The Knicks made little noise in the NBA draft, trading down one spot with the Clippers before selecting Cholet's Mohamed Diawara with the 51st overall pick. It is unclear if Diawara will be a draft-and-stash, although there are indications he will be. Now, the front office will prepare for free agency, with adding backcourt depth high on their list of needs. One possible candidate could be Dennis Schroder, who just gave the Knicks headaches in their playoff series vs. the Pistons.
James L. Edwards III of the Athletic listed Schroder among possible upgrades to the Knicks' backcourt in his offseason preview for the Knicks.
The Knicks have several veteran guards hitting free agency, as Landry Shamet, Delon Wright, and Cameron Payne are all preparing to hit the open market. If the Knicks decide to move on from the trio, they will need to use their limited available cap space to replace them with equal or better options.
The Knicks should have a $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception to play with. Outside of that, they will have to fill out the remainder of their roster with veteran minimums, assuming their goal is to remain below the haunted second apron.
Schroder is coming off of a two-year $25.4 million contract and it is unclear what he hopes to receive on t
Schroder would be a big upgrade
The Knicks had front row seats to watch the ways that Schroder can impact a game during their first-round matchup against the Pistons in the playoffs. The Knicks took down Detroit in six games, but Schroder was a thorn in their side all series.
During the series, Schroder averaged 12.5 points, 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in just over 27 minutes per game. On top of that, he shot a ridiculous 47.6 percent from 3-point land on 3.5 attempts per game.
That sort of shooting is obviously an unrealistic expectation, as Schroder only shot 34.2 percent during the regular season. That said, he has had some good shooting seasons in recent years, knocking down 37.5 percent of his threes in 2023-24.
While he isn't known as being an elite defender, he is known for being a scrappy one. He is hard-nosed and relentless and would fit in well alongside elite wing defenders like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
Perhaps most importantly, he is an established backup who has proven capable of handling the ball and running an offense. The Knicks, as simple as this sounds, need someone who can dribble and handle the ball with comfort. Schroder is definitely capable of doing that.