I am not entirely too sure why the NY Knicks haven’t signed anyone to fill either of their 2 available roster spots, but here’s hoping they have a plan in place.
I’ve had a couple of days to sit and reflect on the hideous loss we took at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves and all it’s left me thinking about is how the Knicks didn’t make any moves to upgrade the roster at the March 25th trade deadline.
But then again, as I mentioned in a previous article, the Knicks are so far ahead of schedule in regards to their rebuild, that making aggressive moves would be pointless.
But anyway, I digress…
This article will most likely be going live after the game against Dallas and I am praying we come out of that game with a win, for nothing more than just bragging rights because I have talked a TON of smack on Mavs Twitter in recent weeks.
As many of you know, the hill I will die on is the “Knicks won the Porzingis trade” hill.
I think the Knicks’ frontcourt can go toe-to-toe with the Mavericks’ but it’s their backcourt that will give us some trouble between Luka Doncic and ex- Knick Tim Hardaway Jr.
This is what brings me to the Knicks and their depth.
Who do you think the NY Knicks should sign to fill out their roster?
They’ve been having some injury woes lately between Derrick Rose in and out of games, Mitchell Robinson likely done for the year, and so on.
If Coach Thibs wants to keep guys like Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina out of the rotation in favor of more established veterans, the front office is going to have to bring in some talent ASAP.
I’ve explored a bunch of intriguing names the Knicks should consider in recent articles, but it doesn’t seem like Leon Rose is reading anything I’ve been writing…rude if ya ask me.
Regardless, hopefully, this one reaches his desk soon.
Here are 4 more players the Knicks should consider signing.
(Editor’s Note – This article was written before the Knicks signed Norvel Pelle)
NY Knicks Free Agent Target #1 – Lance Stephenson
Ah, Lance…
I had the pleasure of attending the same high school as Lance Stephenson many moons ago.
In fact, in my junior year, we had Math and English class together. Fun times.
Should the Knicks take a Chance on Lance?!
While listening to one of my favorite independent Knicks-related content creators on YouTube, NothinButKnicks, he cited a recent Tweet by David Aldridge.
The tweet discusses how Lance has been working out in New York for the past few weeks with the hope in mind of landing with a team soon.
The 30-year-old last played for the Liaoning Flying Leopards out of China where he absolutely lit it up to the tune of 27 points, 4 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game.
I believe the main reason why Stephenson isn’t in the NBA today is because of his poor 3-point shooting ability which unfortunately didn’t improve much while in China, where he shot just 30% from behind the arc.
Supposedly Lance is working on improving his range so if he can latch onto the team on a 10-day contract and prove he can produce, I wouldn’t mind being the Brooklyn-native to The Garden.
We all know what “Born Ready” is all about as far as on-court antics, but I think he’d take this opportunity more seriously this time around and really show the people of NYC that he can buy into the culture.
NY Knicks Free Agent Target #2 – Damian Jones
Some guys I write about, I can understand why they’re not on a professional roster.
Damian Jones is not one of those people.
Sure, he shouldn’t be anything more than just a reserve at this point in his career.
But as I discussed in my recent podcast, Jones is a solid screener, a good rebounder, provides solid rim protection, and can give you a few points in the painted area when needed.
I thought he was going to be the Suns’ primary backup to Deandre Ayton when I saw they grabbed him as a free agent.
Since then, he’d been cut, signed by the Lakers, and cut again.
Still just 25 years old, I think in the proper situation with the right coaching, Jones could be more than serviceable for whichever team gives him the chance he deserves.
Considering that Jones was drafted by the Warriors, one thing that Golden State is known for is their ability to draft well so they must have seen something in the former Vanderbilt big man.
If anything were to happen to either Nerlens Noel or Taj Gibson, I’d be ok with having to give an increased workload to Jones for short periods of time.
I could also see the Knicks potentially bringing him back as their 3rd center for next season as well in lace of Taj Gibson.
Wait and see.
NY Knicks Free Agent Target #3 – Shabazz Napier
Shabazz Napier is such a confusing player to analyze.
Sure, he gives up a lot on the defensive side of the ball, but that hasn’t stopped teams from giving purely offensive point guards a shot in the past.
The guy is a walking bucket at the NBA level.
He’s been able to improve his playmaking ability over the years, making him less one-dimensional on offense.
He has always been able to score at will but has not been able to impact the game in many other areas which has caused him to fall out of favor with NBA General Managers when filling out the bottom of their rosters.
He has some trouble with turnovers as well, so that could be causing front offices to stay away as well.
I think if he could work on becoming more consistent from 3-point range, it would make him a much more useful asset as a team’s 3rd or 4th string point guard off the bench.
I honestly think it would be fun to see a garbage time lineup of Napier at the 1, Frank at the 2, Knox at the 3, and whoever would be filling in the 4 and 5 spots for the team’s 3rd unit.
NY Knicks Free Agent Target #4 – Kyle O’Quinn
Can we bring my boy back already?
When the Knicks were looking for frontcourt depth, the names Kyle O’Quinn, Tyson Chandler, and Taj Gibson circulated, of course with Taj being chosen of the 3.
I understand not wanting to give the nearly 40-year-old Chandler a look even with Mitchell Robinson likely out for the remainder of the season…so let’s give KOQ some shine!
Nothing would make me happier than seeing a Brooklyn-born Lance Stephenson and a Queens-born Kyle O’Quinn rounding out the Knicks’ roster.
O’Quinn was a fan-favorite with his vibrant personality on and off the court.
He spent 3 years rocking orange and blue, and the fanbase would happily accept him back.
He isn’t the most intimidating presence on the block but still has shown the ability to protect the rim well enough, is a solid rebounder, and can shoot a decent mid-range shot.
O’Quinn is also a pretty good playmaker for a big man which is something the Knicks don’t currently have on the roster.
He can do some damage in both pick-and-pop as well as pick-and-roll scenarios so that would be a nice element to add to the team.
In this case, he would at worst be the 3rd center off the bench and you can do a lot worse than having Kyle O’Quinn fill that role.