Post by New York Knicks on Jun 27, 2023 1:14:07 GMT -6
Walt "Clyde" Frazier Rides Off Into The Sunset
At 36 years of age Clyde is calling it a career. It wasn't the most glamorous career. He never scored more than 15 PPG in a season. He never made an all-star, an all ITP team, or any other pretty accolade. But what he did was WIN. He came to New York in 2002, and helped increase their win total from 40 to 59. He played defense. He rebounded the ball. He shared the ball. He made winning plays that made your basketball team better. Then he left NY that same off-season, and signed with the Toronto Raptors. 2 years later he made the Knicks pay for not re-signing him. In game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he came off the bench scoring 12 points (6/8 FG) 7 rebounds 4 assists 2 steals. His contribution helped Toronto beat the Knicks and advance to the ITP Finals, where he made an even more amazing impact. Game 6 vs the Wolves, Toronto is down 3-2 in the series, star SG Brandon Roy gets in early foul trouble. Raptors are in danger of extinction. They need someone to step up. And Clyde was ready. 16 points 10 rebounds 5 assists 3 steals OFF THE BENCH. And he was named the Player of the Game. Then in the Game 7 clincher he had 13 points (5/9) 3 rebounds 2 assists in 18 minutes. The Raptors won the title, and Clyde goes out on top as a Champion. There's no better way to retire.
The NEW Killer B's
Remember the Killer B's back in the day? The Houston Astros with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell? Well Houston got an updated version of that with their two new off-season acquisitions Andrea Bargnani and Bogdan Bogdanovic. They landed both players via trade from the New York Knicks. Unlike Clyde, Andrea's final chapter wasn't as heartwarming. He didn't leave New York a champion. He left a choke artist after a disappointing ECF performance. Now he gets a chance to start over in Houston. Andrea has been a top 5 scorer in the 3 of 5 seasons in the league. In Houston he's gonna get an opportunity to regain that form due to more shot attempts. Speaking of opportunity, Bogdanovic will finally get a chance to play for the first time in his career. Hes been glued behind LaMelo, Damon, and Maledon in the Knicks guard rotation. Now hes gonna be the #1 guard in Houston. Look for a highly productive year out of him.
Steve Nash: The Knicks Newest Guard
In return for Bogdanovic and Bargnani, the Knicks recieved the #8 pick in the draft, which they used to select point guard Steve Nash. Nash was touted as the ideal run n gun PG coming out of Santa Clara. A north and south guard that loves to push the ball and shoot. He should be a nice fit in New York. The Knicks guard situation is a little murky as they look toward the future. Bogdanovic is gone. LaMelo and Maledon are both in the final year of their deals. And Damon Stoudamire has announced that hes testing the free agent market. So Nash's 4 year rookie deal brings a little stability to the position.
Damon, Nater Among Top Free Agents
As we mentioned Damon Stoudamire opted for the FA Market. Hes the crown jewel of this class. A former scoring champion. An all league first team performer. Hes got career averages of 26.8 PPG 6.3 APG 5.2 RPG. Hes number 1 in the league all time in field goals made and three pointers (turnovers too). Hes an high octaine scoring machine, and nobody has scored more buckets than him in league history. Will he re-sign with the Knicks? Or look to get out of LaMelo's shadows to run his own team? We'll find out tommorow...As for Swen Nater, it doesnt look like hes returning to Philadelphia. They rejected his extension, therefore losing his bird rights. Meaning they only have 3.1 Mil in cap space or the 4.5 Mil Mid Level Exception to bring back Nater. Neither of which is very likely. So Nater, who is a 2 time all league player and a world champion, will be signing elsewhere. But where?
Teams With The $$$$$
There will be 9 teams with 20+ million in cap space entering free agency. But the major players will be Phoenix (59 mil) and Sacramento (54.8 mil). Lets start with Phoenix. Will this finally be the year they compete? Last year they finished dead last in the league with a 19-63 record. It was the 5th consecutive year they failed to the make the playoffs. They gotta have tanking fatigue at this point right? Lets go Phoenix. You got some good young pieces in Cousy and Porzingis. Sign some marquee free agents and compete in this sorry Western Conference...I can definitely see Sacramento competing. They got some of the best young talent in the Game (Kareem, Randle, Kobe, Edwards). Add some high level free agents to the mix, and Sac might just win the West next season...But let's not forget about the LA Lakers (32 Mil). They've been smacking around the Kings since the 2002 NBA Playoffs. And their young core is just as talented with Webber, Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine. They just need a point guard that can lead this group of young athletes...Also the Boston Celtics have over 40 mil in cap room. Their FA track record hasn't been pretty. They lost Joe Smith 2 years ago. And have yet to sign a free agent of any notoriety. However, they are under new management now. ProxyBeatz is known for highly active FA splurges. He did it a few years ago with Portland. I can see him snagging some quality FAs with Boston as well. Adding them to the core of Smart, Stackhouse, and Ray Allen.
Spurs Adding Pieces
San Antonio (27.3 Mil) is another team with a large chunk of cap space. But before free agency started they pulled off 4 different trades. The most interesting one to me was acquiring Joe Smith from Philadelphia. As we said Smith was at one time with Boston, where he was a 20/10 player. In 2003 he came off the bench averaging 16/8 and won 6th man of the year. Last year he averaged nearly 19/10. Smith is only 26 years old, he can really score out the post, rebound, and block shots. Spurs made a nice buy low move to get him. But what does it mean going forward? Could they try to compete this year? Or are they gonna flip Smith in a different deal? I guess they've already made about 25 trades. One more won't hurt.
Wizards Removing Pieces
The Wizards have had an eventful off-season as well. It started with sending Nurkic and Gerard to the LA Clippers. They recieved Hillman, Balkman, picks and cash. Balkman was later sent to the Spurs for the less expensive Petruska Rookie deal. Then they dumped Tom hendersons 3 year deal on the Spurs as well by packaging 800 GM cash to the deal. After the trifecta of moves the Wizards find themselves nearly 47 million under the salary cap. Which gives them the room to sign 2 max contracts + more. One of the free agents theyll likely be pursuing is Eric Money. E Money has been a back to back all league third teamer. Hes averaged about 27/8 in the last 2 seasons combined. A highly talented 26 year old lead guard. They've been removing pieces all off-season. But thats one piece they can't afford to lose.
Rasheed Re-Signed For HOW MUCH???
3 Years 26 million dollars for Rasheed Wallace? Who was representing Rasheed in the negotiations? Lloyd Christmas? Because it was Christmas in the summertime for the Wolves as they have one of the best bargain deals in the game. A 16/10 player with 49/77/42 shooting splits making under 9 million dollars a year. Good for the Wolves. But then I read they're thinking about trading him? Why??
