3. Ron Baker
Ron Baker will make $4.5 million in 2018-19, after signing a two-year deal in 2017 that included a player option. It might not make a difference, however.
Trier, Damyean Dotson and Mario Hezonja have all received longer looks this preseason than Baker, who’s 10.6 minutes per game sit near the bottom of the roster, averaging just 1.3 shot attempts in that time.
Baker’s value comes from the defensive end and energy, something that should fit into head coach David Fizdale’s unique offense, and his salary makes it a little more complicated for New York to eat, anyway. Though, with players more deserving, and after a lost season due to injuries, it makes him a candidate for release.
I know I'm not going to do play by play but when a coach is part of it...Ron Baker dives for a loose ball, gets it, feeds it to Hicks for a dunk and Fizdale strolled onto the court to slap hands with Baker.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) October 4, 2018
2. Luke Kornet
Where it gets interesting for the Knicks, there’s a handful of players with guaranteed contracts that have sat on the outside looking in. One of them is Luke Kornet, who received $1.6 million in the offseason.
Kornet appeared in two of the three preseason games and averaged just 1.5 points on 20 percent shooting in 7.8 minutes. It’s a small sample size but other big men have performed better, including Noah Vonleh on a partially guaranteed deal and rookie Mitchell Robinson.
Despite this, Kornet still offers intriguing size at 7-foot-1, with the ability to shoot three-pointers. Maybe that keeps him around, but so far, he has not done enough