The Knicks Should Relax This Off-Season

Free agency officially begins on Nov. 20, two days after the draft, where the Knicks, as a result of an unlucky lottery, will draft eighth.

Right now, the Knicks do not have a single player who can be considered a surefire contributor to a championship team. This isn’t ideal, but it’s not terrible, either. It means the Knicks aren’t closely tied to anyone, allowing for greater flexibility when it comes to trades. The closest to a cornerstone is RJ Barrett, who was drafted third in 2019. His rookie year was inconsistent, as he averaged 14.3 points, 5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting about 40 percent. He did not make either of the two All N.B.A. rookie teams, but showed flashes of star potential.

Here is a look at what the Knicks might be able to accomplish this off-season.

How much cap space do the Knicks have?

A lot, and maybe even more than they expect. The N.B.A. announced this week that the league salary cap would be $109.1 million and the luxury tax level would be $132.6 million. The Knicks have approximately $82 million tied up in salary right now, not including their first-round draft picks, leaving them as one of the few teams with substantial cap space (roughly between $20 million and $30 million). This is enough to acquire a player who commands a maximum level contract, either through trade or free agency. And that $82 million number is flexible, depending on what contracts the Knicks choose to guarantee next year.

Surely some of that cap space will be used on the Knicks’ current players.

The Knicks have several players who are either under a team option or non-guaranteed contracts for next season. They have team options on Bobby Portis’s $15 million contract and on Theo Pinson’s, which is slightly less than $2 million. Maurice Harkless and Damyean Dotson are both unrestricted free agents.

Other players, like Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson, have only a small portion of their contracts — about $1 million — guaranteed for next season.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/sports/basketball/knicks-offseason.html