GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Knicks have picked up the option on coach Mike Woodson's contract for the 2014-15 season.
Woodson led the Knicks to a 54-28 record last season and their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. He is 72-34 since taking over for Mike D'Antoni late in the 2011-12 season, a .679 winning percentage that is second-best in franchise history.
New general manager Steve Mills said in a statement Monday that after spending time with Woodson recently that it was "clear that picking up his option is an easy decision."
Knicks: Anthony not talking free agency
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Carmelo Anthony feels there is no reason to think about his potential free agency now.
The New York Knicks don't seem so sure.
The Knicks followed their first Atlantic Division championship team in 19 years with a strangely timed change in the front office, just days before opening training camp. Steve Mills returned to Madison Square Garden as president and general manager with a mandate from owner James Dolan to overhaul the organization and make the Knicks "the best that there can be in the NBA."
That might help keep Anthony in New York after this season, when he can become a free agent, and Mills made it clear that's a priority. But Anthony said Monday at Knicks media day that his future is "not something I've been thinking about" (see full story).
NBA
Nets: New-look roster eyes title
NEW YORK -- Paul Pierce won plenty of Atlantic Division titles during his days with the Boston Celtics, but at the end of the seasons when he exited the playoffs without lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy, none of those six divisional titles didn't carried any weight.
The only one that mattered was the one he captured during the 2008 season, en route to his first and only NBA title.
Pierce, along with his teammate Kevin Garnett, made it known that they're in Brooklyn for one thing only: to win it all in June. Beating out their new rivals, the defending division champs New York Knicks, isn't what's on Pierce's mind.
"Truthfully, that's not that important to me. I came here to win a championship. I don't even want to see an Atlantic banner put up if we win it," Pierce said during Monday's Nets media day session at Barclays Center (see full story).
Celtics: No timetable for Rondo return
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo won't be back in time for the start of the regular season.
Rondo says he doesn't know how long it will take for him to recover from tearing a ligament in his right knee in January. He has been working on his shooting and his ball-handling, but he doesn't take part in practice where there is any contact.
Rondo is the only remaining member from the team that won the 2008 NBA championship. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were traded to the Brooklyn Nets on draft night, and coach Doc Rivers defected to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Rondo says he is excited to work with new coach Brad Stevens.
The Celtics open training camp on Tuesday in Newport, R.I (see full story).