A few notes on where things stand after Day 2 of Free Agency:
MONEY TO SPEND?
The Knicks used most of their non-taxpaying mid-level exception to sign Donte Di Vincenzo to a four-year, $50 million deal on Saturday. In doing so, New York is capped at $172 million in the 2023-24 season.
They currently have 14 players under contract and around $162 million in salary. If they want to add more free agents, they will have to use the minimum veteran exception.
Barring a trade, their rotation is apparently locked for 2023-24. Based on the current list, Tom Thibodeau could use Josh Hart Or RJ Barrett off the bench at the forefront in smaller lineups. Thibodeau was a fan of the Sims of Jericho–Isaiah Hartenstein forecourt last season. He can therefore go into this alignment against larger reserve alignments.
AND AFTER?
The Knicks will likely continue to pursue their potential Evan Fournier trades. But by exchanging Obi Toppin on Saturday, the Knicks no longer need to move a rotation player to make room for DiVincenzo.
Is there a bigger contract for the Knicks? James Harden And Damien Lillard are both available through trade. But as of Saturday night, I don’t believe New York has aggressively pursued either player. They spoke to the Clippers about a potential Paul George trade before the draft. But Los Angeles, it seems, would like to keep George and Kawhi Leonard together to play with Harden if they are able to trade for him.
As it stands, the Knicks look likely to enter next season with the 2022-23 roster virtually intact.
TOPPIN IN INDY
The Knicks received two future second-round picks from Indiana in the Toppin trade. The decision was more about lost wages for New York; Indiana was able to absorb Toppin’s $6.8 million salary into its cap space.
The trade capped a frustrating three-year stint for Toppin. He played a few minutes behind the double All Star Julius Randle. Did he ever have the chance to succeed in New York? It’s up for debate. But if Toppin thrives in Indiana and the 2023-24 Knicks struggle, New York will receive justified criticism for the way they handled Toppin.
If they continue to show steady progress as a team and build on last year’s 47-win season, criticism of Toppin will be more muted.
One thing to note: Most of the NBA world questioned the Knicks this time last year when they signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract. Twelve months later, it looks like one of the best free agent signings in franchise history.
This makes it difficult to accurately judge off-season moves on the second day of free agency. But the Knicks have certainly left themselves open to criticism for how they handled Toppin.
LADY AND THE NETS
Trade talks around Lillard will continue on Sunday. Late Saturday afternoon, the Nets were contacted as a potential third team in a trade that would have sent Lillard to Miami. I don’t know if the talks have progressed but the Nets would have received Tyler Herro as the third team in trade. They also likely would have received draft picks for helping facilitate the deal.
It’s unclear which Nets players were discussed in the three-team trade and whether Brooklyn had any other stipulations to reach a deal. But as of Saturday night, the Nets were, at least, open to the idea of a trade that would land Herro in Brooklyn.