New York Knicks Rumors: Will Alexey Shved be signed?

New York Knicks rumors have begun to slow down after the free agency frenzy that left the Knicks without one of the big name free agents.

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With a lot of cap space, the Knicks were able to sign Arron Afflalo, Kyle O’Quinn, Robin Lopez, and Derrick Williams. None of those players were regarded as the top of this class, but the moves do add some quality depth for the Knicks’ roster.

Phil Jackson will now look to fill out the final pieces of the Knicks’ roster, and that will likely begin with using his $2.8 million room exception.

According to The New York Post, the Knicks have three players in mind to use the $2.8 million on, as Alexey Shved, Caron Butler, and Willie Green are three possibilities.

Of the three, Shved has the most upside, as Butler and Green are both near the end of their careers. Shved also has the advantage of auditioning last season for the Knicks after being acquired in the trade that sent Pablo Prigioni to the Houston Rockets.

After a few years of struggling with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shved would bounce around last season, as he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Rockets before finding his way to New York for the second half of last season.

With Knicks, Shved played some of the best basketball of his career. In 16 games, Shved averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. What was most impressive about Shved’s improvement was his shooting percentages, as he shot 40.3% from the field, and 37.1% from three-point range. Shved had the reputation for being an awful shooter in his career, but with the Knicks he found success scoring the basketball.

Shved would offer some versatility to the Knicks’ backcourt, as he is 6’6”, making it possible to play him at either point guard or shooting guard. If Shved is brought back, he will be joining a backcourt that has Jose Calderon, this year’s first-round pick Jerian Grant, the newly signed Afflalo, and Langston Galloway.

The Knicks have five roster spots remaining, and they may be filled by players from last year’s squad. In addition to the possibility of bringing Shved back, Lance Thomas, and Lou Amundson have also expressed interest in returning to the Knicks. Both would have to come back on veteran’s minimums.

Signing Shved would certainly be a risk for the Knicks, as his sample size of playing good basketball is very small. However, this Knicks team will need some scoring next season, and Shved did show that he can do that and run the triangle effectively in New York.

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