It has been a blockbuster Free Agency to date. A lot of free agents changed their jerseys. Joined different teams, formed super teams and so on. Notably, the team who had the maximum cap space in the free agency was the New York Knicks. After losing out on the 1st round pick, they had the 3rd pick in the draft where they signed RJ Barrett. Now it was expected that the two out of the four-star free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were expected to join a team together and with the maximum cap space in hand, Knicks seemed to be an ideal spot, both of them joined the Brooklyn Nets.
However, the Knicks supposedly have not panicked after missing out on the star free agents. GM Scott Perry who was the main reason to get the veteran players with budget-friendly contracts to build around the current core. As the Summer League starts off, the Knicks are looking to ramp up and we should have a look on the assets the New York Knicks have landed up this offseason.
Plan A for the Knicks was to pair up Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving alongside the Star Draft prospect RJ Barrett which would have instantly made the 17 games winning team an instant title contender.
The Knicks did not have a starting Power Forward, the heavily built 6’9 Kevin Knox was a PF, but this would not make an instant impact on the field. They immediately turned in for Julius Randle who had turned down $9.1 mill player option with the Pelicans. Julius Randle an aggressive, athletic PF who has immediately turned into a 3 point threat as well.
Reggie Bullock who spent last season with the Detroit Pistons and the Lakers. He could be a great pickup for the Knicks with his shooting skills which he racked up to 37.7% from the 3 PT line and can also play as a Guard next to Dennis Smith Jr. His 3 PT range is what makes him of good use to the Knicks and could be a great Ad – On to the team
Wayne Ellington was picked up by the Knicks on a short – term deal as a backup shooting guard on a 2 year $16 mil deal. A 10 year veteran in the NBA who jumped into a lot of teams who had already spent a month in New York in the part of Tyson Chandler deal has gained a lot of improvement since then where he averaged 38% from the 3 PT range. This 31-year-old could be of great usage in crunch situations.
Bobby Portis was a surprise pick up where he signed a 2 year $31 mill deal with the Knicks. He averaged 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds last year with the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. Portis would gain a big man role at the Knicks which can lead up to an All-Star status for him. Averaging almost a double-double when given the right amount of minutes could be a steal for the Knicks.
Taj Gibson a veteran into the NBA would be their veteran leader in the Locker Room where he penned down a 2 year $20 mill contract with the Knicks. He was a strong defensive presence for Coach Tom Thibodeau during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. He played an iron man season for the Wolves last year appearing all the 82 games in the regular season.
Elfred Payton signs a 2 year $16 million deal with the Knicks where the 2nd year could be a team option where he could potentially be a starting Point Guard. He averaged almost 7.2 assists per game last season but his perimeter shooting is still under par. However, there’s room for improvement and New York is a sleeping giant and a land of opportunities.
With a young core, surrounded by the vets, New York Knicks can finally make the much-wanted Playoff Push and could be a threat to the Eastern Conference.
