12:50pm: The Knicks have an offer on the table for Hezonja, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who reports that the one-year deal would be worth a portion of the team’s mid-level exception. While Hezonja is considering the offer, he had been seeking a multiyear contract.
If Hezonja ultimately accepts the Knicks’ proposal, it would signal the end of Michael Beasley‘s time in New York, Berman adds.
8:25am: The Knicks appear to the early favorites to sign free agent forward Mario Hezonja, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley.
Several league executives told Begley that Hezonja sees New York as his best option, However, the Knicks are only handing out one-year deals to preserve their 2019 cap space, so another organization could trump that with a longer offer. The Kings are among the teams with interest in Hezonja (Twitter link).
The Croation forward had a disappointing three years in Orlando after being the fifth player taken in the 2015 draft. However, he’s coming off his best season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds and starting 30 of the 75 games that he played.
They should go All Euro + Knox
“Opportunity”. Mario just wants to play tourist, in the city with the most ex-whateveryouares and late-night activity.
If the Sixers whiff on LBJ, one of the 1yr deals I’d pursue is a low cost Beasley. Instant offense.
He’s one the guys I was hoping they’d look at, but it has to be a 1 year deal, with a team option or non-guaranteed second year. They can overpay up to the full MLE for the first year to get that. If he plans on getting his head out of his butt, then he shouldn’t have any issue with that type of contract. It’s more than he would have gotten from Orlando if they had exercised his option.