Goodness, the Knicks are a mess, arenāt they? Phil Jackson has had his bad moves outnumber his good ones ten to one and now here he is listening to trade proposals for his most important and best player because his feelings were hurt about an exit meeting. Never mind that Jackson can talk to Kristaps Porzingis whenever he wants to throughout the season, this one meeting must be the be-all-end-all for Porzingisās career in New York!
Porzingis is the one shining light for the Knicks and Jackson is going out of his way to alienate him, rather than thinking about the playerās reasoning for skipping the meeting. At least Jackson is asking for the worldĀ for Porzingis, so even if New York doesnāt see his value on their team, they understand his value on the market. Carmelo Anthony is also on the trade block, but Anthonyās no-trade clause makes it that much more difficult to deal him. As much as Jackson wants him gone, Anthony has the final say on whether or not heāll leave the Knicks.
The Knicks donāt open the summer with any cap space, but Derrick Roseās $30.6 million cap hold can come off the books if he were to move on from New York, which would leave them some space to work. Roseās agent, B.J. Armstrong, has said publicly that Rose would be willing to take a pay cut from the $21.3 million he made last year to remain in New York, but he seems to be the only upcoming free agent who wants to play for the Knicks.
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Frank Ntilikina, New Yorkās pick at eighth overall in last nightās draft, also complicates matters for Roseās return. Would Rose take a one- or two-year deal as a stopgap point guard before Ntilikina takes over? Is Ntilikina ready to take over immediately, thus shutting off yet another point guard destination in free agency? Money isnāt the problem for the Knicks ā their reputation couldnāt be worse throughout the league. ESPNās Zach Lowe reported on Thursday that agents and players regard the Knicks as a ālast resortā for guys who strike out elsewhere, but nobody is actively pushing to go to New York.

The Knicks are in the ironic position of being precisely where a vast majority of small-market teams have found themselves many times over the years ā they have money, nobody will take it (other than Joakim Noah), and theyāre forced to build through the draft to create the sustainable success every team craves. The only difference is that New York, if they could show just a year or two of competent management, could vault right back to being a destination for future free agents
For this year, anyway, the Knicks can get to about $17.6 million in space if they renounce Rose, Ron Baker, Justin Holiday, and Sasha Vujacic, before making any trades to open up more room. $17.6 million will be just short of being able to really get into the market for mid-tier starter-level free agents like Danilo Gallinari and J.J. Redick. Since the Knicks committed to a point guard in the draft, they wonāt want to get in on the sweepstakes for a top free agent at that position, so a wing makes sense for them. Trading Anthony would open up another $26.2 million in room, but at that point they would probably be leaning into a rebuild and an older wing like Gallinari or Redick wouldnāt make sense for them. At that point, they could split their money across a host of veterans to build their depth and have some mentors for the younger guys in their locker room.
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There doesnāt seem to be a coherent long-term plan in place for the Knicks. Are they trying to do everything they can to contend in the present? That was the message when they traded for Rose and signed Noah last summer. Are they trying to flip Anthony and Porzingis for future value, indicating theyāre okay with step backward? On the other hand, isnāt a draft pick like Porzingis exactly what theyād be looking for if they were to trade him? The Knicks were reportedly talking to each of the teams in the top five of Thursdayās draft, but the whole point of getting high draft picks is to find a potential superstarā¦which they already have in Porzingis. Restarting that process because Porzingis didnāt report for an exit meeting just sets the franchise back further.