Advertisement

Knicks part ways with scout

Rodney Heard, the New York Knicks scout who held clandestine predraft workouts in violation of NBA rules, has been let go by the team, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Heard did not have his contract renewed as the Knicks' East Coast scouting director, sources said.

After league investigators corroborated details from a October 2010 Yahoo! Sports report that uncovered years of illegal workouts, the NBA fined Heard $20,000 and the Knicks $200,000 earlier this year.

Multiple league executives were irate over what was considered a light sentence for the violations that included Indiana Pacers forward Brandon Rush(notes) admitting he had suffered a severe knee injury as an underclassmen in a workout with Heard at an Atlanta-area gym in 2007. Rush withdrew his name from the draft, returned to Kansas for one more season and eventually was picked 13th overall in 2008.

Heard came to the organization as a close ally to former president Isiah Thomas. He also had the support of Thomas’ successor, Donnie Walsh. The Knicks’ front office is being reconstructed with Walsh's departure.