Knicks Minimum Contracts to Pursue as Late NBA Free Agency Steals
The New York Knicks have so far used the 2024 NBA offseason to better their odds in the championship race.
Those efforts may not be finished yet.
The splashy moves are in the bag—acquiring Mikal Bridges, re-signing OG Anunoby—but there's still work to be done around the margins. New York needs bargain buys to help balance the budget, but the following three players would have steal potential if the Knicks could secure them on a minimum contract.
Gordon Hayward, SF/PF
The Knicks have accounted for almost everything while assembling one of the Association's deepest rosters.
If you wanted to nitpick, though—and all teams in the title race absolutely should—it is fair to wonder about the club's overall shot-creation. Jalen Brunson is a certified star, and Julius Randle has produced at All-Star levels, but New York's support players don't have a ton of go-get-us-a-bucket in their game.
Now, it's entirely possible that Gordon Hayward wouldn't change that—not as a 34-year-old who hasn't topped 52 games in any of the past five seasons. If a minimum deal is doable, though, that's a low-percentage shot worth taking.
His All-Star days are well behind him, but he's still a relatively reliable source of support scoring and secondary playmaking. This was one of the least productive campaigns of his career, and he still closed it with per-game contributions of 9.8 points and 3.1 assists in 24.4 minutes, plus a tidy 46.4/41.1/74.2 shooting slash.
Doug McDermott, SF
It would be easy to include a big man on this list given the Isaiah Hartenstein-sized hole in the frontcourt, but it's tricky to find a good match. Precious Achiuwa is an obvious target to keep around, but it's hard to see him accepting minimum money, therefore excluding him from this exercise).
New York could try turning a minimum contract into a need-filler instead. Adding a shooting specialist like Doug McDermott might qualify.
How many Knicks would count three-point shooting as their go-to strength? Donte DiVincenzo might be the only one. Remember, New York targeted shooting at the trade deadline, but the two players they added, Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks, have since joined other teams.
Picturing a part-time fit for McDermott gets rather easy, then. He can really fill it up from distance, and he's among the most reliable outside shooters around. Over his first 10 NBA seasons, he netted 940 triples at a 41-percent clip.
Lonnie Walker IV, SG
Lonnie Walker IV has more than once appeared en route to a substantial pay raise, but it appears that bump will elude him once again.
The Knicks should try capitalizing on his seemingly dry market. The chance to hold a prove-it campaign under the bright lights of the Big Apple while simultaneously joining the championship chase could sound awfully inviting.
He is a quick-strike scorer who plays with great energy and jaw-dropping athleticism. His three-point shot comes and goes (35.6 percent for his career), but he's a tough cover when he has it rolling.
Backcourt backups aren't necessarily a priority at the moment, but Walker's scoring prowess would give him a chance to carve at least a semi-regular role in the rotation.