Knicks · The Unrestricteds (page 1)

In a sense these are the low hanging fruit in Free Agency. Some of these guys are quite affordable and others are out of our range, but all the same the Unrestricted Free Agents are less of a hassle for Phil to deal with their former team. A lot of guys that aren't really doing anything yet but some that are solid role players. I kept it to the guys 28 and younger.

PLAYER                  POS.    AGE     FROM    TO      2014 CAP HIT      STATUS
Kendall Marshall        PG	23	MIL	TBD	$915,243          UFA
John Jenkins	        SG	23	ATL	TBD	$1,312,920	  UFA
Thomas Robinson	        PF	23	POR	TBD	$3,678,360	  UFA
Greg Monroe	        C	24	DET	TBD	$5,479,933	  UFA
Austin Rivers	        SG	24	NOP	TBD	$2,439,840	  UFA
Greg Smith	        C	24	DAL	TBD	$948,163          UFA
Kevin Seraphin	        PF	25	WAS	TBD	$3,898,691	  UFA
Luke Babbitt	        SF	25	NOP	TBD	$981,084          UFA
LaVoy Allen	        PF	25	IND	TBD	$915,243          UFA
Robbie Hummel	        SF	25	MIN	TBD	$880,000          UFA
DeAndre Jordan	        C	26	LAC	TBD	$11,440,123	  UFA
Robin Lopez	        C	26	POR	TBD	$6,124,729	  UFA
Jeremy Lin	        PG	26	LAL	TBD	$8,374,646	  UFA
Darrell Arthur	        PF	26	DEN	TBD	$3,457,149	  UFA
Kyle Singler	        SG	26	DET	TBD	$1,090,000	  UFA
Austin Daye	        PF	26	SAS	TBD	$1,063,384	  UFA
Alexis Ajinca	        C	26	NOP	TBD	$981,084          UFA
Donald Sloan	        SG	26	IND	TBD	$948,163          UFA
Omri Casspi	        SF	26	SAC	TBD	$915,243          UFA
Malcolm Thomas	        PF	26	BOS	TBD	$635,827          UFA
Danny Green	        SG	27	SAS	TBD	$4,025,000	  UFA
Marcus Thornton	        SG	27	BOS	TBD	$8,575,000	  UFA
Amir Johnson	        PF	27	TOR	TBD	$7,000,000	  UFA
Brandan Wright	        C	27	BOS	TBD	$5,000,000	  UFA
Wesley Johnson	        SF	27	LAL	TBD	$915,243          UFA
Alonzo Gee              SF	27	DEN	TBD	$915,243          UFA
Dante Cunningham        PF	27	NOP	TBD	$716,043          UFA
Jonas Jerebko	        PF	27	DET	TBD	$4,500,000	  UFA
Jeff Ayres	        PF	27	SAS	TBD	$1,828,750	  UFA
Jeremy Evans	        SF	27	UTH	TBD	$1,794,871	  UFA
Wesley Matthews	        SG	28	POR	TBD	$7,245,640	  UFA
Marco Belinelli	        SG	28	SAS	TBD	$2,873,750	  UFA
Gerald Green	        SF	28	PHX	TBD	$3,500,000	  UFA
DeMarre Carroll	        SF	28	ATL	TBD	$2,442,455	  UFA
Luc R Mbah a Moute	PF	28	PHI	TBD	$4,382,576	  UFA
Omer Asik	        C	28	NOP	TBD	$8,374,646	  UFA
Jason Smith	        PF	28	NYK	TBD	$3,278,000	  UFA
Aron Baynes	        PF	28	SAS	TBD	$2,077,000	  UFA

k.j. mcdanials need to be on that list. He is perhaps the lowest hanging fruit out there.

K.J. McDanials SG 21 PHI $507,336.

yellowboy90 wrote:k.j. mcdanials need to be on that list. He is perhaps the lowest hanging fruit out there.

K.J. McDanials SG 21 PHI $507,336.

