Holding only non-Bird rights on a pair of restricted free agents this summer, the Knicks aren't expected to be able to re-sign both Chris Copeland and Pablo Prigioni unless both players are willing to accept discounts. With Copeland drawing plenty of interest from rival teams, it appears he's on the verge of signing an offer sheet that would end his time as a Knick, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Berman hears from sources that Copeland has three offer sheets to choose from. The Pacers, Lakers, and an unknown team, perhaps the Cavs, are the clubs believed to have offers on the table for Copeland. The Lakers, like the Knicks, have limited cap flexibility, so New York could potentially match an L.A. offer sheet. However, the Pacers intend to use a portion of their $5.15MM mid-level exception, while the Cavs have a chunk of cap space available. Both teams could offer Copeland a starting salary that exceeds $3.18MM, which is the maximum the Knicks could match with their own mini MLE.
Although the Knicks may be preparing to lose Copeland, the team appears to be a good bet to re-sign Prigioni. According to Berman, New York has made the point guard a two-year offer worth about $2.3MM. Since such a deal would exceed the minimum salary, the club would have to use a portion of its mid-level on the offer, leaving a little more than $2MM to try to bring back Copeland or sign an outside free agent.
Speaking of outside free agents, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the Knicks continue to pursue Sebastian Telfair, reaching out to the player himself rather than just his agents. It's not clear whether the Knicks are interested in signing both Prigioni and Telfair, or whether Telfair is viewed as a Plan B. But having lost Jason Kidd to retirement, the Knicks figure to be in the market for a third point guard.