Should New York Knicks president Phil Jackson target Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green in free agency? Basketball Insiders senior analyst Tommy Beer believes Green, who becomes a restricted free agent this summer, would be a perfect fit for New York.
This season has been a bust for New York, with the only positive being Jackson's success in dumping salaries to create more cap space for July. New York could now end up with close to $30 million to spend in free agency. Most people expect the Knicks to be aggressive this summer, and reports have linked the team to a number of soon-to-be free agents, including Marc Gasol, Rajon Rondo, LaMarcus Aldridge, Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris.
One of the lesser-publicized names for Knicks fans to watch might be Green, whom Beer believes would be a perfect fit in New York.
Per Beer:
"In many respects, Green is exactly what the Knicks need. He is an elite defender who can guard multiple positions on the floor. With Carmelo Anthony as a starting forward and playing as many minutes as he can handle, it is imperative that New York surround Melo with defensive-stoppers to compensate for his defensive inadequacies. Green certainly fits the bill there.
"However, Green obviously isn't solely a defensive-stopper. He can help space the floor by knocking down corner three-pointers. In addition, he is a solid passer who sees the entire floor. He's a perfect (complement) to Anthony because Green is the type of player who can score in double-figures on a nightly basis without ever having a single play called for him.
"Just as importantly, Green would bring intensity and a competitiveness that the Knicks are sorely lacking. Just a few years in the league, and Green has already developed a reputation as one of the game's more fiery combatants. He would also supply youthful exuberance (he just celebrated his 25th birthday this week) and a healthy dose of confidence."
Green will be a restricted free agent in the summer, and he's improved enough this season to at least be in consideration for an eight-figure annual salary, if not a max salary. It's uncertain how much Golden State would be willing to pay him, though, especially if a team were to offer him a max deal. Given the Warriors look like title contenders this year, it's also possible Green may be willing to re-sign with Golden State for less than his market value in order to stay onboard.
New York doesn't look like an attractive free-agent destination right now, but that could quickly change if the Knicks land a top draft pick and end up with a rookie like Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor. Anthony and Okafor, for example, could go a long ways toward landing the Knicks a max-level talent and another solid player in the $10 million range. If that best-case scenario were to happen, New York would easily be contenders next season in the watered-down Eastern Conference.
As for other potential free-agent candidates the Knicks will likely eye, Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler gave a list earlier this week.
"The Knicks have a laundry list of guys they'd love to sign, the top being Memphis big man Marc Gasol. The odds that Marc is leaving Memphis are pretty low, so the next tier includes Detroit big man Greg Monroe, Butler from Chicago and Harris from Orlando," Kyler wrote Tuesday. "The dark horses for the Knicks are Dallas' Rajon Rondo, Cleveland's Kevin Love, Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge and Detroit's Reggie Jackson."
Kyler projected the Knicks' cap space to be $27.69 million at best.
Read more of Beer's in-depth breakdown of Green HERE.
