New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina is set to become a restricted free agent next summer.
The deadline for signing Frank Ntilikina to a contract extension has come and gone for the New York Knicks. Where does that leave the former lottery pick in terms of his future in New York?
Team president Leon Rose, who used to represent Ntilikina when he ran the basketball side of CAA, is clearly taking a wait-and-see approach with the guard who was originally drafted by Phil Jackson with the triangle offense in mind.
While several teams negotiated expensive contract extensions on players coming off their rookie scale contracts earlier this week, the Knicks decided to hold off from making Ntilikina the first rookie to sign a second contract with the franchise since Charlie Ward.
It appears they view his value as a trade piece on an expiring contract with special contract rights attached to his name a better asset than someone on a multi-year deal. If the Knicks trade Ntilikina, the team who acquires him would gain his Bird Rights and could theoretically exceed the salary cap to re-sign him.
The Knicks front office also appears to value long-term cap flexibility in making roster decisions this offseason.
💰 After exercising next year’s options on RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox, this is how the Knicks’ 2021 roster/cap situation looks.
— JB (@JeffreyBellone) December 21, 2020
I presume they won’t be exercising Omari Spellman’s option or they would have announced it at the same time pic.twitter.com/fnqUqrOYcD
If New York keeps Ntilikina through the season, he will become a restricted free agent if extended a qualifying offer. As a player coming off his rookie scale contract, his cap hold would be 300 percent of his previous salary (or roughly $18.5 million). That is not the amount they would be forced to pay him, but a placeholder in case they use their cap space to sign additional players before re-signing Ntilikina. They can renounce his cap hold to free up that cap space, let him walk, or re-sign him for a much lower amount.
SNY reported earlier this week the Knicks never even discussed a potential extension with the French guard, which suggests they weren’t interested in a long-term commitment at this time, and an extension wasn’t held up by a negotiation hiccup.
"“It is what it is,” Ntilikina said about not receiving an extension (via NY Post). “I’m more focused on the game and season. That’s what the main focus is – on and getting better every day and try to make our goals successful.”"
The Knicks are set to open their 2020-21 season against the Indiana Pacers.
While new coach Tom Thibodeau has kept his starting lineup and expected rotation tight to the vest, we know he will likely go about 10 players deep, which could leave Ntilikina on the outside looking in, given the depth of guards on the roster.