Over-the-cap Knicks look to trades as free agency opens
Clippers guard Paul George shoots over Knicks guard Quentin Grimes in the first half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 4. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Unlike recent years when the Knicks entered free agency armed with huge piles of salary cap space and a willingness to spend it in a star search, they are over the cap this time. And while it may not be as alluring to fans dreaming of moves, the best option for the Knicks when free agency opens up at 6 p.m. Friday is to wait and try to pounce on the trade market again.
When a report linked the Knicks and Clippers as teams expected to engage in talks with the Philadelphia 76ers after James Harden opted into his $36.5 million option, two league sources indicated it would not be to land Harden in New York but as a three-team deal that could put Harden with the Clippers and Paul George with the Knicks. With George due $45.6 million next season and holding a player option for $48.7 million, Harden ineligible for an extension and an unrestricted free agent next summer, the acrobatics for the Knicks front office would be figuring out the math and what it’s worth in a deal.
The Knicks may not have $30 million in cap space to try to outbid other teams,but they do have options and opportunities with young talent on low-cost contracts, core pieces who are reasonably priced and a boatload of draft picks including all of their own picks as well as conditional picks from Washington, Dallas, Detroit and Milwaukee. And of all of the pieces, Jalen Brunson is the only one that is untouchable.
The Knicks completed some of their own homework Thursday. Josh Hart picked up his $12.96 million player option, providing the Knicks with flexibility in moves this summer — and making him eligible for an extension up to four years and $81 million on August 9, six months after he joined the Knicks. And the team picked up the $1.9 million team option to retain Deuce McBride. But they are over the salary cap and come into free agency with the $12.4 million non-tax payer mid-level exception and there are players they can get with that salary slot.
Knicks guard Josh Hart goes up against Heat center Bam Adebayo in the third quarter during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Madison Square Garden on May 2. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
But using it all up may be tempting — particularly when some of the possible targets are CAA clients like Denver’s Bruce Brown — but it also would severely restrict what moves the Knicks could make moving forward as it would push them into the hard cap. Instead, while not as much fun as the bidding wars that seem to take seconds to cash in on when the deadline hits, the Knicks may be better served by finding their next piece through the trade market. With teams quickly shifting into cap saving mode with the new collective bargaining agreement in place, the expiring $18.9 million contract of Evan Fournier could be as attractive as any player.
While Hart was the pressing immediate decision on their own roster, Knicks president Leon Rose and his front office must make decisions on other rotation pieces and if they decide to move on from players, attaching them to Fournier’s deal may get them the difference-maker they seek. Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley are both extension eligible this summer and the Knicks have hard choices for varying reasons. Toppin is stuck behind Julius Randle and seeking an opportunity to prove himself with more playing time. Quickley had a breakout season in 2022-23, finishing second in the NBA Sixth Man race, but wants to be a starter — and be paid like one.
Last summer the Knicks cashed in with Brunson, arguably their best free agent signing in franchise history, and Isaiah Hartenstein and the result was a jump to fifth place in the East and a playoff series win for the first time in a decade.
“New York has been amazing and the fans have been amazing,” Brunson said when the season concluded with a playoff loss in Miami. “It’s been really a great experience for myself and my family. And I’m already excited about next year. It’s going to be fun. We have a lot to prove to each other as teammates. We’ve got to use this as we move forward.”
Speaking on Paul George’s podcast last week, Randle echoed that enthusiasm for using this past season as a building block, noting, “I'll have to say [it] just shows you like how balanced the league is. Right? To where we realize, man, like, just keep getting better. We're not that far off. That's motivating for me in a sense, because in my mind, I'm like, how can I be the best version of myself to help the team win? … But it's everybody. We’ve got a great mixture of talent. We’ve got young dudes. We’ve got guys who are going into their prime.”
Still, here are the players who the Knicks could be pursuing when the market opens. It’s just up to the front office to decide whether to go all-in on players who would have a limited role. Does Donte DiVincenzo or Brown lift the Knicks a level? And even making a trade if it’s for the likes of Paul George, Karl-Anthony Towns or Zach LaVine might not do the trick for New York.
So as much of a damper as it is at the frantic starting line of free agency, the Knicks best be might be waiting for the market to come back to them.
Donte DiVincenzo, Golden State
A Tom Thibodeau type of player, a hard-nosed two-way player who defends with versatility. Did we mention he’s also a Villanova alum and would join Brunson and Hart.
Bruce Brown, Denver
Nuggets coach Mike Malone made a very vocal case for the return of Brown to the defending champs and that may be the case — Jamal Murray seemed to confirm it this week. But Denver is limited in what they can offer Brown and his defensive versatility would be a nice fit on the Knicks second unit — and he’s a CAA client.
Grant Williams, Boston
If the Knicks move out Obi Toppin they have to replace his minutes behind Julius Randle at power forward — limited as they may be. Williams may be a salary cap casualty in Boston with the team adding Kristaps Porzingis last week. He would fit the Knicks style of play more that Toppin with his defense, passing and three-point shooting — as well as toughness.
Eric Gordon, L.A. Clippers
Cut loose Wednesday in a cost-saving move by the heavily-taxed Clippers. Thibodeau has been interested in him before and at 34 years old he still played in 69 games for the Rockets and Clippers. He shot 42.3% from three after joining the Clippers and still is a tenacious defender.
Georges Niang, Philadelphia
His three-point shooting (career 40.3%) may be the most attractive part, but he’s also a tough player — not a great defender, but a battler.
Joe Ingles, Milwaukee
He’s got the size and shooting the Knicks could use on the wing, but at 36 years old and back from ACL surgery he underwent in February, 2022 he won’t provide the versatile defense that Thibodeau covets.
Torrey Craig, Phoenix
He fits the Knicks need for shooting and a wing defender with size. But the Suns desperately need him back with their own defensive limitations and capped out roster.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
