In a recent article, I explored 3 contracts the NY Knicks could absorb in the offseason that would also net them a little more draft capital.
The Knicks are one of the more interesting teams in the NBA right now in that they’re a legitimate playoff contender with the lowest payroll in the league.
They’re also projected to have approximately $50 million in cap space to play around with.
Why not do what other rebuilding teams do and weaponize their cap space?
Should the NY Knicks weaponize their cap space for more draft picks?
It seems the Knicks are taking the small-market approach with building their roster and if they miss out on Kawhi Leonard in free agency, there isn’t a whole lot left available that would be worthwhile to spend their money on.
Ever since Leon Rose took over team operations a short while ago, he’s made a bunch of savvy, under-the-radar moves and has been stockpiling a bunch of future 2nd round picks.
Speaking of under-the-radar moves, the Knicks also went out and got Walt Perrin from the Jazz to be their assistant GM. Perrin, whom I’ve written about before, is known for doing a lot with a little.
The man does his homework on both international and college players, and his fingerprints will be all over this organization for the next 2 decades.
Utah is a prime example of a team that has built itself organically for years because they’ve had no other choice. No one WANTS to go play in Utah if they don’t have to.
Two players Perrin played a huge role in drafting were Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, both of which were taken with mid and late 1st round picks.
So as you can see, “sacrificing” the next 2-3 seasons wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Knicks because they have very capable minds running the show now and if they plan to continue to build through the draft before they make that big splash in the near future, arming themselves
with as many draft picks as possible can do no harm.
I use the quotation marks when saying sacrifice only because this team has proven this year that they can make do with less talent than most other teams anyway, so making any of the trades I’ll be discussing wouldn’t hinder their success for long.
Nevertheless, here’s 3 more contracts that the Knicks can potentially trade for and get more draft picks.