The New York Knicks have addressed some of their needs through the NBA Draft. Now it’s time to finish the roster through free agency.
It’s the first week of August which means NBA free agency is finally here for the New York Knicks and the rest of the league. If you’re not familiar with the concept of NBA free agency, it is a bizarre universe where Kelly Oubre transforms into 2010 LeBron, and the New Orleans Pelicans think Chris Paul cares about them.
Usually, at this time, the New York Knicks are looking to makeover whatever ugly duckling of a roster had just guided them to another lackluster season. Not this year. This is the most important Knicks offseason in recent memory following the most important regular season in this millennium.
The phrase “most important in recent memory” could be used to describe every Knicks offseason in well, recent memory. But this offseason is different; the Knicks are coming off their first playoff birth since 2012-13. Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau are establishing a functional culture in an environment known for the exact opposite.
Now comes the hard part. Rose and his staff know better than to run it back with the same group and expect another fourth-place finish in the East. They wisely punted on their first free agency and signed several one-year deals instead, betting on Thibodeau’s reputation to maximize the value of his players.
While things are turning around in New York, that adds to the pressure on the front office. It’s the nature of pro sports. Most teams who outperform expectations one season are doomed to regress in the next. Rose knows adding talent is the easiest way to make sure this doesn’t happen.
The Knicks project to have more cap space than any other team in free agency with roughly $50 million. New York has worked hard to maintain that cap space, so spending money just to spend money would be completely against everything they’ve done up until this point.
Here are some areas the Knicks could look to address during free agency.
Starting Point Guards for the Knicks
Things might be different in New York, but one thing hasn’t changed: the Knicks still need a point guard. Rookie Miles McBride figures to have a role, but he’s unlikely to be the starter. Derrick Rose figured to be back after another successful run with Tom Thibodeau, but rumors of a reunion between the former MVP and his hometown Chicago Bulls have cast doubt on that.
If there was any team that could pull apart Rose and Thibs, it’d be the Bulls. Whether Rose comes back or not, his best role at this point in his career is coming off the bench. The Knicks need a starting point guard.
New York has been linked to every free agent point guard since the dawn of time, but again, this year is different. The big names are off the table. Chris Paul has always been a longshot, Kyle Lowry is no longer an option, and Mike Conley never was.
But the Knicks still have several candidates to choose from.
Devonte Graham
A couple of seasons ago, Graham came out of nowhere to average 18.2 points and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range for the Charlotte Hornets. His numbers dipped a bit last season due to the arrivals of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward, but he consistently positively impacted the game. On the offensive end, anyway.
Graham made 129 catch and shoot triples – and converted on 42.3 percent – which was good for the top 20 in the NBA. Defense is always going to be a problem for the 6-foot-1 Graham.
Graham is a restricted free agent. With the Hornets letting Malik Monk go into unrestricted free agency, you have to think the Hornets will match any reasonable offer for Graham.
Dennis Schroder
Schroder is one of many NBA players with an unfortunate stigma attached to his name. He hasn’t done a lot to change that. Schroder reportedly turned down a four-year, $84 million extension from the Lakers before the season.
After his play this season, and the Lakers’ first-round playoff exit, Schroder won’t be receiving that type of offer from any team. The eight-year veteran averaged his lowest points per game total since his third season in the league. Following a career year shooting the three-ball during his one season in 2019-20 (.385), Schroder regressed to the mean with the Lakers (.335).
New York might end up bidding against themselves in a race for Schroder. Apparently, nobody else wants the kid. According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the Knicks did a lot of scouting on Schroder during the season. It sounds like he could be their guy.
Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball is one of the most polarizing free agents of the summer. Someone is about to pay him $20 million a year to be their starting point guard, and he’s not really a point guard. It’s no coincidence that Lonzo just played the best basketball of his career while spending a majority of his time off the ball.
Lonzo has turned himself into a legitimate shooting threat. He made 172 three-point shots last season – more than any Knick has made in a season since J.R. Smith in 2013-14.
Lonzo belongs on the wing. He could thrive in New York, but Julius Randle or someone else would need to be the primary ball-handler.
It looks like the Chicago Bulls are in the clear lead for Ball, anyway.
Reggie Jackson
Jackson wouldn’t have been on this list before his playoff performance, but he’s coming off the best shooting season of his career. Granted, it’s a minimal sample size.
It depends on the contract because the 31-year-old is just a placeholder for the actual point guard of the future. Jackson is a prime candidate to disappoint following a solid contract year. I’d rather the Knicks didn’t get burned by that.
There hasn’t been much smoke, if any at all, about Jackson to the Knicks. I don’t think he’s going to New York.
