Proposing the New York Knicks’ 2022 dream offseason
By Max Hoover
Knicks Land A Starting Point Guard
Perhaps the worst kept secret in basketball is that New York has some interest in signing Jalen Brunson this offseason. They put this plan on full display to the rest of the league by sending a contingent to watch Brunson’s first playoff game this postseason.
The Knicks also just hired Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson. Yes, the elder Brunson worked for Thibodeau at both of his previous NBA head coaching jobs and has a long-standing relationship with Leon Rose, but that doesn’t make the timing of this hire any less interesting.
Before New York can begin courting Brunson in earnest, the team will have some critical decisions to make by June 29th. I’m predicting that they will renounce the cap holds for Ryan Arcidiacono and the Kevin Knox trade exception, but they will hold onto Robinson’s. I also predict the Knicks will waive Taj Gibson and his $5.155 million in non-guaranteed salary.
Those moves put the franchise at approximately $18.636 million in cap space. That number seems short of what Brunson is looking for in free agency. However, the Knicks could quickly get a number that Brunson would love by trading either Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, or Walker into another team’s cap space.
They could also go the sign-and-trade route, which could look something like this:
New York would add Brunson while retaining the expiring deals of Burks, Noel, and Walker. Those deals could be used for salary filler in other moves, or the Knicks could move into the next offseason with potentially over $28 million coming off the books.
The Mavericks lose Brunson here, but they would add a player who can help them come playoff time and get their own first-round pick back. That is significantly better than letting him walk for nothing.
After this move, the Knicks have approximately $8.156 million in cap space left. By retaining Robinson’s cap hold, they could go over the cap to re-sign him. New York could sign Robinson to something in the neighborhood of $56 million over four years. Add in signing whoever they take at 42 (such as Williams from the previous slide) to a two-way deal, and that gives them a rotation that looks something like this:
PG: Brunson/Quickley
SG: Fournier/Ivey
SF: Barrett/Grimes
PF: Toppin/Reddish
C: Robinson/Sims
Rest of bench: Burks, Len, McBride, Noel, Walker, and Williams (two-way)
That’s a strong offseason for the Knicks, especially if you’re a “Give the keys to the young guys” proponent. New York would lock in a solid young core on movable salaries in case a big splash were to present itself later down the line.
What if there was a big splash still available to them this offseason, though? Let’s get weird…