The New York Knicks have not played a basketball game since mid-March, but you would never know that by watching the daily churn of news generated about the team. And while there is some debate on Twitter over who started using the clever idiom, we’ve all heard the phrase “Knicks for Clicks.” Put the Knicks in a rumor, any rumor, and people will click on the article, talk about it on social media, voice their opinion on daily talk shows and podcasts.

As I sip my morning tea with my pinkie finger firmly up in the air, here, at The Strickland, we try to avoid the daily noise that surrounds our favorite basketball team. Let sites like Daily Knicks aggregate their way to Google prominence. Oh wait, that’s my other site. Sorry, was trying to sound cool among my Strickland friends.

For those of you who rather ignore the daily chatter, but don’t want to miss out on the important needle-in-the-haystack of rumors, we begin today with what will become a weekly fix of Knicks links and rumors to help you navigate through all of the nonsense and find the news that matters to you. Without further ado, let’s get into what happened this past week.

Victor Oladipo “wants out” of Indiana

We start with a rumor from our very own Jonathan Macri, who reported on Monday that Victor Oladipo “wants out, and there are whispers of the Knicks being a potential trade partner.” This has all of the makings of a classic Knicks rumor: star player is unhappy with his situation in Location A, the Knicks need star players, so perhaps there is a match to be made.

It should come as no surprise that the Knicks would at least consider a trade for a player like Oladipo, as new president Leon Rose looks to improve a lagging NBA2K21 roster that considers Taj Gibson the Knicks’ third-best player (figured I would sneak in the latest 2K ratings released this week):

SNY was first to report the Knicks were “monitoring” the situation in Indiana as the franchise tries to juggle the mechanics of the salary cap against personnel decisions, complicated by possible locker room issues and a sudden coaching change. The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) reported in early July that “despite rampant speculation that Victor Oladipo could end up with the Knicks (he fired Leon Rose of CAA, then his agent who is now president of the franchise), the strongest preliminary indication is Miami as his next team.”

Ian Begley added this week that “certainly, there are people in the organization who see Oladipo as a valuable addition. But I don’t have a clear idea on how top Knick decision-makers value Oladipo, who could overlap positionally with Barrett.”

For much more on Oladipo, read this week’s Macri’s Missives with Indy Cornrows’ Caitlin Cooper.

Donovan Mitchell set to sign a max extension with the Jazz

Speaking of chasing star players, Donovan Mitchell — who was recently tied to the Knicks after the team hired his current trainer and mentor Johnnie Bryant — is reportedly on the verge of signing a maximum contract extension with the Utah Jazz. There was some fleeting hope among Knicks fans that the young star would force his way out of Utah after a rift formed between himself and teammate Rudy Gobert over the handling of coronavirus protocols. But the dream of bringing Mitchell home seems to be on hold for the foreseeable future.

Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul reunited in New York?

We debated whether we should evaluate each of these rumors on a scale of rotten apples, but then went down a rabbit hole (an orchard ditch?) discussing whether one rotten apple or five rotten apples should represent a really terrible rumor — if the apples are rotten, you theoretically want less of them, unless you are making a particular baked recipe.

In any event, we will keep that idea in the oven (I’m on fire today) until we figure it out, but if we were rating the rumor most worthy of rotten apple designation, it would be Ian Begley’s speculation that Carmelo Anthony could end up back in New York if his friend Chris Paul is traded to the Big Apple.

This is not a slight on Begley — he was clearly speculating that it would make sense for Anthony to consider the Knicks more if one of his closest friends, Paul, found his way to New York in a trade — but the corresponding aggregation makes the very thought annoying to Knicks fans. Within hours, several sites, including my own, had picked up on the speculation to craft a headline that put the possibility of the two joining forces in New York into the ether.

Meanwhile, Anthony has said that he “prays” he can return to Portland.

Cleanthony Early calls out Knicks’ development program

Phil Jackson’s first draft pick as president of the team wasn’t impressed with the Knicks’ development program. Responding to a comment on Instagram, Cleanthony Early called New York’s strategies to develop players “non-existent.” The Bronx native, who last played for the Knicks in 2016, played two seasons with the blue and orange before dropping out of the league.

The Knicks have seemingly started to emphasize player development under new president Leon Rose. The team hired development guru Johnnie Bryant as an associate head coach, along with Kenny Payne from Kentucky. SNY has reported the team plans on adding several development coaches in addition to the assistants on Thibodeau’s staff.

Mitchell Robinson showing off his new handle

Mitchell Robinson responded to a workout video posted on Twitter this week with a promise that he has plenty of “stuff in the bag year 3.” Let’s hope he improves his handle a bit if he plans on using this against NBA defenders (although it’s totally understandable if these weak moves still impress you coming from Mitch in the open court.)

RJ Barrett finishes eighth in Rookie of the Year voting

Thanks to one third place vote, which, if I was a betting man, I would guess came from a Mr. Marc Berman of the New York Post, RJ Barrett cracked the list of NBA Rookie of the Year voting, finishing eighth overall. Ja Morant took home the trophy with 99 out of 100 votes, as Zion Williamson, who only played in 24 games, stole the other first place vote.

Barrett had a so-so rookie campaign while playing for a team that stumbled out of the gate under David Fizdale, before changing coaches, and later executives.

Other news and notes:

• Former Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and Real Madrid executive David Hopkinson is joining MSG Sports as President of Team Business Operations.

• Knicks Director of Player Performance Mubarak ‘Bar’ Malik resigned from his position with the organization. He has been with the Knicks since 2013.

• The Knicks made the hires of several of Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff members official this week. Johnnie Bryant, who was finishing his duties with Utah in the playoffs, becomes associate head coach; and Mike Woodson, Andy Greer, and Daisuke Yoshimoto have been named assistant coaches. Kenny Payne was officially introduced at an earlier date.

• Tom Thibodeau was reportedly “enamored” with Dennis Smith Jr. coming out of college, per Ian Begley.

• Last Sunday, Taj Gibson and his foundation unveiled renovated local basketball courts at Ingersoll Houses in Brooklyn.

• Patrick Ewing revealed he had a blood clot while battling COVID-19. He is doing much better now.

• Ewing’s former teammate Charles Oakley — who has been quite critical of his leadership skills recently — is joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars, set to premier on September 14.

• Eddy Curry is being sued by his limo driver, with the driver’s attorney taking a potshot at the former Knick: “Not only did Curry fail to meet the expectations that us fans had after he signed a contract with the Knicks, he failed to adhere to his contract with Mr. Kuchinsky.”

• Mitchell Robinson’s former agent is being sued over alleged false claims made about representing players in trying to secure a loan. He also allegedly used “fake social media accounts to disparate various persons in the pro sports industry.”

And that does it for this week!