It’s starting to seem like the New York Knicks should move on from their Malik Beasley pipe dream.
While the 28-year-old is still technically available, Robert Snell of the Detroit News reports that he has moved back into his downtown Motor City apartment after paying the $38,000 of back rent that he owed. Far be it from us to be soothsayers of real-estate decisions, but this doesn’t seem like someone who’s actively looking to leave the Detroit Pistons.
That’s not-so-great news for the Knicks, who are among the handful of squads monitoring his situation as he continues grappling with the fallout from being the subject of a federal gambling probe. This is not to say it’s an unexpected development. Most signs have been pointing in this direction—though, there’s a chance New York isn’t out of it yet.
The Knicks are fighting an uphill battle
Beasley returning to his digs in downtown Detroit isn’t the Knicks’ only harbinger of doom. Compensation has always been—and remains—their biggest hurdle.
The Pistons’ best Beasley offer tops out at $7.2 million in Year 1. Nine other teams have the ability to offer him more.
New York isn’t one of them. It is limited to dangling a veteran’s minimum, which would pay him around $2.9 million. (Note: It would only count as $2.3 million against the Knicks’ cap sheet.) Beasley is not expected to consider offers in this range. Writing for The Stein Line, Jake Fischer confirmed as much, while still identifying New York as a team tracking this situation.
This all makes sense considering Beasley was initially expected to sign a three-year, $42 million deal before the federal gambling probe sent his offseason careening down a slippery slope. Even with his lingering baggage, the Knicks will need some help—and luck—to scoop up what would be one of the summer’s biggest heists.
New York’s best path to signing Malik Beasley remains the same
Promising the career sharpshooter a spot in the starting five is the Knicks’ best, maybe only, shot at winning these sweepstakes. The chance for Beasley to play a role on a contender not even the Pistons are prepared to offer might just supersede the $4.3 million extra they can pay him next season.
Granted, this is still a reach. Detroit can promise Beasley noticeably more money over the longer term, and can also play up the additional cash he could make next summer when it has his Early Bird rights.
That last part is tough to beat. Beasley would need to have another standout campaign to get Early Bird rights-type money on the open market next summer if he’s not a member of the Pistons. And that money won’t be coming from New York, which is speeding toward second-apron restrictions in 2026.
Maybe Beasley’s history with Knicks Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas from the duo’s days together with the Minnesota Timberwolves works in New York’s favor. Or perhaps a starting role and the opportunity to command full-non-taxpayer-mid-level-exception offers it might create is enough to reel him in.
Beyond that, though, the Knicks do not have much going for them.