The Knicks might not be championship favorites entering 2023/24, but they’re in a strong financial position going forward, without any of the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
As Bondy outlines, the Knicks’ top earners rank just outside the top 50, headlined by point guard Jalen Brunson ($26.3MM, No. 52) and forward Julius Randle ($25.7MM, No. 53). Bondy hears Josh Hart will receive an extension next month in the neighborhood of $75MM over four years (similar to what Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported three weeks ago), while Immanuel Quickley is looking for more than that on a rookie scale deal.
Having good players on reasonable long-term deals should help the Knicks avoid the restrictive second tax apron for the foreseeable future, Bondy notes, and could help the club swing trades in the future.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com answers several Sixers-related questions in his latest mailbag, writing that the Clippers have been “fairly unserious” in trade offers for James Harden to this point, a sign that teams around the league might not value the former MVP the same way they used to. Neubeck is skeptical Paul Reed will attempt many three-pointers in ’23/24, despite talk of a potential expanded role.
- The Wizards‘ acquisition of Tyus Jones flew under the radar a bit due to the bigger names involved in the three-team deal, but he’s a solid player with plenty of desirable attributes. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examined Jones’ career statistics to get an idea of what he might bring to the table next season.
- Anthony Black, who was selected No. 6 overall last month by the Magic, recently spoke to Sam Yip of HoopsHype about a number of topics, including which NBA players he enjoys watching and what he needs to improve on entering his rookie season.
Money is not an issue for Dolan. No sense in spending it if you’re not going for a chip. Have to say Dolan has been remarkably quiet. And in control. He has let his basketball people do their jobs. Trust me, that’s UUUuuugggge …..
Knicks don’t need to get crazy and chase that big name. DeM DeR fits and he can retire a Knick. And he won’t break the bank. Rose wake up man. Get it done.
I think Clippers crappy offers have more to do with Harden saying he wants to play for the Clippers. 76ers aren’t gonna trade him for the junk they’re offering.
Morey needs to seriously start considering salads.
I find it incredible how bad Orlando still is when you consider they’ve been picking at or near the top of the draft just about every year for the past decade, if not longer…
This year they will add Anthony Black taken with the 6th pick, and Jett Howard taken with the 11th pick to their young core to try and take a step forward as a team.
If Isaac and Franz Wagner are healthy, two of their former top picks, that will certainly help, and Banchero should also help the Magic since he will have a full season under his belt. Other than those three, the Magic has to hope two of their other lottery picks, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony can stay healthy and improve their games as well.
He wasn’t their pick, but I really lime Wendell Carter Jr., and if he can stay healthy with Isaac, Franz Wagner, and Banchero then the Magic just might actually have the makings of a decent squad. Alot is going to come down to their guard play, and whether it is Fultz, Suggs, and/or Anthony they will likely need at least two out of that trio to step their game up in order to even make the play-in…
If they can get Fultz to run the offense, Anthony as a sparkplug off the bench, and then Black and Howard to immediately be able to make some contributions that will definitely go a long way towards Orlando seeing their next winning team.
It’s just hard for a franchise to move forward when you have a top 5 pick like Jalen Suggs, and he just isn’t able to provide your team with anything. Those kind of misses set teams back, and that’s why Orlando is having such a difficult time climbing the ladder..Not to mention, when you become a perennial loser, it is extremely difficult to get any good veterans to sign with you unless you overpay for them, and sometimes even that isn’t enough.
Maybe by adding Banchero, Black, and Howard to Isaac, Carter Jr., Franz Wagner, and Cole Anthony the Magic might be on the right track now moving forward. Idk, but I certainly hope so, because their fanbase certainly deserves a break and something to go their way…
The knicks dont have a clear star so that makes sense
Who’s proud “The Writer” ….
We are in this position cause we have a young team. That’s all. It’s called Rebuilding.
Most here and specially you. Can’t seem to comprehend that.
No one has more $$$$$ than the Knicks. We will spend soon. Winning is not about spending. Building a team from the ground up. Is the best way to build a contender.
What a weird thing to be proud of, that you don’t have one of the Top 50 paid players in the league? Huh?
Why wouldn’t you be proud of signing guys, and having them under contract for several years, and watching them outperform their deals???
Would you rather pay Julius Randle, an All-Star, $25 million, or Tobias Harris $40 million this year???
Would you rather pay Jalen Brunson $25 million, and have him lead you into the second-round of the playoffs, or pay Kyrie $40 million, to miss half the games and watch the playoffs on television??? Or you could give Harden $35 million to underperform his deal.
