New York Knicks: 2016 Offseason Grades
Odds And Ends
To fill out the rest of their roster, the Knicks turned to international players and D-League/Summer League prospects, starting with Lithuania’s Mindaugas Kuzminskas (three years, $9 million) and Spain’s Willy Hernangomez (four years, $5.9 million).
Kuzminskas, a 6’8″ small forward, presents the Knicks with a Lance Thomas understudy. At 26 years old he’s not done growing as a player and who knows? Perhaps he manages to crack the rotation and thrill the Garden as one of those out-of-nowhere success stories.
Sasha, Ndour, Kuzminskas, Hernangomez, KP6 gives #Knicks 5 international players on current 14-man roster.
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) July 14, 2016
Hernangomez is a 22-year-old center who provides a bit of depth behind Joakim Noah on the front line and played with Kristaps Porzingis in Spain for Sevilla.
Unlike his brother Juan Hernangomez, a stretch-4 selected by the Denver Nuggets in this year’s draft, Willy — a 2015 second round pick — is an old-fashioned banger in the post, but it’s unclear how ready he’d be to contribute if Noah has problems staying healthy again.
To add a bit more frontcourt depth, the Knicks also added Marshall Plumlee, who went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft before averaging 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for New York’s Summer League team.
New York Knicks gave Marshall Plumlee 3 years at min $, fully guaranteed 1st season, $100k locked in for 17/18 @BBallInsiders
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) July 12, 2016
To round things out, the Knicks made up for their blunder last summer by finally signing Summer League standout Maurice Ndour to a two-year contract.
After averaging 9.6 points per game in five appearances for the Knicks last summer, Ndour was snatched up by the Dallas Mavericks before being waived prior to the start of the season. Now he’ll get his chance to prove what he can do in New York after a one-year delay.
After adding former Wichita State standout Ron Baker on a two-year, partially guaranteed contract, the Knicks also signed Stanford guard Chasson Randle to a partially guaranteed deal, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. This puts the roster at 17 for training camp, leaving Baker, Randle, Plumlee and J.P. Tokoto to battle for the final roster spot.
Point guard Chasson Randle has signed a free agent contact with the Knicks, the Daily News has learned. Partial guarantee.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) August 3, 2016
Randle was a stud for the Knicks in his three Summer League games, averaging 18.3 points, 5.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. For a team lacking backcourt depth, he could be called upon sooner than expected.
Baker also performed well in his five Summer League games for the Knicks, averaging 14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game on 37 percent shooting rom three-point range.
None of these signings move the needle much for the Knicks, since none of these players are expected to play significant minutes. As smart as investing in low-risk, bargain-contract options is for a franchise that’s badly needed a proper rebuild, it’s a bit odd to see the Knicks round out the roster this way after going all in on being competitive now.
Grade: C+
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