New York Knicks: Who could be waived when Allonzo Trier signs?

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 11: Allonzo Trier #14 of the New York Knicks dribbles past Orlando Magic defense during the game at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2018 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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New York Knicks Ron Baker (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

2. Ron Baker

Ron Baker will forever be a fan-favorite player with New York Knicks fans. His gritty play, consistent hustle, losing a contact and defensive tenacity hold strong. Unfortunately, there’s little else to his game.

Without an almost absent offensive game, Baker has moved to the end of the bench. He played double-digit minutes in four of the first five games, but totaled just five points and one field goal.

Since then, Baker has made four appearances, all of which came in garbage time. One of them resulted from a “Baker” chant, too, which Fizdale gave in to the fans on.

Crowd-pleaser or not, a minuscule role on the Knicks — something unlikely to change anytime soon — does Baker no favors for the eventual roster crunch.

The Wichita State product has a $4.54 million salary for 2018-19. New York can waive him and let the money fall off the salary cap after the season ends, but it’s paying a decent sum to a player to go away.

If not for this, Baker’s chances of being waived increase. So he’s likely locked in as the Knicks’ end-of-the-bench player for the final 66 games of the season.

That’s good news for his fans, even if his tenure in the Big Apple expires with the regular-season finale. Which seems like a foregone conclusion, barring a multi-million reduction in salary.

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