Daily Knicks
Fansided

New York Knicks to exercise Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr. team options

By Rob Wolkenbrod

DONGGUAN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 11: Frank Ntilikina #1 of Team France celebrates against the USA Basketball Men's National Team during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Quarter-Finals at the Dongguan Basketball Center on September 11, 2019 in Dongguan, China. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
DONGGUAN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 11: Frank Ntilikina #1 of Team France celebrates against the USA Basketball Men's National Team during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Quarter-Finals at the Dongguan Basketball Center on September 11, 2019 in Dongguan, China. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New York Knicks will exercise their fourth-year contract options on Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., according to multiple reports.

After a laundry list of offseason moves, the New York Knicks still had a few more decisions to make on salaries, with team contract options ahead for a handful of players. Thursday, Oct. 31 was the deadline, but 10 days before it arrived, multiple resolutions were reached.

Per multiple reports, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks will exercise their fourth-year contract options on Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina. Kevin Knox will also have his third-year option picked up for the 2020-21 NBA season.

Knox will make $4.58 million in his third season. This never seemed in question, since the Knicks only had one year to view him. He now has a $5.84 million team option for 2021-22 to play for.

Smith, who joined the Knicks via the Kristaps Porzingis trade in January, will now make $5.68 million in 2020-21. He appeared in 21 games after the transaction, averaging 14.7 points and 5.4 assists.

More from Knicks News

While this guarantees nothing for his New York future, Smith will at least make a guaranteed salary for his fourth season. In the meantime, he has a point guard competition to establish himself in, as Elfrid Payton vies for the role the North Carolina State product had at last season’s end.

The Ntilikina development is the most significant of the trio. He will make $6.17 million in 2020-21 after months of questions on the future, featuring trade rumors that remain persistent and his fit into the 2019-20 rotation.

The Knicks can still move the Frenchman. This does remove that for the equation. Perhaps an extra year of team control will motivate another organization to complete a deal or more aggressively pursue him, but David Fizdale’s roster also needs a versatile perimeter defender, and Ntilikina fits the bill. Without him, the roster lacks replacements for what he brings against lead guards.

The next step for Ntilikina and Smith Jr., potentially, is a contract extension, which players in the fourth year of their rookie-scale deals can sign. That will not come into play until the fall of 2020.

Three preseason takeaways. dark. Next

Speculation can now move away from how the Knicks will handle these team options, and the season can shift into focus. Roles for Knox, Ntilikina and Smith Jr. remain unknown entering opening night, and how well they play in wherever Fizdale places them, could influence their next contractual situations over the next 1-2 years.

Home/Knicks News