The Knicks have worked out several prospects at their facility in Tarrytown in the past few weeks. They'll work out several more - including Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver on Wednesday - ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft.
Mississippi State's Quindarry Weatherspoon and Aric Holman were in the gym on Monday. They gave SNY a rundown of the workout, which included an on-court message from David Fizdale and a lunch-time conversation with general manager Scott Perry.
Here's a look at Monday's workout:
There were six players in the gym. The day started with some medical testing and on-court testing. From there, the players did some ball-handling work, light conditioning, transition and shooting drills. Some Knicks assistant coaches were on the court for the workout and most of the scouting staff and front office was in the gym to watch.
From there, the players scrimmaged in a 3-on-3 game.
"I think it went great. I was able to show them what I can do with defending, passing and shot making," said Weatherspoon, a 6-4 guard who stood out in the workout.
During at least one point during the workout, Fizdale got on the court and delivered a message.
"He wanted to see how hard we can go," Holman, a 6-10 forward, said.
Added Weatherspoon: "He was just telling us to bring effort. They didn't want to coach effort. He was telling us to play hard, it was a job interview. He was telling us to play hard as a group."
During lunch at the facility, Perry ate with the players.
"I'm from Kentucky and he has ties from coaching at Eastern Kentucky. So we talked for a while," Holman said.
The Knicks have the 55th pick in the second round, which is the range that some mock drafts have players that were in their group on Monday.
"I think it would be a great opportunity," Weatherspoon said of playing for New York. "To make it to the NBA is something I dreamed of. I'm going to take every opportunity seriously, appreciate it and work my tail off."
Ex-Knicks coach Derek Fisher got a win in New York on Tuesday when he coached the Los Angeles Sparks to a 78-73 victory over the New York Liberty at the Westchester County Center.
"Coming back here, having the opportunity to be back in basketball and coaching again, it was a great feeling," Fisher said after the game.
"Obviously, to win, that's what you show up for, so it feels good."
Then Knicks president Phil Jackson fired Fisher in the middle of his second season in New York. The Knicks were in a stretch where they'd dropped eight-of-10 and star Carmelo Anthony was out with an injury. Fisher was also involved in an off-court altercation with Matt Barnes that caused him to miss a practice, but Jackson said at the time that the incident didn't factor in to his decision. Some of the prominent Knicks on that team felt that Fisher had been building a strong culture in his stint as coach. Fisher said he's taken a few lessons from his time in New York with him to the sidelines in Los Angeles.
"Things that I experienced while I was coaching here in New York that worked, that didn't work. Developing a philosophy, a belief in the way I want to coach the game. The things I want to do offensively and defensively," Fisher said when asked about things he'd learned from his stint coaching in New York. "I think the communication aspect of it was a key learning moment for me as well. When I got to New York as the coach of the Knicks, leaving the playing court, I tried to create some distance between being a player and a coach. But at times I needed to be closer to the individual players in terms of building relationships and having conversations and not feeling like I'm overstepping by trying to be closer to my players. So that was a mistake in a sense because players need the personal relationship and connection with their head coach so that they can trust them."