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Should the New York Knicks consider re-signing Andrea Bargnani?

By Nick Ziegler

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The New York Knicks and President Phil Jackson have a big offseason ahead of them with plenty of questions to answer in order improve the team next season.

For most of this season, it was a forgone conclusion that Andrea Bargnani would be nowhere near the Knicks next season, as after trading a lot to get him from the Toronto Raptors, Bargnani has missed a ton of time with various injuries. Recently however, Bargnani has been playing some really good basketball, and now his guaranteed departure from the Knicks may not be so guaranteed anymore this offseason.

Like the Knicks this season, Bargnani came into the season with a lot of expectations, but with injuries keeping him off the court, it certainly hurt the Knicks on the court.

Bargnani played in just 22 minutes of game action this season until February 9th against the Miami Heat, when he started to finally stay healthy. After a few games to kick off the rust, Bargnani has been looking like the scorer that the Knicks hoped he would be to compliment Carmelo Anthony. Most recently against the Indiana Pacers, Bargnani has played his two best games of the season. In the home-and-home series, Bargnani scored a total of 46 points on an impressive 20-31 shooting.

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For the season, Bargnani is averaging 13.0 PPG, and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 47.9% from the field, and 40% from three-point range. It’s a small sample size, but the numbers have been good for Bargnani on the court so far.

“We’ve only had short sample size of Andrea this season,’’ Fisher told reporters. “I just think he’s continuing to get more comfortable playing basketball again. Big guys with Andrea’s size to be out of basketball from January 2014 to February 2015, that’s a long time not to play games night in and night out. I think he’ll have a bump in the road from time to time, but he’s not doing anything he’s not capable of doing. His ceiling can continue to rise if he stays healthy and keeps working hard. He’s enjoying being out on the floor.’’

Mar 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks center Andrea Bargnani (77) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Ian Mahinmi (28) and forward Solomon Hill (44) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Bargnani’s good play of late hasn’t resulted in many wins for the Knicks, as their problems run much deeper, but it’s nice to see him on the court and producing finally.

The Knicks have a lot to accomplish this offseason, as Jackson is looking to land some good free agents this offseason, but he will also have to build depth. Bargnani’s value on the open market is a bit hard to judge right now, but it will certainly be a lot less than the $11.5 million he is making this season.

If Bargnani can stay healthy and continue to play well for the rest of the season for the Knicks, Jackson will have to consider re-signing the Italian. Just a few months ago people were counting down the days until Bargnani was gone, but now he could very well be re-signed this offseason if the price is right for the Knicks.

Next: Who are the Top 5 PGs in Knicks history?

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