After falling short in their first Eastern Conference Finals in a quarter century, the Knicks are looking for any means of improvement to overcome that hurdle next year, including firing their head coach days into their offseason. With free agency just around the corner, New York has a chance to bolster their depth, albeit with limited options at their disposal.
Their biggest weapon? The $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception. They’ll have a shot at convincing a needle-moving role player to sign for that before having to resort to veteran minimum deals.
Here are the Knicks top five realistic targets at the taxpayer MLE figure:
Chris Paul
This may be a stretch at the Knicks’ price point, but what a dream acquisition this would be for the perfect playoff run. Even if Paul is well past his prime, he still brings an ultra steady presence to the offense, jump shooting, defense, plus high-IQ craftiness and agitation to the court.
He’s coming off an 82-game season in which he shot 37.7 percent from three and averaged 7.4 assists to 1.6 turnovers. He’s been in the biggest of games and can both lead bench units and play alongside Jalen Brunson.
Al Horford
A solution to their frontcourt depth, Horford may not be attainable by the Knicks for the taxpayer MLE, but would be a worthy target if so. He can play both center as a stretch five or give Karl-Anthony Towns some size at the four position.
Horford shot 40 percent from three in last year’s playoffs and is also a veteran of deep runs. Already having a relationship with KAT is a plus and in terms of sheer talent, there aren’t many better options on the table.
Luke Kennard
Giving the wings added depth and the Knicks a top-flight shooting option, Kennard would be a nice diversifying piece in a position of need. His career 44 percent clip from three is nearly unmatched across the league, and this rotation is missing some of that pure shooting ability.
It also got stuck overplaying the starting wings with mostly guards backing them up, so Kennard provides better optionality in the rotation. There’s a chance someone swoops in at a higher bid, but if not Kennard should be in New York’s sights.
Dennis Schroder
Schroder is a highly dependable bench point guard that pestered the Knicks in the first round of last year’s playoffs. He’ll consistently bring you pesky defense and paint touches, and would be a clear upgrade over many of New York’s bench guards from last season.
He’s had many postseason battles and isn’t afraid to get into it with foes while averaging double-digit scoring at every stop along his career. The prevailing rumor has him ending up in Sacramento, but perhaps the Knicks being closer to contention give them an edge.
Malcolm Brogdon
Another veteran guard that can bring the Knicks solid production off the bench, Brogdon toiled away through multiple injuries in Washington last year and is due for a bounce-back year with a higher-purpose team. He’s a career 39 percent shooter from deep and still only 32 years old, just two seasons removed from winning Sixth Man of the Year.
Injuries have been his biggest hurdle, but if he can stay healthy in a limited role, he’d be a big boost at this contract level.
Read the full article here