New York Knicks News Mix, 5/25/17: Bam Adebayo, Mike Crispino's Out Too
Nov 23, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Edrice Bam Adebayo (3) shoots the ball against the Cleveland State Vikings in the first half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Along with other NBA Draft prospects, the New York Knicks worked out Bam Adebayo while cutting ties with their radio announcer.

Wednesday was the final day players could withdraw from the 2017 NBA draft, so the New York Knicks planned to work out a large group of eligible prospects. Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo (who later announced he’s returning to school) pulled out, but teammate Bam Adebayo was in attendance.

Adebayo worked out with Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan (he announced he was staying in the draft), LSU’s Antonio Blakeney, and Iowa State’s Deonte Burton. Bam was the most intriguing of all the prospects.

The 19-year-old is undersized for a center (he measured at 6’9.75″ in shoes at the NBA Draft Combine), but his ridiculous 7’3″ wingspan makes up for it. He isn’t versatile on the offensive end (63.7 percent of his shots came at the rim, per hoop-math.com) and he was just 31.1 percent on two-point jumpers.

Right now, Bam is going to be a beast on the boards and a solid contributor on defense. In college, he averaged 10.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per 40 minutes.

Kentucky’s latest star big man may not come with the hype of DeMarcus Cousins or Anthony Davis, but he could be a steal if he somehow falls to the Knicks at pick No. 44. However, that’s extremely unlikely.

DraftExpress has Bam ranked 37th in their top 100 prospects and going with the second pick of the second round (No. 32).


The Knicks aren’t done making news by cutting ties with team employees this offseason. Marc Berman of The New York Post reports that the dysfunctional franchise won’t bring back their longtime radio announcer Mike Crispino.

Crispino called Knicks games on TV since the 2013-14 season but was on the radio since 2009-10. Per Berman, Crispino’s partner Brendan Brown is expected back.

“We would like to thank Mike for all his contributions to MSG Networks and wish him well going forward,’’ the Garden said in a statement.

This news comes just days after New York made headlines for cutting ties with assistant coach Joshua Longstaff. Longstaff’s departure was notable due to him being Kristaps Porzingis‘ favorite assistant.