We’re a little less than two days away from the start of free agency. If you’re a New York Knicks fan who’s still reeling from the draft, it’s time to shift your attention. If the front office’s efforts pay off, Jalen Brunson will be the newest Knick.
In order to get there, though, New York’s going to have to clear more cap space. Right now, the organization has cleared around $12 million. In the coming hours, the Knicks are expected to make a flurry of moves, whether it be waiving a player or making a trade or two.
What are the New York Knicks expected to do in free agency?
All of this is being done to clear enough space to sign Brunson. A few weeks ago, it was assumed that he’d re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, the team that drafted him at No. 33 in 2018. Mark Cuban might be able to offer the 25-year-old guard the most money, but Cuban can’t compete with Brunson’s ties to New York.
It’s time to look at the moves that the Knicks are rumored to make, and we’re going to start with perhaps the most bittersweet move of all.
5: Waiving Taj Gibson
This move isn’t unexpected, but it’s still going to hurt fans because it’s Taj Gibson. The 37-year-old center has spent 13 seasons in the league and has played under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, Minnesota, and New York. In case you can’t tell, Gibson is Thibodeau’s favorite player.
But Thibodeau is behind the scenes working to lure Brunson to the Knicks, and waiving Gibson and his $5.2 million non-guaranteed salary for 2022-23 would help to create space. That’s something that HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto mentioned and that belief has been echoed.
At this point in his career, Gibson’s presence in the locker room is more valuable than his presence on the court. After averaging 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 70 games for the Timberwolves in 2018-19, the center hasn’t hit a double-digits average. In 2021-22, Gibson averaged 4.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 18.2 minutes in 52 games.
Not having Gibson on the roster in 2022-23 won’t hinder the team’s talent, but that doesn’t mean that waiving him won’t be a tough decision to make. It’s always a bonus to have a player like Gibson on the roster, especially for a young team like the Knicks. But Brunson’s the priority now.
4: Dumping Cam Reddish’s salary
New York used a first-round pick and Kevin Knox, the No. 9 pick in 2019, to trade for Cam Reddish in January. Confusion ensued afterwards when Thibodeau limited Reddish’s minutes, which is something that the coach is known all too well for doing.
And the 22-year-old’s already shortened season in New York came to an end a month before the regular-season finale after he suffered a right shoulder separation. Back on Mar. 10, the question was raised if Reddish had already played in his final game with the Knicks, and here we are nearly four months later asking the same question.
According to Scotto, New York reportedly included Reddish in a deal for Jaden Ivey, but that deal never materialized. He’s set to make a little under $6 million in 2022-23.
Because Reddish is still very young, he’s drawn trade interest. Before the trade deadline, the Lakers were reportedly close to trading for Reddish, so he could be in Los Angeles next year.
The Knicks haven’t gotten anything close to the best version of Reddish, but that’s because he only played in 15 games before he got hurt. If he isn’t in New York next year, hopefully he’ll be in an environment where he’s able to showcase his talents (just not in games against the Knicks).
3: A Nerlens Noel trade
Most fans are waiting on the edge of their seats to learn what happens with Mitchell Robinson. The rumors have been jumping back and forth between him staying or leaving, but according to Marc Stein (subscription required), the Knicks are close to re-signing the 24-year-old center.
And on Tuesday, Ian Begley wrote: “The Knicks are considering converting Jericho Sims’ contract to a standard deal, per SNY sources.” What does that mean for Nerlens Noel?
Well, the obvious is that New York is working to facilitate a trade involving Noel. Scotto wrote:
"The New York Knicks have had exploratory discussions on trading center Nerlens Noel to the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told HoopsHype. Noel could fit into the Clippers’ $9.7 million trade exception previously generated by the Serge Ibaka trade. The Knicks have a surplus of draft pick compensation (22 picks total over the next seven years) to dangle."
He also wrote that if the Knicks can manage to trade Noel without taking salary back (and waive Gibson in the process), “New York could generate a total of $24.5 million in cap space.”
Noel’s set to make $9.2 million in 2022-23 and has a $9.9 club option for 2023-24. The 28-year-old was limited to 25 games this past season due to an injury, but in 2020-21, he averaged 5.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in 64 games (41 starts).
It seems as if the Knicks are ready to move forward with Sims as the backup for Robinson, but that’s if things go as expected.
2: An Alec Burks trade
Thibodeau tried, and failed, to transform Alec Burks from a wing to a point guard. And even though it was clearly a failure, Thibodeau didn’t give up hope on Burks, although he should’ve.
And now that New York’s in pursuit of an actual point guard, which will likely end up being Brunson, the Knicks are reportedly engaged in trade talks surrounding Burks. According to Ian Begley, the Boston Celtics have expressed interest in Burks.
It came out last Wednesday, a day before the draft, that the 30-year-old guard underwent foot surgery after the end of the season. That understandably impacted his trade value on draft night, but as Begley wrote, he’s expected to be ready for the 2022-23 season.
Burks is going to make $10 million next season and has a $10.5 million club option for 2023-24. Like Noel, if the Knicks could trade Burks without taking any salary back, that’d create about the amount of space needed to sign Brunson.
Most fans would be happy to see Burks go, but to no fault of his own. He was put in a position that he couldn’t succeed in, which is Thibodeau’s fault. Burks did what he could with a messy situation, and that’s something that fans should be grateful for.
But man, won’t it be nice to have an actual point guard play at the one next year?
1: The end all be all
All of the aforementioned moves are being considered for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to have the cap space to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency. The expectation is that Brunson is going to sign a four-year, $100+ million contract with the Knicks.
It was once assumed that Brunson would re-sign with the Mavericks, but Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer said that it’s “more likely than not” that he’s going to sign with New York, not Dallas. And he’s not the only one who has reported that.
i'll add to the chorus: the Mavericks have had a belief for at least the past couple weeks, multiple sources tell me, that Jalen Brunson would sign with the Knicks. at this point, it's seen as a certainty.
— tim cato (@tim_cato) June 28, 2022
To be honest, it feels like all of this could be setting the stage for disappointment. Until Brunson signs his name on the dotted line, it’s going to be tough to believe that he’s actually a player for the Knicks.
Regardless, you can argue that paying Brunson $25 million a year is too much, but New York is likely going to end up paying more than that. He’s due for a huge payday.
The Knicks had to quickly shift their attention from Jaden Ivey to Brunson, which is why they didn’t keep the No. 11 pick.
New York wants Brunson and in a little less than 48 hours, the Knicks’ No. 1 target could be theirs.
Defending Knicks’ front office decisions in 2022 NBA Draft
The New York Knicks are facing significant backlash for their actions during the 2022 draft, but these moves should be praised, not criticized.