NBA Free Agency Atlantic Division Primer – The Eastern Powerhouse
New York Knicks
Situation Entering Offseason:
If the Boston Celtics are experiencing angst then the New York Knicks surely is the team hardest hit by events in the past few months. Finishing with the worst record didn’t result in the club landing the top draft pick which means they lost out on Zion Williamson. Albeit, RJ Barrett is a great consolation prize.
Kevin Durant’s injury was another blow. Granted there were only whispers KD preferred the Knicks while buddy Kyrie Irving was leaning toward the Nets. Either way, the thought was Durant would be headed East.
As of Wednesday, that option remains on the table since Durant did opt out of his contract. The question is whether the Knicks will want to sign him to a four year max knowing he won’t play at the very least next season.
That doesn’t mean the Knicks won’t swing for the fences, nor does it mean they’ll get KD even if they do. The team from the Mecca may be better served to target Jimmy Butler as he’ll be more than happy to have his own team and deal with the media.
Salary:
Cap Space: $ (4,540,198.00)
Floor Space: $ (50,813,165.00)
Max Space: $ 77,477,855.00
Projected Space: $ 70,527,253.00
*as per Keith Smith of Real GM
Key free agents to re-sign:
Depending on how successful the Knicks are at luring two max free agent stars to the team none of their own current free agents are a priority. That said, David Fizdale achieved great success in helping Noah Vonleh and Mario Hezonja experience growth in their games.
Likewise, DeAndre Jordan could be a key piece defensively. But, he’ll need to return to the form he showcased prior to last season and he’ll need to take a significant pay cut.
The big question is will the Knicks be happy if they end up signing Jimmy Butler and a middle tier free agent? One thing they can’t do is replicate the year they signed a past his prime Amare Stoudemire.
2019 Roster Depth:
- Kadeem Allen
- Damyean Dotson
- Kevin Knox
- Frank Ntilikina
- Mitchell Robinson
- Dennis Smith Jr.
- Lance Thomas
- Allonzo Trier
Draft Picks:
- RJ Barrett
- Ignas Brazdeikis
2019 free agents
Mario Hezonja
Emmanuel Mudiay (Restricted)
Luke Kornet (Restricted)
Noah Vonleh
Isaiah Hicks (Restricted)
DeAndre Jordan
Billy Garrett
Henry Ellenson
John Jenkins
2020 free agents
Lance Thomas
Damyean Dotson (Restricted)
John Jenkins
Allonzo Trier (Restricted)