I would definitely take Tobias Harris for one year over Randle for three years.
I would also take Kyrie for 3 years and James Harden for one year over Brunson for 3 years. They have much more upside than Brunson and have shown that they can carry teams deep into the playoffs.
Any other questions?
The length remaining on the contract is more important than the salary.
@change – it’s annual salary, not how many years. And id still take Randle for $25M and pay another $15M like Hart than have Harris at $40M. As for Harden, he hasn’t won anything and Irving is just one conspiracy theory from spinning off the planet. And how many games does he actually play these days?
You do realize that Brunson is 2 years away from signing a contract fatter than ALL 3 of Kyrie’s years, and the $35 million Harden is getting this year, and anything else he makes in his career.
Brunson is far younger, with fresher legs, and currently runs a team better than Kyrie or James Harden can even think about, or care about at this stage. …. Do we want to talk about Defense??? …. How about Leadership????
Bondy is not a player. comprehension lol ……. haters got NoSense.
NYK FO has done a good job with the payroll as they’ve built a good deep team; assisted by some fortunate timing contract-wise. Still, the CBA isn’t friendly longer-term to teams with too many market contracts, even if they’re all reasonable.
Arguably the largest NBA market, without a top 50 player. To me, that screams ineptitude. To portray this as some sort of victory is hilarious.
The best players don’t want to play in NY (as a home player) because of James Dolan. Literally that simple.
James Dolan is a loser, and his loser energy has permeated through the Knicks franchise, and now by default, the Knicks are losers. Loser franchise.
They have nothing going for them, they celebrated winning a playoff round like they’re on the cusp of a dynasty.
And the organization leans into this because a mere playoff appearance means ticket prices go up the next season. Unless things have changed in the past decade (which I doubt, seeing as how they’re a publicly traded company) — I remember the diff in season tickets between ’08-’09 & ’09-’10 seasons -vs- ’10-’11 and ’11-’12. I also remember the letters that went out to season tix holders after the ’09 & ’10 seasons talking about prices not going up since the team did not make it to the playoffs. Those prices did go up after each of the 11′ and ’12 seasons tho.
So, this is one of the reasons why I can’t celebrate the Knicks cobbling together a playoff-maybe roster and chug the koolaid of “maybe next year will be better”. I honestly question whether a Board of Directors full of Dolans (look it up) give two ****s about a championship, when a mere first round exit locks in higher revenues the next season. Guaranteed.
Knicks got their top free agent target this year. Donte DiVencenzo. Knicks got their top free agent target last year. Jalen Brunson.
Knicks lost in 1st round of playoffs 2 years ago. Knicks lost in 2nd round of playoffs this year.
The very best players, tend to pick destinations that are current title contenders, unless we are talking about the Lakers.
Knicks are on the cusp of being a title contender. A whole lot of top players would absolutely love to play for the Knicks, and be a part of bringing an NBA title to NYC.
NYC has not consistently produced elite NBA players in quite some time. That robs the Knicks of having players who grew up dreaming of playing for the local squad. When someone is from NYC, like Donovan Mitchell, it is no secret at all where they really want to play.
Yea… they should be looking to deal Quickley… 4/80-100 for a backup guard? Pass. Use him in a deal involving Fournier and Grimes. If you have DiVincenzo and you’re going to extend Hart, there’s no need to hold onto Grimes. Draft another guard from Kentucky next year like DJ Wagner if he slips.
There’s every reason to hold onto Grimes. He’ll start. IQ could start, just not on the Knicks right now. DVin will BU Grimes, Hart will BU RJ. The bench will be solid and relatively deep. One star, a Butler type, is all they’d need to be considered a player.
Well said.
I know most of the Geniuses here. Didn’t believe in a Rebuild in NY. Just trash for the sake of trashing. Learn the game. Respect the people who do it right and get results. It’s been three yrs for this regime. And going into fourth yr. We are finally a solid team, a real playoff team. Time for the next step.
If you geniuses really appreciated this game. You would applaud what they have done. You can still want them to lose. But you got no respect for the game and worse no understanding.
@AL. I know you want DeM Der very much and I want him too. My thinking is he doesn’t want to come here and play. If he did Knicks definitely would have signed him over Fournier originally in free agency. On another note IQ is definitely a keeper however I don’t think he signs something like what Hart got. I have a feeling he wants more. I’m not saying IQ is selfish but I know he wants to start somewhere and I don’t think he will be a team first guy like Hart did with his option.