New York Knicks free agency preview: Big moves to watch for
By Chip Murphy
NBA free agency starts at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, and the New York Knicks are in a position to make a splash. What should they do?
The NBA offseason is heating up for the New York Knicks. After a long wait, it must’ve felt good for Leon Rose and his crew to get their first draft in the books. Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley figure to add a necessary scoring punch to one of the league’s worst offenses.
But enough about the draft. It’s time for free agency, and for the first time in a long time, Knicks fans are confident they can sign a good player. We don’t have to worry about Phil Jackson falling asleep during his PowerPoint presentation or Steve Mills just being Steve Mills.
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The Knicks have Leon Rose in charge now. The former super agent used to be on the other end of these deals, trying to squeeze every last cent out of some chump. Rose may have been a novice when it comes to the draft — that’s why he hired expert Walt Perrin — but when it comes to negotiating free agent contracts, he’s a pro.
In Rose’s first year on the job, the Knicks find themselves in an unfamiliar position. They have cap flexibility. The Knicks are one of the few teams this offseason with any cap space. Following a salary dump trade for Ed Davis, the Knicks have $35.9 million in cap room (via @JeffreyBellone).
New York’s roster moves on Thursday gave them added room to work with. They made final decisions on their players from last season. Reggie Bullock is coming back, and maybe Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis too. Elfrid Payton is gone, and so are Wayne Ellington and Kenny Wooten. Unfortunately, Damyean Dotson didn’t receive a qualifying offer. Hopefully, he gets a fair shake somewhere else.
New York’s cap space, along with the rest of the league’s lack of, puts them in a prime position to make a splash. The biggest splash the Knicks could make, of course, is trading for Russell Westbrook. But Westbrook’s enormous salary would swallow all that delicious cap space whole, and that ruins the fun.
The New York Knicks need to make a splash
Fred VanVleet would be the most surprising signing. According to SNY’s Ian Begley, teams think that he will end up back in Toronto. That’s not a surprise. VanVleet has spoken about wanting to get paid and being the guy. The only shot the Knicks have is if the Raptors cheap out and that seems unlikely.
In addition to VanVleet, the Knicks are linked to the very much available Boston Celtics All-Star Gordon Hayward. According to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, the Knicks have been aggressive in their pursuit of Hayward. Hayward just opted out of $34 million so he must have an offer coming from somewhere and there aren’t many places it could be.
Hayward isn’t the player he used to be but signing him would go a long way to changing the perception of the franchise. It’s a big deal for a guy with a serious injury history to opt out of a guaranteed $34 million. That means players trust Leon Rose’s Knicks. Getting Hayward on a short term deal with a bloated salary feels viable for New York.
Hayward is coming off a season where he was the fourth option a majority of the time. He still averaged 17.5 points, a career-high 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 3-pointers made on a .500/.383/.855 slash line.
For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Tim McMahon thinks Hayward is going to New York. He notes the former Utah Jazz forward’s connection with former Jazz staffers Johnie Bryant and Walt Perrin as the reason why.
We haven’t heard a peep about Danilo Gallinari recently. I’m going to assume that he’s going to Atlanta. There was a little noise about a sign and trade with him and Dallas on draft night. That turned out to be smoke.
At this point, it’d be surprising if Washington didn’t bring Davis Bertans back. But Marc Berman points out that Bertans could be a perfect alternative if things fall through with Hayward. Berman points out that Bertans is on New York’s wish list.
In drafting Quickley, Rose proved that he’s prioritizing shooting — something his predecessor never did — so acquiring Bertans would do even more to improving the league’s worst shooting team.
I gave you my three reasons to pursue Bertans months ago and they haven’t changed. He’s in the middle of his prime, complements RJ and Mitch well, and of course, there’s the shooting.