The offseason doesn't seem to be going as planned for the New York Knicks, as the Knicks went from thinking they were going to land both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to potentially signing no one of significance.
Still, even if the Knicks strike out in free agency this summer, they have a plan:
“Our plan wasn’t to create $70 million in room to go after free agents this summer,” Knicks president Steve Mills said, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “Our plan was to organically build this team through teamwork, drafting well, getting high-character guys that want to compete. The [salary cap] space was a byproduct of that. If the right guys are there for us, great, because we still have all the young pieces and draft picks to move forward.”
It seems kind of hard to believe that the Knicks were not trying to clear cap space to go after free agents, and while Mills may be sincere in saying that New York also hoped to draft well and get “high-character guys,” the Knicks were surely also hoping to land a star or two.
General manager Scott Perry had this to say about New York's plans:
“As an outsider coming in two years ago, I can’t tell you how many people have stopped me and said, ‘Stick to your guns. Keep doing what you’re doing. We like what you guys are doing,’” said Knicks general manager Scott Perry. “For so many years there has been detoured paths. ‘Oh, there is a shiny object over there. There is an aging star over there. Go grab the name.’ No. We are trying to build a basketball team that will be good for a long time. Look at the teams in the [NBA] Finals, the final four and the elite eight in the playoffs, it took years to build those teams.”
Again, it seems kind of hard to believe that this was New York's plan all along, but the comments of Mills and Perry seem to be clear indications that the Knicks are bracing for a cold summer in free agency.
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