He's a nice young player but he's a Restricted FA, which is why he wasn't on this list. I do believe that there are some RFA's that need to be targeted but I was just looking at the UFA's at the moment since they are more free to sign without fear of a team matching.

nixluva wrote:In a sense these are the low hanging fruit in Free Agency. Some of these guys are quite affordable and others are out of our range, but all the same the Unrestricted Free Agents are less of a hassle for Phil to deal with their former team. A lot of guys that aren't really doing anything yet but some that are solid role players. I kept it to the guys 28 and younger.

[code]
PLAYER POS. AGE FROM TO 2014 CAP HIT STATUS
Greg Monroe C 24 DET TBD $5,479,933 UFA

Robin Lopez C 26 POR TBD $6,124,729 UFA
Jeremy Lin PG 26 LAL TBD $8,374,646 UFA
Darrell Arthur PF 26 DEN TBD $3,457,149 UFA

Danny Green SG 27 SAS TBD $4,025,000 UFA
Amir Johnson PF 27 TOR TBD $7,000,000 UFA
Wesley Johnson SF 27 LAL TBD $915,243 UFA

Wesley Matthews SG 28 POR TBD $7,245,640 UFA
DeMarre Carroll SF 28 ATL TBD $2,442,455 UFA
Omer Asik C 28 NOP TBD $8,374,646 UFA

Those are the ones I'd be interested in. Shouldn't Dragic be there too?

nixluva wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:k.j. mcdanials need to be on that list. He is perhaps the lowest hanging fruit out there.

K.J. McDanials SG 21 PHI $507,336.

He's a nice young player but he's a Restricted FA, which is why he wasn't on this list. I do believe that there are some RFA's that need to be targeted but I was just looking at the UFA's at the moment since they are more free to sign without fear of a team matching.

you are correct. My bad. Every player with 3 or fewer years in the league is restricted.

smackeddog wrote:

nixluva wrote:In a sense these are the low hanging fruit in Free Agency. Some of these guys are quite affordable and others are out of our range, but all the same the Unrestricted Free Agents are less of a hassle for Phil to deal with their former team. A lot of guys that aren't really doing anything yet but some that are solid role players. I kept it to the guys 28 and younger.

[code]
PLAYER POS. AGE FROM TO 2014 CAP HIT STATUS
Greg Monroe C 24 DET TBD $5,479,933 UFA

Robin Lopez C 26 POR TBD $6,124,729 UFA
Jeremy Lin PG 26 LAL TBD $8,374,646 UFA
Darrell Arthur PF 26 DEN TBD $3,457,149 UFA

Danny Green SG 27 SAS TBD $4,025,000 UFA
Amir Johnson PF 27 TOR TBD $7,000,000 UFA
Wesley Johnson SF 27 LAL TBD $915,243 UFA

Wesley Matthews SG 28 POR TBD $7,245,640 UFA
DeMarre Carroll SF 28 ATL TBD $2,442,455 UFA
Omer Asik C 28 NOP TBD $8,374,646 UFA

Those are the ones I'd be interested in. Shouldn't Dragic be there too?

Yes Dragic has a Player Option that he'd have to opt out of in order to be a UFA, which is probably why I overlooked him. All these technical details can be a bit hard to keep track of. We assume he'll opt out but he still has to actually do that so we'll see. I can't see why he wouldn't.

I do like your list as it pretty much is similar to what I would consider the better options in this group. I would think Phil and his staff are going over a plan that would include these players as options.

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

nixluva wrote:In a sense these are the low hanging fruit in Free Agency. Some of these guys are quite affordable and others are out of our range, but all the same the Unrestricted Free Agents are less of a hassle for Phil to deal with their former team. A lot of guys that aren't really doing anything yet but some that are solid role players. I kept it to the guys 28 and younger.

