Anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention to the New York Knicks knows their once-vaunted starting five has become a major problem. Incidentally, though, it’s an issue that may end up helping them in NBA free agency.
No, the Knicks do not have a lot of money to spend on the open market this offseason. But what they lack in financial resources, they make up for with a unique opportunity: the chance for free agents to join the starting lineup of a contender, and the prominent role and minutes that come with it.
The Knicks' starting five is a problem the must solve
This all presupposes that New York doesn’t have its preferred opening five-man unit already in place. That would be a wild thing to think roughly one year ago. Not so much anymore.
Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart cooked up a big bowl of unflavored, unsweetened oatmeal for most of this past season. They finished as a net negative during their minutes after Jan. 1, and were outscored by 31 points in their playoff court time.
That isn’t just problematic, or less than ideal. When you are the NBA’s most-used lineup, it is absolutely damning—the kind of flaw that becomes part or most of your undoing.
New York did sub out Hart for Mitchell Robinson by the end of the Eastern Conference Finals. That resulting dual-big look with him and Towns has shown plenty of flashes, often cleaning up the offensive glass while holding it down on defense.
Sustaining that model nevertheless becomes difficult without the addition of another big. Even if the Knicks’ next head coach finds a way to integrate staggering patterns for Robinson and Towns, starting them together necessitates a first-big-off-the-bench type.
This is a role New York can look to fill with Ariel Huckporti, or with a run-of-the-mill minimum free agent. Or it can try to swing bigger.
Here is the Knicks' free-agency sales pitch
The Knicks will have, at most, the $5.7 million mini mid-level exception to spend this summer.
This should typically disqualify them from making any sort of splash. And make no mistake, this is nowhere near enough money to get in the mix for names like Myles Turner or Naz Reid (player option).
But what about Al Horford? Or Brook Lopez? How about Steven Adams?
Typically, the answer would still be a resounding, caps-lock NAH. Impactful players aren’t usually in the business of accepting below-market deals even as they age. Especially when they’re switching teams.
And yet, it does happen. Look at Gary Trent Jr., who signed a minimum contract with the Milwaukee Bucks last summer. Then there’s Malik Beasley, who took a one-year, $6 million deal from the Detroit Pistons during the 2024 offseason.
Those cases are somewhat different, because Trent and Beasley were trying to reboot their market value. But the promise of a prominent role factored into their decisions. That logic can apply to the Knicks,
Take Horford as an example. The Boston Celtics are about to enter cost-cutting mode following Jayson Tatum’s injury, and he could become collateral damage of that bookkeeping. Other teams could offer him more money—perhaps most or all of the bigger mid-level exception ($14.1 million). But how many of them can also offer the chance to start alongside Towns, and maybe even close games beside him, too?
New York can use this same pitch on Adams, who could get more money from the Houston Rockets but isn’t guaranteed playing time. It works for Brook Lopez if the Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo and go in another direction, albeit not as effectively. Maybe it also works on someone like Nickeil Alexander-Walker or Caris LeVert. It probably won’t, but again, it’s an option.
It isn’t any harder to make this sales pitch if the Knicks want Robinson to have a bigger role. He has never played incredibly long stretches, and could be best served coming off the bench as the sixth man. This same pitch gets even easier if New York trades Towns for Kevin Durant, at which point it would need a center just to help with one-big lineups.
To what extent this works remains to be seen. But it can work. So while the Knicks’ starting lineup and overall shallow-rotation woes may have torpedoed their championship odds this season, it may now be the secret weapon that helps them conquer the summer.