NBA Rumors: New York Knicks frontrunners to sign Monroe, Afflalo
The New York Knicks are likely to add two solid pieces at the start of NBA Free Agency.
NBA Free Agency and the inevitable frenzy that will ensue are set to get underway on July 1. Adding a great deal to the excitement of free agency this summer is the fact that both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers are in positions where they’re in desperate need of adding talent and have the financial flexibility to do so.
The assumption, particularly from fans of either the Knicks or Lakers, is that the two teams will use their history and brand to try and bring in the biggest free agents on the market and rebuild their teams instantly. Given the past history of both organizations, that’s actually not a terrible assumption. As things stand right now, though, the Knicks may be taking a far more tentative approach to free agency in regards to their primary targets.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Knicks are currently in the lead to sign both forward Greg Monroe and guard Arron Afflalo:
Knicks are frontrunners for two free agents -- Greg Monroe and Arron Afflalo, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Those are realistic targets.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2015
Monroe has long been connected with the Knicks, with reports of him likely heading to the Knicks going back almost three months. The addition of a big man with the skills to average a double-double and who’s also getting out of a bad situation is a quality move for almost any team. When it’s a team like the Knicks that could use any kind of talent at all, the move would have even more of an impact.
Afflalo is the much more curious potential signing for the Knicks. Afflalo joined the Portland Trail Blazers at the NBA trade deadline this past February with full expectations of being the piece that would make the Blazers a contender. Injuries—including one to Afflalo himself—derailed the title chances of Portland, though, and left Afflalo putting up some of the worst numbers of his career.
Despite his performance with the Trail Blazers and in the tumultuous situation with the Denver Nuggets before the trade, Afflalo could still be a valuable piece in New York. He’s a player who has proven to be a valuable scoring option on numerous occasions and a player who could be a wonderful compliment to Carmelo Anthony on the wing.
Both Monroe and Afflalo would be solid additions to a Knicks roster that will help to pull the team out of the cellar of the league. However, this is still a team that would be far away from contending for a title after those two additions, even if they also add David West as reports suggest will happen. This team is in such shambles that it is going to take much more work than just a few solid free agency signings.
Pursuing players like Monroe and Afflalo is a start for Phil Jackson and the Knicks, though. With some breaks going their way in the next couple of years, this could be the start of the Knicks getting back to a place where, at the very least, their fans are no longer stuck in perpetual misery.