Why the Knicks’ smart offseason sets them up for bigger moves in the near future

The New York Knicks’ free agency moves are the best example of this “they got us in the first half, I’m not gonna lie” video. On free agency opening day, the Knicks wasted no time handing over contracts to re-sign several players who helped them advance to the playoffs last season. Derrick Rose got three years and $ 43 million to return; Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks each won three-year contracts worth $ 32 million and $ 30 million, respectively. Nothing too much crazy, but given that it was the first day of free agency, a little surprising to get deals with the role players first.

But then came the announcement that Evan Fournier was getting a four-year, $ 78 million contract. It wasn’t signing Fournier, a proven 3-point threat that can put the ball to the ground, it was signing him for a contract worth over $ 19million a year that was scratchy , especially for a player who has historically underperformed in the playoffs – the Boston Celtics spent last season apart. It was also confusing since the Knicks’ crying need for free agency was a starting point.

By the end of day one, the Knicks had spent over $ 54 million in cap space for these four players, signaling the all-too-familiar refrain that the Knicks were making silly free agency moves. This led our own Colin Ward-Henninger to list the Knicks as losers after the first day of free agency. But like I said earlier, the Knicks had us in the first half.

Two days after those initial signings, the Knicks hit a home run when they landed four-time All-Star Kemba Walker after the star point guard agreed to a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder to accept an 18 million contract. dollars over two years with the Knicks. Walker is as perfect a signing as it gets for the Knicks, immediately satisfying their playmaking needs and relieving some of the offensive pressure from Julius Randle, who – oh by the way – the Knicks just signed a new contract from four years, $ 117 million extension.

There are obvious injury issues with Walker, who had had knee issues throughout his time with the Celtics. He played 56 of 72 possible games in his first season with Boston, and was sidelined for the first 11 games of the 2020-21 season. He’s also been out for the last two games of the Celtics’ first-round loss of the series to the Brooklyn Nets, and in the first three games of that clash he struggled to get things done, shooting at only 31.7% of the land.

But let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. The Knicks aren’t handicapped by paying Walker a ton of money like the Celtics worried when they signed him to a four-year, $ 141 million contract in 2019. Nor will they pay the charges the remaining $ 73.6. millions of dollars owed to him after Boston sent him to the Thunder. It should be noted that by accepting a buyout with the Thunder, Walker reportedly returned around $ 20 million so he could sign with the Knicks. So instead of owing the remaining $ 73.6 million, Oklahoma City will now pay him roughly $ 53.7 million which will be split over the next two seasons.

When you look at the financial side of the deal with Walker and the rest of the players New York signed this summer, it all starts to fit together like a perfectly fitted puzzle. That’s why the Knicks’ smart chess moves this summer will pay dividends right across the board.

Aside from Randle and Fournier, the Knicks haven’t distributed any moves beyond two years guaranteed. Rose, Noel and Burks all have squad options on the final year of their deals, and Walker is only signed on for a two-year trial period. This leaves the Knicks with future flexibility over the next two years, which would have factored into Randle’s decision to sign this summer instead of getting more money in the summer of 2022. If Randle had waited for the Next summer he could have gotten around $ 207 million, but taking the smaller amount essentially saved the Knicks around $ 50 million, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.

This type of forward looking view is something we haven’t seen from the Knicks in quite some time, as a team known for handing out bad contracts without thinking about what that will look like in the future. Now, however, if by the end of the 2021-22 season a disgruntled star like Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard becomes available, New York has mobile contracts to close a deal. If nothing happens next summer, the Knicks could then become big players in the summer of 2023, if they decline team options on Noel, Rose and Burks, and trade Fournier who will have another two manageable years on his contract by then.

Suddenly New York could find a way to free up enough space for a max-type player in 2023, in a year when Beal will be a free agent if he isn’t traded by then, Kyrie Irving and James Harden will. be available – if they don’t take extensions with the Nets first – and other big names like Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic will all hit the open market.

While the Knicks often sell false hopes to their fans by signing every top free agency player every year, this summer signaled that those moves that were once considered a pipe dream may in fact be within reach. Progress on the pitch has yet to continue, and New York’s playoff appearance last season certainly showed the Knicks could be in the playoff mix for years to come. If Walker remains healthy Fournier plays like he played at the Olympics and young guys like Randle, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Mitchell Robinson continue to improve, then the Knicks’ moves this summer will ensure success will follow in coming years.