Knicks and free agent market: Who can they sign with their veteran’s basic salary?

There are still some issues that need to be resolved in the construction of the New York Knicks.

Utilizing the veteran's basic salary, the team can still introduce an experienced player before the start of the new season. Although the Knicks may wait until the preseason starts to fill this vacancy, according to the situation in late August, there are indeed some players who may sign at this price.

A name worthy of attention is former Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley - who is no longer the target of the federal gambling investigation. The Knicks have been paying close attention to their dynamics when Beasley was investigated and the Pistons turned to other players explicitly, according to a league source who told The Athletic last month.

Sources said the Knicks had expressed interest to the forward guard swinger and kept in touch with his team. But Beasley can only join New York with a veteran's basic salary (unless a transaction occurs), and many teams, including the Pistons, can provide far higher than the basic salary. Beasley, who shot 41.6% from three-pointers last season, played a key role in helping the Pistons triple their winning numbers and is currently the best unrestricted free agent in the free market.

Apart from Beasley, there are still other players worth paying attention to in the market.

Landry Shamet

The scorer who played for the Knicks last season may reunite with the team - provided that Beasley's signing is not going well. As an experienced shooting guard, Shamet, 28, played 50 games in the first few months after missing due to a shoulder injury last season, averaged about 15 minutes per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 40% and performing positively on the defensive end. Although Shamet's rotation position seems limited after the Knicks signed Jordan Clarkson in the free market, the quality projection ability and wing depth reserves are never overwhelming.

Dron Wright

The guard who played for the Knicks last season was appointed in the playoff series with the Pacers and had a brilliant performance. Wright, who is 1.96 meters tall, is not only an outstanding defender, but also an excellent defender. The Knicks lineup is currently lacking a reliable point guard behind Brunson (I think McBride is more suitable as a shooting guard), and Wright's experience of joining before the trade deadline last year has made him familiar with the team system.

Monte Morris

Injury left Morris missing most of the 2023-24 season, and he was also in an awkward situation in the Suns' rotation last season. But the experienced point guard still has the ability to shoot open threes, organize offenses and control mistakes. He can at least become a reliable backup guarantee and can become a solid ball-handling option in the lineup if necessary.

Ses Curry

Having a large number of three-point shooters is never a bad thing, and Curry's accuracy is the top in the league. He scored 45.6% of his three-point shooting percentage in the league last season (average only 2.7 shots per game), and only a single season in the past seven seasons, he shot less than 40%. Another scorer familiar to the fans of Alec Burks

Knicks fans. Like Clarkson, Burks is a professional scoring machine; similar to Curry, he has shot over 40% of his three-point shooting percentage in four of the past five seasons. Similar to Curry and Shamet, Burks may have difficulty entering the start-up rotation, but if Clarkson performs hard, he will become an ideal alternative for plug and play.

Ben Simmons

The No. 2016 draft pick adds a much-needed height advantage to the Knicks backcourt and provides additional defensive power. But considering that Robinson and Hart (non-space players) will occupy a lot of playing time, Simmons' resistance to scoring (or even unwilling to look at the basket) is fundamentally inconsistent with the team's lineup needs.

Malcolm Brogdon

Knicks may not want to use limited cap space for players with significant injuries, but Brogdon is indeed a reliable veteran - at least a positive factor in the locker room. The 32-year-old defender has averaged double-digit points per game every year and has maintained an above-average three-point shooting percentage in addition to last season. But the fact that is hard to ignore is: since the 2021-22 season, he has played more than 40 games in just one season. A healthy Brogdon can indeed fill a gap of one or two in the Knicks, but counting on him to stay healthy may be over-demanding.