Usually near the end of the Las Vegas Summer League, the NBA offseason is largely settled.
There are obvious open wires with stars like Damien Lillard And James Harden are actively seeking trades with their teams, but for the Knicks, their rotation is basically set.
New York has earned a quiet offseason to build on last year’s strong momentum, and a chance to prove that 2022’s dramatic decline won’t be repeated. Still, many hoped the Knicks would have or do even more.
New York returns most of their roster from last season, barring trades Obi Toppinleaving Derrick Rose walk and sign Donte Di Vincenzo. They are apparently done with managing this offseason, but is it due to a choice or a lack of options?
Here’s a look at the potential moves left for the Knicks.
Sign a fringe free agent
The Knicks are capped and used their mid-level exception on DiVincenzo, but they can still sign someone for their $4.5 million BAE or the veteran minimum.
Unfortunately, the latter triggers luxury tax bills, which may force New York to opt for a minimal signature or pass altogether.
Either way, they have holes in the roster that need to be filled, and decent talent is always available. They could also target veterans in order to fill the void in the locker room left by Rose and earlier Taj Gibson.
Another option might be to consider a backup four to replace Toppin. For example, Trendon Watford And Derrick Jones Jr. are two guys capable of taking on this role that could take the salary that New York offers.
There are also reasons the Knicks aren’t going that route. They might find an undrafted rookie or another Summer League entrant they consider rotational talent who wants to keep the roster spot.
Money is another issue, as mentioned earlier. Nor can they promise a potential signer many minutes.
Trade Evan Fournier
The likeliest remaining move for the Knicks would be to trade Fournier, their star 2021 offseason free agent signing who came out of rotation last season.
Fournier is on an expiring $18 million contract with no minutes in sight except injuries to the New York wings.
Naturally, the Knicks want to use all of their roster spots, free up a salary and send the veteran somewhere he can see some action, but they might want to wait. The upfront and opportunity costs of dealing with him could mean he enters training camp with the team.
First, if New York just wants to dump Fournier’s salaries, it will cost them equity. While there’s a case for him bringing the shot to a team, look no further than Brooklyn’s expedition of Joe Harrisan arguably better player on a similar contract that they had to pack with two second-round picks to deal with.
The Knicks may not be willing to incur an additional expense after using picks to ship other signed contracts in 2021, especially when Fournier’s deal may increase in value. Due to new cap limits imposed by the new CBA, Fournier’s large expiring contract could become an asset instead of a liability by the trade deadline.
They could also use it as a salary filler by then in any trade for a major upgrade, the likely high salary of which needs to be matched somehow.
Make a big splash trade
We’ve been waiting more than three years for this front office to take a big step forward for a star player, and the impatience of many is reaching a boiling point. Management remained patient, not jumping on any available name and deliberately negotiating for those they wanted.
Currently, Harden and Lillard are openly available, but the Knicks don’t seem keen on adding defensively questionable scoring guards to a Jalen Brunson-the directed rear area.
guys like Paul George, Karl Anthony Towns And Zach LaVine have appeared in rumors, but it seems their asking prices are way too high.
The question remains, who really fits the Knicks’ profile and is worth giving up all those assets? There is no one visible at the moment.