Spencer Dinwiddie
On paper, Dinwiddie is the perfect Thibs point guard. He attacks the rim relentlessly and creates opportunities for himself and his teammates. Dinwiddie averaged 17.1 drives per game in 2019-20 which ranked in the top 10 in the league. The fact that he’s spent a better part of his Nets tenure trolling the Knicks and their fans will turn a lot of the fan base off to Dinwiddie.
What’s a much bigger deal is that Dinwiddie is coming off an ACL tear that limited him to three games last season, and he’s made it clear he wants big money. Maybe that should keep New York out of the running.
This may not matter. Apparently, Washington really wants Dinwiddie and could pull off a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn.
Cam Payne
I know there are a lot of Knicks fans who are really high on Cam Payne, but he falls into the same category as Reggie Jackson for me. Payne had an excellent run as Chris Paul’s backup, but the word backup is vital. He only averaged 18 minutes per game last season.
It’s a great story. Payne was out of the league, and he’s about to get paid in free agency. The guy has earned his money too. He shot 44 percent from three-point range and 48.4 percent overall last season.
But Payne has never had an effective season as the starter. Signing him to do that would be a risk. Like Jackson, it depends on the years. You don’t want to end up with a Matt Flynn situation on your hands – unless Deuce McBride turns into Russell Wilson, of course.
You can take to the bank that the Knicks are going to sign a point guard. It’s anybody’s guess as to who it is.
Wing Scoring for the Knicks
The breakout season from Julius Randle was a rare pleasant surprise for Knicks fans. He deserved his Most Improved Player Award. But if the playoffs showed anything, it’s that he needs some help because he’s not a No. 1 option. Unless Kawhi Leonard shocks the world, there are no real superstars available to give him that.
RJ Barrett took a step forward last year, but we still don’t know just how good he’s going to be. Adding another scorer would be a help to Randle and Barrett. There are no perfect options available – and some may not be very available – but the Knicks need some help.
Evan Fournier
Fournier really took his game to the next level two seasons ago – averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game. He continued his strong play this season with an increase in his three-point shooting.
Fournier shot 52.4 percent on wide-open threes (no defender within 6 or more feet of the shooter) last season.
Of all the 155 players who shot 100 wide-open threes, he ranked second in percentage behind only Joe Harris.
The Celtics and Fournier are reportedly far apart in contract negotiations. According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Fournier is looking for a four-year, $80 million deal, and the Celtics aren’t budging.
SNY’s Ian Begley subsequently reported that Fournier and the Knicks have mutual interest. Knicks fans panicked about giving Fournier $80 million. The Knicks were linked to Fournier at the trade deadline, and apparently, that interest hasn’t waned.
DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan averaged 21.6 points and a career-high 6.9 assists while shooting a career-high 88 percent from the free-throw line. Yet, he has a Schroder-Esque stigma attached to his name.
It’s could be because DeRozan, a non-three-point shooter, is nearly 32 years old and needs the ball to maximize his value. The 12-year veteran hasn’t had a usage below 25 percent since his fourth season in the league.
There’s also the matter of his teams always being worse when he’s on the court. DeRozan has had a positive on/off net rating one time in 12 NBA seasons. That’s too big a sample size to be a fluke.
Begley reported that some within the Knicks see DeRozan as a player who can address a big Knicks weakness: shot creation.
Norman Powell
Norm Powell is another free agent coming off a career year. He just posted career-highs in points (18.6) and three-point shooting (41.1 percent). The 28-year-old Powell fits New York’s timeline better than someone like DeRozan. He’d give the Knicks a player they desperately need: one who can score, shoot the three, and create his own shot.
But all signs point to the Blazers resigning Powell as he’s going to get big money, and typically you don’t trade for someone at the deadline and let them walk. But Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report did report that New York could be the biggest threat to pry Powell away from the Blazers even though it was back in May.
Alec Burks
Bringing back Burks is another option as he shot a career-high from three-point range and played an incredible playoff game. But the Knicks may have already maximized his value.
I’m not putting Kelly Oubre on here. If you want him on the Knicks, please leave your reason in the comments.
Shooting for the Knicks
Should the Knicks splurge to try and snatch RFA Duncan Robinson away from the Miami Heat? It may sound crazy, but someone with his particular set of skills (not a typo) would open things up for the entire offense. Robinson is one of the best shooters in the NBA.
The 27-year-old made 520 threes in the past two seasons at a 42.7 percent clip. There’s no reason to worry that his shot would fall off if he came to New York. He’s a proven threat.
Also, it wouldn’t hurt to stick it to Pat Riley and the Heat for once. The Knicks can address their shooting woes with other options (Doug McDermott and Reggie Bullock), but they can try for Robinson if they want to go all out.
Let us know who you would want the New York Knicks to sign during free agency! Either in the comment section below or in the social media comments section of where this piece is posted!
