The NBA free-agency period officially begins tomorrow at 6 p.m. Teams can begin to negotiate with free-agents, but are subject to the Free Agency Moratorium period from July 1–6. During that time, teams cannot sign free agents or make trades. Players will be allowed to officially sign contracts as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern standard time on July 6.

This is one of the more clandestine, anxiety-ridden, and consequential stages of the NBA calendar. Some teams attempt to circumvent the rules and are penalized. Last July, the Knicks signed then free-agent Jalen Brunson, prying him away from the Dallas Mavericks. But in December, the NBA, after concluding its investigation into the contact between the point guard and the Knicks, determined the latter had violated tampering rules by having discussions with Brunson before the permissible date and announced they were rescinding the Knicks’ 2025 second-round pick as the penalty.

The Knicks are certainly more discerning now. Their desperation to acquire Brunson was palpable and proved to be one of the best decisions in the franchise’s history, because he was the catalyst in transforming them from a 37-45 No. 11 seed two seasons ago to 45-37 and the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference this past season. 

To level up and become a certified championship contender, the Knicks must obtain another player with capabilities as equally effective as Brunson’s.

While a plethora of Knicks fans are vociferously urging team president Leon Rose to trade All-NBA forward Julius Randle, spurred by his two sub-par playoff appearances (2021 and this past season), the Knicks need to add to the tandem of Randle and Brunson. Moving Randle for a player of similar production while essentially maintaining the same roster as last season will not fundamentally improve the team.

The Knicks did not have a pick in last Thursday’s draft, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but six of their own first-rounders over the next four drafts are as valuable and appealing assets for procuring a high-impact player via a trade. However, the Knicks have just a little over $23 million in salary cap space entering the summer free-agency phase and thus have little flexibility to sign leading available players. Their needs are an athletic two-way wing and efficient perimeter shooting.

Rumors still abound that they have their eyes on the Minnesota Timberwolves 6-11 power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, a 27-year-old three-time All-Star from Piscataway, N.J., as well as the Toronto Raptors’ 25-year-old, 6-7 forward O.G. Anunoby. 

Names that have been mentioned for the Knicks to package for Towns or Anunoby are a  combination of Randle, forward Obi Toppin, and guard Immanuel Quickley. In the coming days, there will be more clarity and definitive actions by a franchise that last won a title 50 years ago.

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Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks and the rest of the organization have the task of building around their budding star Mikal Bridges, who averaged 26.1 points per game in 27 regular season games for the team last season after being acquired from the Phoenix Suns in February in the trade involving Kevin Durant.

They began that process last Thursday at the NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, their home arena, by selecting center/forward Noah Clowney with the 21st pick in the first round, swingman Dariq Whitehead with the 22nd pick in the first round, and forward Jalen Wilson with the 51st overall pick in the second round.

The 6-10 Clowney is an 18-year-old who played at the University of Alabama as a freshman last season. He averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and shot 48.6% from the field. Dariq White is a 6’7” swingman from Duke who was projected to be a top-5 pick coming into the 2022–23 college season before undergoing foot surgery last year and again last month, hampering his overall performance. He earned the 2022 Naismith High School Player of the Year honors as a senior at Montverde Academy in Florida, where reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, former Net D’Angelo Russell, and current Net Ben Simmons, among many other NBA players, attended.

The 18-year-old Whitehead, a local product from Newark, N.J., relishes the opportunity to play in front of his family. He was a spectator at many Nets games when the team played their home games at the Prudential Center in Newark. 

“I’m very excited,” he said. “Being away from home at a young age, going to high school in Florida, this is the first time where my family is going to be able to fully watch me play with everybody—friends and family—so like I said, I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity.”

Whitehead, who wasn’t one of the group of players formally invited by the NBA to attend their draft at the Barclays Center, said the snub will drive him to be the best version of himself.  

“I’m a big believer in things happening for a reason,” he said, “and God has everything set in the right path; so…it’s definitely gonna fuel the extra motivation, but, like I said, I’m just here to think about what’s here now.” 

Whitehead added what’s ahead of him that is most important. 

“I’m here to focus on the future, so I’ve gotta put that behind me and…help try to contribute to this team and win basketball as much as possible.”

Wilson, who is the oldest and most experienced of the Nets draftees, helped the Kansas Jayhawks win the 2022 NCAA  championship. The 6-8 22-year-old was a consensus First Team All-America this past season and Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 20.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. 

The Nets begin NBA Summer League play next week. Whitehead will sit out while recovering from foot surgery. Clowney and Wilson are expected to be in the lineup.

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New York City basketball luminary Rod Strickland has continually remained connected to his Bronx hoops roots, paying his good fortune forward in various ways. One aspect of his altruism has been the Rod Strickland Summer Basketball League, which is now in its 26th season.

The program is the brainchild of longtime New York basketball figure and youth development professional LaMarre Dyson, who has run the league since its inception. It began as the Rod Strickland-Steve Burrt (former Iona College basketball icon) Summer Basketball League, and then bore the name Kyrie Irving-Rod Strickland. The league, held at St. Mary’s Park (148th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue in the Bronx) is a galvanizing community endeavor that promotes mental and physical wellness, social-emotional growth, and the spirit of cooperative achievement.

