Knicks: Pending Free Agents to Monitor Until Season’s End

7. Kent Bazemore, Atlanta Hawks

Position: Guard/Forward

Age: 26

Slash Line: .438/.356/.838

Season Averages: 27.7 MPG, 11.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.4 3PM

Kent Bazemore is an explosive athlete who can space the floor and defend multiple positions. He’s not a star in the making or a player who can be built around, but Bazemore has the tools to round out a rotation as either an off-ball shooting guard or a sixth man.

If he can be had for a reasonable asking price, Bazemore could be a very nice acquisition for the New York Knicks.

Bazemore’s athleticism would offer the Knicks something that the starting lineup most certainly lacks in its current state. He’s not a lockdown defender, but his explosiveness and lateral quickness would make him far less of a liability against shifty slashers.

New York fares generally well against teams that can shoot, but fall to pieces when the guards prefer to attack the basket—a flaw that rests squarely on the shoulders of the backcourt.

Bazemore’s ability to knock down the 3-point shot would make him an asset in the Triangle Offense. His athleticism and solid on-ball defense play would help New York on the other end, thus completing the case for his being a fit at the 2.

Bazemore isn’t a free agent whom the Knicks need to sign, but Phil Jackson would certainly benefit from doing his homework on the 26-year-old.

Next: Thriving When Enabled