NBA Free Agency 2016: 5 targets New York Knicks

The Knicks could potentially fight their way back to supremacy on the East Coast – if they recruit the right talent, that is. 

The free agency period hasn’t even officially begun yet, and apparently, the New York Knicks are already on the verge of out-Knicking themselves.

According to several sources, the Knicks front office intends to sign Joakim Noah to a $18 million per year contract – effectively reuniting him with his former Chicago Bulls compatriot and newly minted Knick, Derrick Rose.

On paper, that sounds like a nice little reunion story that could play alongside the likes of Hamilton or The Color Purple on Broadway, but who are they trying to fool? That’s an outlandish price to pay for a former All-Star whose spirit remains strong despite the deterioration of his body.

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Signing Noah to a more reasonable contract would be both understandable and laudable, but as we’ve come to know during the past decade-and-a-half, that’s not really the Knickerbocker way. Next thing you know, we’ll probably hear a report that 38-year-old Stephen Jackson signed a five year, $25 million contract with a no trade clause. (That’s highly unlikely, but at the same time, we’re talking about the KNICKS.)

However, knowing the kind of brilliant, holistically transcendent basketball mind that Phil Jackson keeps locked away in that giant gray noggin, the Knicks could sign the players necessary to make the push toward consistent success this off-season.

We’re starting to see that he was right about Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony is (inexplicably) in for the long haul, and if Rose can somehow stay healthy enough to make a difference, the Knicks could be on their way to a 45, 50-win season. The question now is, who are the missing pieces that can complete the orange-and-blue puzzle?

Here are five potential targets that could help the Knicks on their journey to shed mediocrity – if they promise not to sign any of them to Marbury-esque contracts any time soon.

Next: 5. D.J. Augustin