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Knicks: Free Agent Shooting Guards To Complement Derrick Rose

By Maxwell Ogden

Mar 26, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) passes around Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) during the first quarter of a basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) passes around Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) during the first quarter of a basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 2, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard forward Nicolas Batum (5) looks to pass the ball as he is defended by Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) during the second half of the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Warriors win 116-99. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard forward Nicolas Batum (5) looks to pass the ball as he is defended by Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) during the second half of the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Warriors win 116-99. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /

Nicolas Batum, Unrestricted Free Agent

Age: 27 (12/14/1988)
Slash Line: .426/.348/.849
Season Averages: 35.0 MPG, 14.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 2.0 3PM

Nicolas Batum is coming off of the best season of his eight-year NBA career. The 27-year-old will now look to cash in on that breakout campaign with what could be a max contract starting at $26.4 million per season.

If the New York Knicks can find a way to sign Batum for slightly less money, it would be wise to do so.

Batum and Derrick Rose may not be perfect fits in a traditional offense, but one could’ve said the same about Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. The reality of Jeff Hornacek’s system is that it’s catered to the strengths of its playmakers.

That plural word—playmakers—implies that both Batum and Rose could thrive in both on-ball and off-ball capacities.

In Batum’s case, he’s a brilliant passer who excels at alternating between a scorer’s mentality and that of a facilitator. When working off-ball, he can attack closeouts, and converted 36.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities from 3-point range in 2015-16.

One could poke some holes in this pairing, but if coached to play off of one another—a la Batum and Kemba Walker—this could be a postseason-caliber duo.

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