Games are held on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring 32 teams in four divisions: 8u, 10u, 12u, and 14u. The rain site is I.S. 584 (600 St. Ann’s Avenue). The championships will take place at LIU on August 20.  

Dyson is the founder of Young Athletes Inc. (YAI), a Bronx-based nonprofit organization operated out of I.S. 584 that is dedicated to serving disadvantaged youth. YAI offers school- year, Saturday, and summer programs. School-year classes include digital photography, journalism, magazine publishing, robotics, chess, and art.

Strickland, who is in the beginning stages of his second season as the men’s head basketball coach at LIU, which plays in the Northeast Conference, was drafted by the Knicks in 1988 with the 19th overall pick in the first round out of Depaul University. He went on to play 17 seasons in the NBA, retiring in 2005. The godfather of Kyrie Irving, Strickland was All-NBA in 1998, currently is No. 13 on the league’s all-time career assists list with 7, 987, and is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Brooklyn-born super-middleweight Edgar Berlanga earned a unanimous 116-108, 118-106, 116-over Ireland native Jason Quigley Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) dropped Quigley four times in the 12-round match, including twice in the final round, to seal the victory. Berlanga, who began his career with 16 straight first-round knockouts, has now gone five straight without a KO. Nevertheless, after defeating Quigley, Berlanga is looking ahead to more prominent opponents.  

“I’m going to fight the best now,”  said the 26-year-old aspiring champion. ”I feel like it’s that time.”

Berlanga could soon be paired with either 41-year-old Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin 
(42-2-1, 37 KOs), who hasn’t fought since his second loss to Canelo

Alverez last September, or Jaime Munguia, who is 42-0 with 33 KOs.

In other boxing news, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), led by boxing manager Al Haymon and the Showtime television network, reportedly generated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys for April’s Gervonta “Tank” Davis-Ryan Garcia match. It also produced the fifth-highest boxing gate ever at $22 million. Davis defeated the previously unbeaten Garcia with a seventh-round knockout.

The long-anticipated clash between the undefeated unified WBC, WBA, and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence and undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford will take place on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) has agreed to a three-fight deal with PBC and will face Jermall Charlo (32-0) in mid-September. This would be Canelo’s biggest test in the ring since he lost for the second time in his career to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022.

Saturday, young heavyweight star Jared Anderson will face former world champion Charles Martin in Toledo, Ohio. The fight will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

On July 8, UFC 290 will have Alexander Volkanovski defend his featherweight championship against Yair Rodríguez. It will be a stacked card that will see former champions such as Robert Whittaker and top prospects, notably Bo Nickal, compete at T-Mobile Arena.

In Atlantic City,  Jaron Ennis will defend his IBF interim welterweight title against Roiman Villa from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. If victorious, look for Ennis to take on the winner of Spence vs. Crawford if the loser doesn’t seek a rematch.

On July 15 in Detroit, Alycia Baumgardner will defend her WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA, IBO, and the Ring female super-featherweight titles against Christina Linardatou.

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The Liberty keep stacking up wins and continuing to affirm their standing as one of the best teams in the WNBA. Their thrilling comeback victory over the Washington Mystics on Sunday improved their record to 9-3: third best in the league when they faced the Connecticut Sun Tuesday night on the road. 

“This was a team effort [where] everyone played their ass off,” said Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu after New York’s 89–88 overtime win against the Mystics. 

“Sabrina made a lot of plays to help us win this game,” said veteran Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot. “We’re happy we won, and we have a lot to work on still, obviously. We don’t like the way we started. We didn’t play our best game, but man, we dug deep, made plays when it was important. That’s something we can definitely grow from.”

Last Friday, the Liberty not only notched a win over the Atlanta Dream, but also posted more than 100 points for the third time this season. 

In other Liberty news, Breanna Stewart was voted a starter and team captain for the AT&T 2023 All-Star Game to be hosted by the Las Vegas Aces next month. A’ja Wilson will captain the other team. The Liberty is now on a two-game West Coast road trip, taking on the Aces tonight and the Seattle Storm on Sunday. The team returns to their home arena, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, next Wednesday to host the Phoenix Mercury.

Also in New York basketball news, Abbey Hsu, who is entering her senior year at Columbia University, has been named to the USA Basketball team that will compete at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Mexico July 1–9. The team includes NCAA Champion Angel Reese of Louisiana State University.

This was Hsu’s first time attending USA Basketball trials, so she didn’t know what to expect. She performed well enough at the trials in May to be invited back last week as the team filled the final spots on the 12-woman roster. “It was a tough process,” Hsu said. “You’re competing against the top players in the country.”

Columbia coach Megan Griffith was a sounding board and voice of encouragement throughout the process. “Happy that the end result is me being on the team,” said Hsu. “To be able to step on the same court [with these players], compete against them, and play on their same team—first of all, you’re learning so much and it gives you this reassurance that I could also play with these players. It’s an exciting time.”

The U.S. opens pool play against Venezuela on July 1.

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