New York Knicks: Management shouldn’t move Heaven and Earth to sign both Irving and Butler

The New York Knicks shouldn’t put the full-court press on positioning themselves to sign both Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler

Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler supposedly want to team up, and last week, ESPN published a forecast panel predicting that the two would sign with the New York Knicks in free agency next summer – among other free agent predictions.

And while the idea of forming a big three with Kristaps Porzingis is intriguing, the Knicks should not move heaven and earth to position themselves to sign both Irving and Butler.

The Knicks have been relatively quiet this offseason. Outside of signing Mario Hezonja and Noah Vonleh to one-year deals, president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry haven’t done anything to disturb or impact their long-term plan. They’re trying to stay the course and get younger.

The drafting of Kentucky forward Kevin Knox and center Mitchell Robinson helped their efforts in doing so. Of course, adding a star player such as Irving and/or Butler could enhance management’s chances at getting a playoff, or championship caliber team on the floor.

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Irving is one of the best point guards in the association. He has arguably the best handles in the game, is a walking bucket, and shows up in the big moment. The point guard has been long-linked to the Knicks, and while he’s on a thriving Boston Celtics team, there’s reason to believe he could potentially head to their Atlantic Division foe on a long-term deal – if his heart is truly set on heading to New York.

Butler has been one of the best two-way players in the league for a while. He’s led his team in scoring in each of the last four years (three years with the Chicago Bulls, one year with the Minnesota Timberwolves) and is an elite defender. He too is poised to cash in on a max, or close to max contract. And if the Knicks want to add him and Irving, they’d have to move a number of players.

One of their options – and one that appears to be coming closer to fruition – is using the stretch provision on center Joakim Noah. Doing so would result in the Knicks releasing and paying Noah the remaining $36 million on his deal over the next five years, instead of the next two. It would give them roughly $12 million more to spend in free agency. But they’d still have to trade away players with eight-figure salaries such as Courtney Lee ($12.8 million for the 2019-20 season) and Tim Hardaway Jr. ($18.2 million for the 2019-20 season).

And even after doing that, the Knicks would have to trade away Lance Thomas’ $7.6 million salary for the 2019-20 season to be remotely close to being able to squeeze Porzingis, Irving, and Butler under the cap.

A big three of Irving, Butler, and a healthy Porzingis would be one of the most formidable trios in the NBA and one that could potentially rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. Irving and Butler would form one of the best backcourt duos in the NBA, and Porzingis would have some attention taken off him, allowing him to operate more efficiently on the offensive end. But what about the money?

All but likely, Irving and Butler are going to be on the hunt for max contacts over the duration of three-to-four years if they want to team up, or leave their respective teams. That likely translates to a contract worth, at least, $30 million a year for each of them, added onto Porzingis’ potential max deal which is worth over $30 million a year itself. If management signs all three of them, they will have at least $90 million a year tied up in three players and will still have to put together a full roster. How is that going to work?

At the same time, the Knicks’ priority should be what’s happening on the inside, as opposed to making free agent reservations over the next two-to-three years.

Porzingis is currently recovering from a gruesome ACL-tear, and it’s not yet known if he’ll even suit up this season. With uncertainty surrounding his return, and Porzingis becoming a restricted free agent after the 2018-19 season, the Knicks have a number of factors to weigh with the big man. Will he ever return to full strength? Are they comfortable investing $150-plus million in him? Do they honestly think the 23-year-old will be a draw for other free agents in the coming years?

Porzingis is the face of the Knicks, and any success they hope to sustain going forward starts and ends with his presence. It’s vital that they get him healthy and garner the confidence to offer him a long-term deal because securing his services should be priority number one over everything else. He’s, by far, their most marketable player, has improved every season, and is one of the best big men in the association given his two-way play.

The other presence and storyline on the Knicks roster outside of Porzingis’ health is their youth. The Knicks quietly have a promising young core that’s show signs of growth and should be allowed the time to prosper. Frank Ntilikina (20) is coming off a bizarre rookie season, but he has shown that he can defend at a high level in the NBA and find the open man with ease.

Hardaway (26) is coming off a career-year in which he came into his own as a complete scorer and an improved defender, averaging 17.5 points per game. Trey Burke (25) came on towards the end of the season as a reliable scoring option and even dropped 42 points in a March 26 matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. Shooting guard Damyean Dotson (24) became an offensive spark plug off the bench towards the end of his rookie year.

Insert Knox (19) and Robinson (20) into the Knicks rotation, and new head coach David Fizdale has a gritty, young group that can only improve at his disposal. Plus, getting Porzingis back at some point would instill more confidence into their squad.

If the Knicks can open up the cap space to sign a max player, they should absolutely entertain looking for a star who wants to come to the Big Apple; the goal all along has been to find a star player to pair with Porzingis. But if the Knicks opened up the cap space to sign both Irving and Butler, they will have traded away the majority of their roster, have little room to add depth, and could potentially harm Knox’s growth given the amount of primary scorers that would be ahead of him.

It’s important to remember that history has not been on the Knicks’ side when it comes to clearing cap space to sign premier free agents. Before he signed with the Miami Heat, the Knicks spent multiple years clearing cap space to position themselves for a run at LeBron James and other star players in the summer of 2010. While they were able to land Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks couldn’t get a second star to ink a deal with them. Four years later, they gave Carmelo Anthony a five-year, max deal with a no-trade clause and a trade kicker so he would re-sign with them. They essentially forced him to take their money and become untradable.

The ensuing offseason, the Knicks opened up $27 million in free agency to sign a big-name player, or two. They swung and missed on Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan, Greg Monroe, and Wesley Matthews. Unwise confidence and arrogance has clouded the Knicks’ judgment in the past when it’s come to thinking New York will attract star, or second-tier players.

Granted it appears this franchise is heading in the right direction, they cannot assume anything when it comes to a player joining them in free agency. If they find a star player who has interest in coming to New York, then they should go forth with signing him, but forcing players to sign with you by outbidding the competition, or thinking they will, without a doubt, view playing with the Knicks as a draw, can backfire.

Irving and Butler are each star players. But trading away half of their roster to clog up their payroll with three players, no matter their talents, is not in the Knicks’ best interests.