked about Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim attacking the Knicks roster, going after Chandler and Pablo Prigioni, among others, Grunwald said, “Jim’s a great coach and he’s obviously very loyal to Melo. So I understand where his comments came from.’’ Boeheim stated the Knicks can’t win a title without getting better players around Carmelo Anthony. New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Jim Boeheim, Pablo Prigioni 

James White's agent, William McCandless, told ESPNNewYork.com Tuesday that the small forward will "unlikely" return to the Knicks for the 2013-14 season. White has a team option for around $1 million next season that the Knicks have to decide on by June 30. If they decline, White will become an unrestricted free agent. ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Free Agency, James White, William McCandless 

McCandless said White will field NBA offers this offseason. The 30-year-old is still valued for his versatile defense and transition game. He earned the nickname "Flight" years ago for his Olympic-caliber jumping ability. "He's going to have NBA interest, for sure. I know that," McCandless said. "More teams like him today than liked him this time last year. More teams feel like he can help." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Free Agency, James White, William McCandless 

However, McCandless said White won't hesitate to return overseas, where he spent five years (2007-12) before signing with the Knicks for the veteran's minimum of $854,389. White also has a strong allegiance of fans in Europe. McCandless said if White wants to make the most money, he'll continue on his previous international path, which could take him to China. Contracts in China, where White could land, are typically higher than European contracts by the month because the season is shorter. ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Free Agency, James White, William McCandless 

Anthony's business manager Robert "Bay" Frazier confirmed with ESPNNewYork.com that he's discussing potential business together with LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul. What those collaborations could be are unknown at this time. Something to keep in mind: Melo and LeBron both have early termination options going into the 2014-15 season. ESPN.com

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Agents, Rich Paul 

La La Anthony and Gabrielle Union hanging out in bikinis in Las Vegas? Looks like a blast. Toss in a bottle of Belvedere? Good times. Union is in Vegas to shoot Think Like a Man 2 (seriously) and La La is there to lend support by touching her butt. I assume these two would be at each other’s throats had the Knicks beat the Pacers and New York was going to play Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Big Lead

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Las Vegas, La La Anthony, Gabrielle Union 

Jill Martin, the MSG Network Knicks’ sideline reporter, is back in Miami. Again, she’s at the beach, wearing a bikini and a Knicks hat. The only difference this time is that the Knicks season is done and she can now hang out with Juwan Howard. Howard is relaxing after having scored 12 points in 17 minutes in the Heat’s final regular season game. He has yet to make an appearance in the playoffs. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James also enjoyed some time at the beach this weekend. The Big Lead

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Juwan Howard 

Tommy Beer: Glen Grunwald, on ESPN radio, confirms that Marcus Camby was healthy in the playoffs & Camby stuck on bench was strictly a coach's decision. Twitter @TommyBeer

New York Knicks, Marcus Camby, Glen Grunwald 

Jackson said he was never contacted by the Clippers or the Knicks about joining their respective franchises. New York Daily News

Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Phil Jackson 

Grunwald stopped sort of guaranteeing the Knicks will re-sign J.R. Smith but said his policy this offseason is not to say specifically they will definitely re-sign a player, probably because of the Jeremy Lin fiasco. Grunwald sounded as if Smith was in the plans. “In general it’s best to maintain continuity,’’ Grunwald said, “with the same core group together. I’m not going to comment on any individual player because we’re not finished with our evaluation. I don’t think you should read that one way or another. I don’t think it would be fair to say , yeah, we really want him back.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, JR Smith, Glen Grunwald 

Knicks GM Glen Grunwald said Jason Kidd gave him no indication he was retiring. “We had a great meeting with Jason yesterday,’’ Grunwald said in a end-of-season press conference with the media. “He was a big part of our success and we look forward to having him back next year.’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Jason Kidd, Glen Grunwald