[code]
PLAYER POS. AGE FROM TO 2014 CAP HIT STATUS
Greg Monroe C 24 DET TBD $5,479,933 UFA

Robin Lopez C 26 POR TBD $6,124,729 UFA
Jeremy Lin PG 26 LAL TBD $8,374,646 UFA
Darrell Arthur PF 26 DEN TBD $3,457,149 UFA

Danny Green SG 27 SAS TBD $4,025,000 UFA
Amir Johnson PF 27 TOR TBD $7,000,000 UFA
Wesley Johnson SF 27 LAL TBD $915,243 UFA

Wesley Matthews SG 28 POR TBD $7,245,640 UFA
DeMarre Carroll SF 28 ATL TBD $2,442,455 UFA
Omer Asik C 28 NOP TBD $8,374,646 UFA

Those are the ones I'd be interested in. Shouldn't Dragic be there too?

Yes Dragic has a Player Option that he'd have to opt out of in order to be a UFA, which is probably why I overlooked him. All these technical details can be a bit hard to keep track of. We assume he'll opt out but he still has to actually do that so we'll see. I can't see why he wouldn't.

I do like your list as it pretty much is similar to what I would consider the better options in this group. I would think Phil and his staff are going over a plan that would include these players as options.

Agree- who we get to draft will also impact who we target. If we got Towns I'd like Monroe or Milsap to go next to him, if we get OK4 I'd target Robin Lopez, maybe Asik (I have my reservations about him, however he looks kind of like Luc Longley!).

Also I fear some upcoming trades will take a few players off the board- I think Morey might make a move for Dragic, or maybe some other team. Still, maybe have Patrick Beverley as a fall back option- he's restricted but maybe obtainable.

DAY 1, Just give MAX contracts to players that are 2way players, young, and will change the culture of the roster

Kawaii Leanard, Draymond Green, Butler

These guys are young, if the teams match, as small market teams they will have trouble building a roster
Also they would be in a position like where Houston was last season, having 3 days chase free agents because they would be capped out if not, so apply the pressure

I do not expect to win in these bids but it would put the teams (our contenders) in a position that has limited time/ability to improve

We are unlikely to get anyone except Draymond Green because of all the other salaries GS has already
They would eventually want to move David Lee and/or Iggy if they do match, as they have a lot of depth/talent and BIG contracts on the roster

I hate the fact that trade exemptions hold salary cap space, while it never did so in prior years
It should at least be changed after the new CBA and not in one season because the rules the CBA made has a loophole

I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

RonRon wrote:DAY 1, Just give MAX contracts to players that are 2way players, young, and will change the culture of the roster

Kawaii Leanard, Draymond Green, Butler

These guys are young, if the teams match, as small market teams they will have trouble building a roster
Also they would be in a position like where Houston was last season, having 3 days chase free agents because they would be capped out if not, so apply the pressure

I do not expect to win in these bids but it would put the teams (our contenders) in a position that has limited time/ability to improve

We are unlikely to get anyone except Draymond Green because of all the other salaries GS has already
They would eventually want to move David Lee and/or Iggy if they do match, as they have a lot of depth/talent and BIG contracts on the roster

I hate the fact that trade exemptions hold salary cap space, while it never did so in prior years
It should at least be changed after the new CBA and not in one season because the rules the CBA made has a loophole

Golden state will match Green BUT they will trade David Lee's contract to do so, possibly with a first rounder, definitely with 2nds, so if we luck out, thats one situation I would take advantage of.

smackeddog wrote:

RonRon wrote:DAY 1, Just give MAX contracts to players that are 2way players, young, and will change the culture of the roster

Kawaii Leanard, Draymond Green, Butler

These guys are young, if the teams match, as small market teams they will have trouble building a roster
Also they would be in a position like where Houston was last season, having 3 days chase free agents because they would be capped out if not, so apply the pressure

I do not expect to win in these bids but it would put the teams (our contenders) in a position that has limited time/ability to improve

We are unlikely to get anyone except Draymond Green because of all the other salaries GS has already
They would eventually want to move David Lee and/or Iggy if they do match, as they have a lot of depth/talent and BIG contracts on the roster

I hate the fact that trade exemptions hold salary cap space, while it never did so in prior years
It should at least be changed after the new CBA and not in one season because the rules the CBA made has a loophole

Golden state will match Green BUT they will trade David Lee's contract to do so, possibly with a first rounder, definitely with 2nds, so if we luck out, thats one situation I would take advantage of.

