Which Second Tier Unrestricted Free Agent Big Men Should the Knicks Pursue?

With reports of Marc Gasol already ruling out New York, and the other top big man free agents such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, and DeAndre Jordan in all likelihood not even hitting the free agency market, New York will need to pursue Greg Monroe hard. If New York strikes out with Monroe as well, which second tier free agent big men should the Knicks try to sign this summer?

Omer Asik

Omer Asik of the New Orleans Pelicans will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and should be a player New York pursues. Asik is currently averaging 7.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and .8 blocks per game, now these numbers do pop MUST HAVE but Asik stands out in more of a team setting statistic. New Orleans with a 34-29 record, has one of the top +/- for a five man line up. The Pelicans are the twelfth best +/- five man line up, consisting of Asik,Omer – Davis,Anthony – Evans,Tyreke – Gordon,Eric – Holiday,Jrue with a +3.6. The sample size on this line up is small with the Pelicans ravaged with injuries all season, but it is telling that Asik anchors a top five man line up.

We all remembered when Asik was unhappy with playing second fiddle to Dwight Howard in Houston and demanded a trade, unfortunately for New York it seems like Asik is happy with his current situation. Asik is now playing a large role in New Orleans, which he would of course do the same for New York as the Knicks desperately need a capable big man since Tyson Chandler was traded away. The Pelicans gave up this year’s first round pick to get Asik from Houston last year, so it is hard to envision the Pelicans not resigning Asik this summer. Asik helps shoulder the defensive burden alongside their budding star Davis, without Asik the Pelicans also have no one else to stand up for Davis, and be his protector so to speak.

Robin Lopez

Robin Lopez would be another ideal defensive specialist playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, just like how he is currently doing all the dirty work and battling in the paint alongside Aldridge. The Portland Trail Blazers starting lineup (Aldridge,LaMarcus – Batum,Nicolas – Lillard,Damian – Lopez,Robin – Matthews,Wesley) is the seventh best +/- for a five man line up with a +4.2. Again this shows how impactful Lopez is aside from his traditional stats of 9.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

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Lopez is the defensive backbone for the eighth best defensive team in the league, holding opponents to 97.4 points per game. Lopez protects the paint well, with a -5.3 Diff % within six feet, and a -5.9 Diff % within ten feet. As per NBA.com Diff% which is defined as – The difference between the normal field goal percentage of a shooter through the season and the field goal percentage when the defensive player is guarding the shooter. A good defensive number will be negative because the defensive player is guarding the shooter. A good defensive number will be negative because the defensive player holds their opponent to a lower field goal percentage than normal.

Just like Asik, Lopez helps shoulder the defensive burden alongside his star power forward, so it would be difficult to pry him away from Portland.

Amir Johnson

Amir Johnson may not be a sexy name, or have sexy numbers, currently averaging 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season, but he is the prototypical glue guy that every team needs. Johnson is the heart and soul of the Toronto Raptors, so it would be interesting to see if he decides to leave the Raptors, after calling Toronto home for six years.

If New York cannot obtain one of the defensive specialists this summer, getting an all-around good player in Johnson would be a step in the right direction for the Knicks.

Brandan Wright

Brandan Wright is no defensive specialist standing at 6’10”, with a slight built, weighing slightly over 200 pounds. Wright does however make up for this, with a 7’3.75” wingspan and a 9’0.5” standing reach as per Draft Express. Although Wright is capable of coming over from the weak side to get blocks, he is unable to contain his own man in a post-up situation being only 200 pounds. Most big men have 30 to 40 pound advantage over Wright, and just literally moves him out of the way.

Where Wright shines is in the pick-and-roll game, dunking anything you throw his way towards the rim. Wright has a top Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in the league, PER is an extremely complicated formula created by John Hollinger in an attempt to show a player’s contribution to the game in one single formula. Wright has a 21.96 PER as per ESPN, just for comparison Wright trails players such as Marc Gasol with a 22.22 PER, Tim Duncan with a 22.09 PER, and LaMarcus Aldridge with a 22.02 PER.