Leon Rose has laid the foundation for the New York Knicks heading into the 2020-21 season
It’s been a hectic last couple of weeks for New York Knicks nation, as well as the rest of the league with the NBA Draft and free agency in full effect. I couldn’t be more proud of the way the Knicks have tackled free agency and the assets they have accumulated through the draft.
In the past, we’ve seen several failure rebuild attempts which have led to the Knicks being anything but competitive over the last 20 years. But now, it finally looks like the team is set to go through with a thorough rebuild, while not accumulating any dumb long-term contracts or trading for old and well-paid stars.
On draft day, the Knicks were absolutely blessed with being able to land Dayton big man, and New York native, Obi Toppin with the eighth pick. After not having to trade up to acquire the young star, this was the exact guy that the Knicks needed and also the number one on their list. Later in the first round, they were also able to add Kentucky guard and all-around proven leader in Immanuel Quickley.
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Right off the bat, I give the Knicks a solid ‘A’ for their draft grade, as they didn’t do anything stupid and were able to get two key pieces without trading any of their future picks or young players. A starting lineup of Frank Ntilikina, R.J. Barrett, Obi Toppin, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson can now be set in stone for the 2020-21 campaign. A young squad that I think can mesh well and prove some haters wrong this season.
The team also had several veteran decisions to make, as they denied the options on Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, and Elfrid Payton. These moves were not only imminent but were extremely smart as it freed up a total of $40 million in cap space for the offseason, the second-most in the league. Portis ended up signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Payton re-signed with New York on a new restructured one-year deal, while Gibson currently remains on the market.
With all the veteran free agents on the market for the Knicks, the team needed to add a good amount of depth in free agency in both guards, forwards, and a backup big man. As the Jazz looked to shed some salary to afford Donovan Mitchell’s extension, the Knicks agreed to take on center Ed Davis’ contract as well as a future second-round pick for doing so. They quickly flipped the veteran to Minnesota for youngsters Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans, adding some more depth and a future second-round pick for practically nothing.
Honestly, I was super impressed by Leon Rose basically finessing his way to future draft picks by getting creative with trades. That’s something we didn’t see from Steve Mills and Scott Perry during their tenure.
The Knicks also added veteran Nerlens Noel, and two established bench scorers in Alec Burks and Austin Rivers. The Rivers contract was all-around fantastic, at three years and $10 million, New York adds a great bench piece for next to nothing with control for a few years. Theo Pinson and Jared Harper were also added on two-way contracts, and undrafted free agent Myles Powell, a dynamic all-around scorer at Seton Hall, will fight it out for a roster spot.
The Knicks depth chart now looks like the following:
- Point Guard: Frank Ntilikina, Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith Jr., Jared Harper (2-way)
- Shooting Guard: R.J. Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Austin Rivers, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley, Myles Powell (Non guaranteed), Theo Pinson (2-way)
- Small Forward: Obi Toppin, Kevin Knox, Jacob Evans, Iggy Brazdeikis
- Power Forward: Julius Randle, Omari Spellman
- Center: Mitchell Robinson, Nerlens Noel
With 19 guys and only 17 open roster spots for the season, New York will have to cut ties with two of these guys by the end of training camp. Obviously, another trade or potentially even one more signing can still occur as the league allows teams to carry up to 20 guys on their roster into training camp. So a Taj Gibson reunion can still occur especially with the team lacking a lot of big man depth.
My expectations aren’t too high for this squad as I think there’s a lot of development to be done. But Knicks fans should be extremely excited and proud of the team for the way they attacked this offseason. While keeping the salary cap number low, they acquired a lot of future picks and good young talent while finally showing they’re going through with a true rebuild.
Although this is probably only a 20-25 win team in the shortened 72-game season, I’m extremely excited to finally get to start watching Knicks basketball again and check out all the young talent in action with Tom Thibodeau running the show. And with the upcoming highly anticipated 2021 NBA Draft class, another lottery pick might be exactly what the Knicks need to become a real future powerhouse in the league.