I'd take Lee and a first w/o protection over a young Monroe.

yellowboy90 wrote:k.j. mcdanials need to be on that list. He is perhaps the lowest hanging fruit out there.

K.J. McDanials SG 21 PHI $507,336.

I want that guy. Any SG who blocks the shit out of People left and right is my kinda player.

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

H1AND1 wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:k.j. mcdanials need to be on that list. He is perhaps the lowest hanging fruit out there.

K.J. McDanials SG 21 PHI $507,336.

I want that guy. Any SG who blocks the shit out of People left and right is my kinda player.

I don't think it is possible because philly has super room in their cap. It is similar to the Blazers' Wesley Matthews signing after his rookie year. He signed a one year deal but because a team offer him a a contract averaging $6.5m they were reluctant to keep him. They even let his back up(Kyle Korver) go. McDanials is different though because Matthews was a stand out and became a starter over time in his rookie year. K.J. is more of a project and to give him that MLE type money or slightly more is a huge risk. So if you try to give him a contract related to his value philly will likely match it.

All that being said one thing that could help is that McDanials might be a RFA that teams can give poison pill contracts too. So that might be another cap friendly way to get K.J. out of Philly.

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

nixluva wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

The Spurs paid Diaw $7.5m and Splitter $8.5m. I doubt they would let Green go for $10m or less given their cap situation and the upcoming cap boom. I think Matthews will get near $10-12m and it will take that to get Green out of S.A. who is arguably the lesser player.

yellowboy90 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

The Spurs paid Diaw $7.5m and Splitter $8.5m. I doubt they would let Green go for $10m or less given their cap situation and the upcoming cap boom. I think Matthews will get near $10-12m and it will take that to get Green out of S.A. who is arguably the lesser player.

I think that Green gets around 10 and Wes gets 12ish.

mreinman wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

The Spurs paid Diaw $7.5m and Splitter $8.5m. I doubt they would let Green go for $10m or less given their cap situation and the upcoming cap boom. I think Matthews will get near $10-12m and it will take that to get Green out of S.A. who is arguably the lesser player.

I think that Green gets around 10 and Wes gets 12ish.

Maybe but why wouldn't the spurs just match Green at $10m. Duncan and Ginobli maybe gone after this year and even if they are not they probably sign for like a $1.00 each.

yellowboy90 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

The Spurs paid Diaw $7.5m and Splitter $8.5m. I doubt they would let Green go for $10m or less given their cap situation and the upcoming cap boom. I think Matthews will get near $10-12m and it will take that to get Green out of S.A. who is arguably the lesser player.

You may be right but then it depends on how the Knicks structure the contract. Maybe they could make it worth coming our way. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens.

yellowboy90 wrote:

mreinman wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

nixluva wrote:I think we could snatch Danny Green. Spurs don't overpay their role players.

Danny Green would be a great addition. One of the leagues better spot up guys, can plays, pass, move without the ball...I would choose him over Matthews depending on the price.

I like that he's coming from such a great system. I think he be a bit under the radar.

The Spurs paid Diaw $7.5m and Splitter $8.5m. I doubt they would let Green go for $10m or less given their cap situation and the upcoming cap boom. I think Matthews will get near $10-12m and it will take that to get Green out of S.A. who is arguably the lesser player.

I think that Green gets around 10 and Wes gets 12ish.

Maybe but why wouldn't the spurs just match Green at $10m. Duncan and Ginobli maybe gone after this year and even if they are not they probably sign for like a $1.00 each.

I think that they do resign him.

