Daily Knicks
Fansided

NY Knicks: 3 free agents to stay away from this offseason

By Mark Nilon

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 28: Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns brings the ball up court against the Charlotte Hornets during their game at Spectrum Center on March 28, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 28: Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns brings the ball up court against the Charlotte Hornets during their game at Spectrum Center on March 28, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
NY Knicks
DeMar DeRozan, NY Knicks. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Free agent NY Knicks should stay away from No. 1) DeMar DeRozan

For the better part of this past season, NY Knicks fans have found DeMar DeRozan‘s name attatched to the franchise as being a realistic free agent option for the summer of 2021 and, frankly, it’s difficult to wrap our heads around the reason for why.

Sure, he’s a strong scorer in this league who, through 61 outings played, put up 21.6 points a game on nearly 50 percent shooting from the floor and has averaged over 21 points a game through the past eight years, but his style of play simply does not fit the scheme New York is trying to run and, for the price he’ll likely command, that’s a big problem.

Now, as many of you already know, it’s evident that the Knicks need to add on scorers this summer, as they just finished off 2020-21 ranking 26th in points-per-game and 27th in offensive rating.

However, no matter how much cap-space they have at their disposal, if this front office plans on dishing out sizeable paydays to free agents in a high-impact manner, they should be aiming such offers in the direction of shot creators who can excel when spacing the floor in an effort to have this team finally play 21st-century basketball come next season.

Yes, people like to bring up the fact that the Knicks shot from 3-point range at the third-most effective clip in the entire league (39.2 percent) this season, but they tend to brush aside the fact that they did this on the fourth-fewest attempts.

If they insist to continue running Julius Randle as a point-forward, this front office is going to need to stockpile solid long-range marksmen to better accommodate the All-Star’s desire to drive-and-kick.

Yes, DeMar DeRozan is of course a talented player, but his expertise would likely be best served elsewhere come next season, especially considering the fact that he’s going to want some serious coin.