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New York Knicks News: Alexey Shved Signs In Europe

By Kenneth Teape

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New York Knicks News: The Knicks tried to retain free agent Alexey Shved to return next season, but he opted against it and decided to return to Europe on a three-year deal.

It looks like the New York Knicks will have to look elsewhere to find another guard to fill out their roster because Alexey Shved has spurned them. Shved, according to David Pick, will be signing a three-year deal with Russian basketball team Khimki Moscow.

The rumors surrounding Shved had been rampant for about a week regarding him and the Knicks. The Knicks had originally offered Shved a minimum contract, which he declined. He was offered the same by a couple of other teams as well, but declined those offers as well. The Knicks decided to up their offer, giving Shved their $2.8 million room exception, but he declined that as well; now we know why.

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Shved will most likely make more money in Europe that he could with the Knicks. Also, he should get more playing time and has more security as the Knicks and other teams seemed to be interested in only giving Shved one year deals. But, Shved will have an opportunity to get back to the NBA soon and up his value as his deal in Europe supposedly includes an NBA opt-out clause. So, if Shved plays well enough overseas, he could earn himself a bigger contract and come back to the NBA.

If Shved continues playing in Europe as he did with the Knicks last season, he could be in for a bigger payday in the NBA next summer when salary caps increase, or continue making more in Europe.

The Knicks acquired Shved last season in a trade at the deadline with the Houston Rockets in exchange for Pablo Prigioni. Shved was looked at as a thrown in essentially, as the teams just had to match up salaries. But, he proved to be much more than that for the woeful Knicks, bringing some pizzazz and excitement to a team lacking both in the midst of the worst season in franchise history.

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With the Knicks, Shved averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 26.4 minutes per game. He had a solid PER of 20.5 and true shooting percentage of 54.4 as he played the best basketball of his NBA career in his 16 games with the Knicks, which included nine starts. At his size he offered some intrigue, as he stood at 6-feet-6 inches tall but could handle the ball like a point guard. His ball security was excellent, as he had a 26.3 usage rate with the Knicks, yet turned the ball over only 1.6 times per game.

While some people will only remember his highlight, if you can call it such, when he launched the ball into the 12th row attempting a layup against the Detroit Pistons, Shved was a useful piece for the Knicks last season. As a combo guard off the bench, he could have been useful for the Knicks as he seemed to pick up the system well and could have helped the new guys acclimate this season.

With Shved no longer in the fold, it should give the Knicks a chance to dip into free agency and look at a player such as John Jenkins. The Knicks could use another shooter, and at this stage in the offseason, they will struggle finding one that can deliver as well as Jenkins.

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Or, the Knicks could bring in another player from their summer league team. There has been a couple of standouts thus far during their Summer League season, and with Shved now out of the picture, one of them could earn an invite to training camp and try winning a spot on the final roster.

While we won’t know what the Knicks final roster will look like for a couple more months, we do now right now that Shved will not be a part of it, at least for the 2015-16 season.

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