Wes on the other hand, I think he does not get resigned (@ 12m)

There are quite a few UFAs that I'm interested in but the two big FAs I really want are both restricted.

Depending on who we draft, I'm narrowing my top 2 choices down to these 2 combinations of players draft/FA:

#1 - Draft Okafor/sign Brandon Knight (or Goran Dragic, 2nd choice).

#2 - Draft Mudiay/sign Enes Kanter (DeAndre Jordan would be a distant 2nd choice--I really want Kanter if we go for a big in FA).

I think it's paramount that we retool with both an impact big AND PG. No way around it--we need both. One thing that's important to me--if Melo ever went down, I'd want to forge ahead with plus talent but on the young side. Okafor and Mudiay are both 19 & 18; Kanter's 22 and Knight's 23. If Melo ever went down, I wouldn't want to be stuck with an older roster that had to be broken down again. That's my one big preference...Having said that, I'll take Dragic if I can't get Knight (and I like Knight better than Reggie Jackson btw) -- Dragic's about 5 years older than Knight but he's a potent enough player (the high shooting % from 2 & 3 and low TO rate really stick out) where I think we just say F it, here's the money Goran, let's go for it. Not like he's 40 either--he'll be 29 next year.

Back to going younger, in order to get either Knight or Kanter, I'd be prepared to offer substantial money early on in the FA process (I'd want to immediately jump back into FA for our 2nd choices if our offer got matched while the other top alternatives are still out there). Looking to make it hard on either Milwaukee or Utah to match here. Depending on who we draft--I might decide to get real bold and offer either guy the max. There will still be money left over for several lower-level signings to round out the roster after a big splash.

Not sold on Karl-Anthony Towns btw. Of course I see the potential but I just don't know if that young fella will be ready to step in and have an immediate impact like I think an Okafor or Mudiay could. All of these top players in the draft will require some time to adjust. That's a given. Now maybe I'm wrong but I just see Towns taking the longest and going through the most growing pains of these few top players. Reserve the right to change my mind--if Towns went out and had a monster 25/15/5 blk game coming up I might feel differently. As of right now though, I just don't know if I see that in him. Towns very easily may never achieve the lofty level of play many feel he will. I'm not sold...Who knows what Melo will be in 2-4 years down the line or whenever Towns is ready to really have an impact. A guy like Enes Kanter to me is a much more advanced big man over Towns (I think over Okafor too really)--not to mention I don't think Kanter's even peaked yet. All he needs is more minutes and touches--more than he's getting right now. If this guy gets 35 mins a night and enough shots--I definitely see a 20/10 player here -- as soon as this year even, if Utah ever decided to play it like that with him. If I got this guy, that's how I'd play it with him right from day 1. I'd be betting that Kanter responds well to the larger role and really takes off. Towns by comparison doesn't looks ready for that type of role and I honestly don't know if he'll ever get there. Gotta be honest -- in a lot of ways, I like Kanter better than either Okafor or Towns (plus I like Mudiay's game a lot at the point from what I can see). I couldn't bring myself to pass on Okafor but if that didn't work out, I personally think we're set up real nice with a Mudiay/Kanter combo., both in terms of talent at the right positions and age-wise.

Carmelo's body/health is a huge concern to me. I feel like we really need to expedite the process, retool as quickly as possible and really hit the ground running with BOTH a PG and big man upgrade where both guys are capable of contributing substantially right out of the gate next year. I think that's very important. Let's go after this while Melo is still hopefully at the top of his game. If not, my silver lining--if the worst ever happened with Melo injury-wise God forbid, we then forge ahead with 2 real solid young players we acquire in this draft and FA -- the younger the better in a way, hoping to have a young enough/good enough nucleus left over to move forward with. Without Melo, I'm OK being patient, rebuilding from scratch with project-types even if it came down to it. With Melo headlining, I think there needs to be more of an immediacy to what we're doing regarding the players we target. Ideally I'd like to acquire players that fit both categories -- young, yet ready to go and have legit impact.