In a somewhat-awkward twist of fate, Delon Wright is leaving the New York Knicks to sign with the Indiana Pacers squad that bounced them from the Eastern Conference Finals. This transaction is pending a physical.
News of Wright’s departure, as first relayed by Tony East of Locked On Pacers and Forbes, is only surprising relative to where he’s going. Even with Tyrese Haliburton out for all of next season, Indiana could use dependable wing play, reliable shooting or a more proven starting center.
Wright’s overall exit from New York, though, is a development that was set in stone long ago.
The Knicks have their eyes on other reserves
The Knicks technically moved on from Wright before he could officially leave them. In many ways, Jordan Clarkson helped show him the door, by pitching himself to New York at the start of free agency.
While predominantly seen as a replacement for Cameron Payne, who has also officially left the team, Clarkson’s arrival subsumed an available guard spot. New York only has so many of them to go around.
If Clarkson’s signing wasn’t the beginning of the end for Wright, the most recent wave of transactions spelled it all out. The Knicks currently have Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet, and Garrison Mathews on training-camp deals, with just one available veteran’s minimum deal left to offer.
Now, the front office has designs on opening up a second veteran’s minimum spot. But Leon Rose and Co. are traveling down this path, in all likelihood, so they can guarantee contracts for Brogdon and Shamet.
Delon Wright no longer fit the Knicks vision
Even as a sparingly used reserve, Wright doesn’t align with the product newly minted head coach Mike Brown is attempting to actualize. Getting to lineups with five-out spacing is considered more important than ever. And if the Knicks wind up starting two bigs, as many expect, it increases the importance of having shooters come off the bench.
Shamet fits that criteria to a T. Brogdon is coming off a down year from distance, but he’s a career 38.8 percent marksman from distance. Mathews is also a certified flame-thrower from beyond the arc.
For all the value Wright brings on defense as someone who can line up versus both guards and wings, he isn’t enough of an outside threat. His 4.1 three-point attempts per 36 minutes last season were a career high, but his 27.4 percent conversion rate was a personal low.
Wright, for his part, has a clearer path to playing time in Indiana anyway. The Pacers have Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell to pick up the ball-handling slack without Haliburton, but their full-court pressure on defense demands depth. They also clearly wanted another guard based on how they tried to sign Monte Morris.
This same opportunity isn’t available on the Knicks—who are, and clearly should be, in the market for players with more stretch than Wright provides.