Tuesday Posted & Toasted Notes: Mo’s Turn, Andre Vs. Mitch, Veterans On Parade

Shouts out to the World Cup organizers for placing Spain’s games all at 9 p.m. in my time zone, which is definitely better than having to wake up at 2:30 a.m. to watch the Knicks play. On to your daily links and notes.

• The Knicks announced the new deals for Landry Shamet, Mo Diawara, and Jose Alvarado after the moratorium ended on Monday, as well as making the Andre Drummond signing official. I’ll have more on those contracts and the details revealed afterward, so keep an eye on the front page.
• The NY Daily News’s Kris Winfield made a case that Diawara may have to become a real rotation player next season as the only true backup wing-forward with size on the roster behind Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
• The New York Post’s Jared Schwartz broke down the Drummond-Mitch changes and the world the Knicks will be entering next season. We all know the similarities (big O-board boys!), so here’s a bit on the differences:

“Drummond, on the other hand, is a much more one-dimensional defender. He is solid when matched up against bigs, but he is not someone the Knicks will want checking guards and wings. He is not as agile or mobile as Robinson. Drummond has developed into a competent enough one at this point, (and) has recently emerged as someone who can knock down the occasional 3-pointer, especially from the corners.”

• The Athletic’s John Hollinger placed the Knicks alone in “Tier 1A” among contenders for the 2027 NBA title, only behind the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Tier 1. Given Hollinger’s predictions age as well as milk, make of that what you wish. Tiny excerpt:

“Re-climbing that mountain will be hard, and (the Knicks) won’t necessarily get the same breaks. Still, these would be your on-paper favorites in the East in any playoff tournament, even if they might not enter it as the top seed.”

• Former P&T scribe Lee Escobedo jumped on the Knicks-LBJ silliness and made it very clear the Knicks “should say no to LeBron James.” Fair points all around, but for a min deal, I’m still all-in. Obviously, it’s not happening.
• James, for one, won’t be meeting any suitors this time. Chris Haynes with the report, Rich Paul with the public and hidden work. (As if there is something to work on, as it’s a given that Cleveland is the final destination from the minute he joined LA back in 2018).
• Speaking of old people and horrible franchises, the Kings waived DeMar DeRozan on Monday. With the Warriors out of the LBJ picture (no, literally), ESPN’s Anthony Slater is reporting there is a Dubs interest in DeMDeR. Same as with James, I’d be delighted to have DeRozan clad in Knicks threads as long as he accepts the vet min and comes off the bench carrying a mid-range flamethrower.
• Rich Paul keeps popping up (s/o Muruju for bringing it to my attention), and he’s now defending (?) Knicks owner James Dolan and his second-apron mandate. We’ve had our fair share of discussions about it in the comments sections for the past three weeks, but you can always keep talking about it below.
• The Nuggets are expected to waive Jonas Valanciunas on Wednesday, saving $8 million and allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. I covered the news, possibilities, and Lakers/Knicks links to the veteran yesterday, so feel free to join the discussion in the comments section as we’re staying relevant.
• Brad Stevens finally spoke about the infamous Jaylen Brown trade to Philadelphia, saying the Celtics “lost a lot of sleep” over the decision but wanted to “stay good” while adding “optionality.” Just for context, the Celtics traded for Paul George’s not-honerous-at-all $54.1 + $56.5 million deal for this and next season, which definitely adds flexibility to the Beantown books.
• Golden nugget in a piece published on ESPN yesterday involving two franchises fighting for who finishes worse in the standings and cripples its future the most this summer: “I mean, the guy got traded for less than Walker Kessler. That’s baffling to me.”
• Another good one on the Lake Show, per Vincent Goodwill via B/R, following the ridiculous Kessler trade:

“Despite a busy week of moves for the Los Angeles Lakers and general manager Rob Pelinka to kick off free agency, not everyone in the NBA is impressed with what they have done for their roster. On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 25:45 mark), ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill explained one rival GM asked if Pelinka was ‘trying to get fired’ in the wake of the Lakers’ moves.“

• OAKAAK Mario Hezonja is exploring an NBA comeback as he nears a July 20 deadline to leave Real Madrid. He is under contract through 2029 but has an NBA exit clause and a buyout around the standard $850,000 mark. Would you pay that for He-Man?
• Spain beat Portugal 1-0 at the World Cup.

You can follow Antonio on Twitter at @chapulana.