Rumors

Georgetown freshman Thomas Sorber is drawing the interest of several teams in the lottery and also just outside the lottery ahead of Wednesday’s NBA Draft. The 6-foot-10 Trenton, N.J. native has attracted interest from the Atlanta Hawks (which pick at Nos. 13 and 22) and San Antonio Spurs (No. 14) -- the last two picks in the lottery. Sorber is also drawing attention from the Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 17) and Brooklyn Nets (Nos. 19, 26 and 27), NJ Advance Media has learned.

Newark Star-Ledger

The Knicks had been among the teams linked to a potential trade for Antetokounmpo -- with New Jersey native Karl-Anthony Towns often mentioned as the centerpiece -- but league executives said the Knicks simply don’t have the assets for such a blockbuster. “The Knicks cannot get Giannis,” the NBA executive said. “They don’t have enough assets.”

Newark Star-Ledger

If they sincerely wanted Foster to make the call, they’d just show him the video, but instead they give him a way to learn what they know in Secaucus. I’m willing to bet that it’s rare for referees to overrule what they hear from New Jersey. So we have decisions made offsite, but only with the appearance and delays of referees putting on a little show of being in control. I don’t know if they do this because fans don’t like the idea of Big Brother deciding games, or because Coaches Carlisle and Thibodeau want to be able to yell at whoever made the decision. (Or, maybe, because the delay assures the league won’t review too many plays, keeping the coaches more in control.)

TrueHoop

The “I think I broke it” moment captured by ABC cameras came late in the half after Towns fought Luke Kornet for a rebound. The New Jersey product also was shown wincing in the third quarter after a foul called against Holiday.

New York Post

Achiuwa got up and out early Thursday morning following his big night to appear at his former high school, St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, to talk to students and watch a basketball game between a team of students and a team of NJ State troopers as part of the Building Bridges program, an initiative developed to build bonds of understanding and trust between communities of color and law enforcement.  “It’s great for the community and the kids for them to be able to interact on a more personal level with all the different things out there. I think it’s great,” said Achiuwa, who spent his sophomore and junior years at the school before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida. “I always felt St. Benedict’s was a very dear place in my heart. I love the school and I loved my time there. It’s a beautiful place with beautiful people.”

New York Post

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin joined New York AG Letitia James and Connecticut AG William Tong and other government officials in “imploring Altice USA and MSG Networks to reach a deal” to resolve its dispute that has taken the networks’ programming off Optimum’s lineup since Jan. 1, according to a statement Friday released by MSG.  “MSG Networks agrees with the Attorneys General,” the statement read. “We don’t want Optimum subscribers to miss another Knicks, Rangers, Islanders or Devils game. That’s why we offered to submit the matter to binding arbitration.  “If Altice USA agrees, MSG Networks can immediately bring back the games Optimum subscribers are desperately missing while MSG Networks remains off the air.”

New York Post

Retired former Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony huddled with center Karl-Anthony Towns in the locker room for several minutes after Friday’s game. “I think you could find out in interviews and stuff, I’m a huge Carmelo Anthony fan,” said Towns, who grew up in New Jersey. “Melo’s been an integral part of my childhood and playing basketball, and if I could have kind of the career that he’s had, I’d be very, very, very blessed and honored to even be close to one of the greatest of all time.“It was cool when I was able to see Melo on the court and play against him, but in a weird way being here in New York and to be a Knick and to be with one of the greatest Knicks of all time in my life, is pretty cool.”

New York Post

Ramona Shelburne: Karl-Anthony Towns, of course, is from New Jersey and used to be represented by Knicks President Leon Rose. There’s a lot of homecoming to this story, but Towns was in the gym today in Minnesota preparing to build off last season’s WC Finals run.

x.com

Karl-Anthony Towns was born in New Jersey, went to college in Kentucky and has spent the entirety of his NBA career in Minnesota. His roots, however, are in the Dominican Republic. To continue paying homage to his late mother's homeland, Towns announced plans Thursday to help build a state-of-the-art basketball training facility in the country, one where children will get top-notch coaching and access to physical therapy, classroom space, meeting space and more. Groundbreaking in Santiago, Dominican Republic, is set for next year, with plans calling for completion in 2026.

ESPN

Does anybody really see the 76ers really leaving Philadelphia for Camden? A source close to the situation told The Post, “There’s a real chance.” The 76ers have been getting pushback for years over a proposed arena in Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. Now they could be getting as much as $400 million in tax credits in New Jersey and the state legislature may be asked to consider issuing up to $500 million in special-purpose bonds.

New York Post

Seeking to lure the Philadelphia 76ers across the river, New Jersey is offering up to $400 million in tax credits and outlining plans for a sprawling mixed-use waterfront development. In a letter dated Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration said it envisioned a multibillion-dollar plan in the city of Camden featuring residential, commercial and retail properties, with the Sixers as an anchor. The pitch from Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan comes as the team and Philadelphia negotiate over a future $1.3 billion arena the team had announced for the city's Chinatown neighborhood. The team has said it doesn't plan to stay at the Wells Fargo Arena in the city's stadium district past 2031 when its lease is up.

ESPN

"The reality is we are running out of time to reach an agreement that will allow the 76ers to open our new home in time for the 2031-32 NBA season," team spokesperson Molly Mita McEndy wrote in an email. "As a result, we must take all potential options seriously, including this one." A spokesperson for the Philadelphia mayor's office declined to comment on New Jersey's offer or the status of its own negotiations. At an unrelated event in suburban Philadelphia on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the team wants to remain in Philadelphia and that he hasn't been asked for tax incentives or offered any. "I love the Sixers," he said. "They belong in Philadelphia."

ESPN

A week after a city-sanctioned report cast doubt on the economic benefits of the Philadelphia 76ers’ proposed facility in Center City, the team received a written proposal from the state of New Jersey detailing a transformative arena project in Camden that the team could own and operate, should it choose to relocate to New Jersey. It is a proposal that the Sixers will look at seriously, a team spokesperson told ROI-NJ.

roi-nj.com

“We have worked tirelessly for the past five years to build an arena in Philadelphia, and negotiations remain ongoing with city leadership regarding our proposal at Market East,” the spokesperson said. “The reality is, we are running out of time to reach an agreement that will allow the 76ers to open our new home in time for the 2031-32 NBA season. As a result, we must take all potential options seriously, including this one.”

roi-nj.com