New York Knicks: Pros and cons of signing Fred VanVleet in free agency

Conclusion

VanVleet isn’t necessarily better or the same talent as Hardaway or Randle. But the Knicks should be concerned when thrusting a good role player (VanVleet) into a primary role when they’re not capable of performing at that level (like Hardaway and Randle).

For those who forget, Randle was a bench player on the New Orleans Pelicans and had a career year with them. He averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 52.4 field goal percentage, and 34.4 three-point percentage during 30.6 minutes per game. People, like myself, saw that and immediately thought his style of play would translate to the Knicks And boy, were we wrong.

We can also look at Hardaway, whose style of play was a head-scratcher in The Mecca, and had a career year with the Mavericks by averaging 15.8 points with a slash line of .434/.398/.819.

VanVleet has had the opportunity to play with Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, OG Anunoby, Norman Powell, and so forth. So, he has never had to carry the load for a team that has been rebuilding or be the number one option. VanVleet could be the exception and outperform if he came to the Knicks. But as history shows, that is not the case.

Nevertheless, even with the concerns mentioned, the Knicks should pursue VanVleet. The reason being is that the Knicks have not had stable play at the guard positions in a long time, and it’s needed to help make the team competitive. But, if the price tag is over $20 million to sign VanVleet, that is when the Knicks should probably look elsewhere.