New York Knicks: Remaining Free Agents To Target
Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks new president of basketball operations Phil Jackson (right) talks with Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan at a press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
The New York Knicks have been able to land three free agents thus far during the NBA Free Agency period. They were able to sign shooting guard Arron Afflalo away from the Portland Trail Blazers with a two year, $16 million deal with the second year being a player option. The second player they were able to sign was center Robin Lopez, also formally of the Blazers. He was given a lucrative four-year, $54 million contract to help fill the void in the middle for the Knicks. The Knicks followed that up by adding Derrick Williams, formerly of the Sacramento Kings, to a two-year, $10 million deal.
All three players are upgrades for a Knicks roster that was as barren as any in the NBA. None of the players signed will wow many people, as they are not household or flashy names, but both fill a need and know their role. Those are the types of players the Knicks should be targeting, as they weren’t armed with much in the way of winning to entice big name free agents such as LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan or Marc Gasol.
Because of that, it is imperative the Knicks build their roster so that in future offseasons they may be in better position to entice the bigger named players to play in the Big Apple. Drafting Kristaps Porzingis fourth overall, and trading for Jerian Grant during the 2015 NBA Draft, and stashing Guillermo Hernangomez overseas could give the Knicks a young core to start building around. Afflalo and Lopez will help build the roster as well, as they now give the Knicks a respectable starting lineup alongside Jose Calderon and Carmelo Anthony, while Williams gives them some depth on the wing.
That leaves the Knicks with at least one open spot in their starting lineup. After signing Afflalo and Lopez, the Knicks have about $7 million in cap space remaining before they have to start using minimums and exceptions. Add the $5 million now for Williams, and the Knicks have about $2 million left Luckily for them, there are still a number of solid players available for the Knicks to sign that will help them fill out their rotation and roster, and possibly step into a starting role if the Knicks need.
Right now, there looks to be a spot open at shooting guard. There could be one at point guard also if the Knicks can find a taker for Calderon, someone the Knicks have been looking to move for a little while now. But, since he is on the roster still right now, we will assume he will retain the starting point guard role for the 2015-16 should he remain on the roster. That leaves the Knicks needing either a small forward or power forward for the starting lineup, depending on what they do with Anthony.
With that in mind, and knowing what the Knicks have currently on their roster, here are some players they should target that are left on the free agent market, not including players that were on the team last season and became free agents.
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