With all the speculation of the New York Knicks signing a big name or two in free agency, how have these players performed in the 2018-19 season?
After just 15 more games, the New York Knicks will shift focus to the NBA Draft, but most importantly, free agency. Moves to leave open or create cap space have transpired for the past calendar year, including the Kristaps Porzingis trade in January.
With this move, and others, the Knicks have opened approximately $70 million to spend this offseason. That’s good for two max contracts, which most of the top of this free agent crop may receive after July 1.
Will the Knicks sign even one of them? It’s no guarantee, but that has not halted speculation since the 2018-19 season started.
How have these players performed in anticipation of their respective free agency, though? What are Knicks fans potentially in for? Let’s take a look:
Khris Middleton
Age: 27
Height, Weight: 6-foot-8, 222 pounds
Slash Line: .429/.377/.842
Season Averages: 17.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 2.3 3PM
Current Contract: $13 million ($13 million player option for 2019-20)
No matter which season it is, Khris Middleton goes under the radar playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. While this team never played as dominant as their 2018-19 run, the 6-foot-8 wing averaged 18.2 and 20.1 points per game in previous seasons.
Middleton’s latest campaign does not have the stellar shooting numbers to accompany previous years — mostly with his 42.9 shooting percentage — but he still earned an All-Star game appearance.
The impact goes beyond the scoring, too, including 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The former two numbers are current career-highs.
Middleton is likely in for the largest contract of his career, but it would not be a surprise for the Bucks to present it, given their regular season success and potentially deep playoff run.
If it’s the New York Knicks, it could mean they struck out on the top free-agent names. Middleton may still need a max salary that costs around $30 million per season, and while he’ll only be 28 for the 2019-20 season, is that something Steve Mills and Scott Perry willingly pay out this summer?