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While it was a deflating end to the season for the New York Knicks after getting stomped out of the NBA playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks, what they accomplished throughout the year can not go unnoticed. It'd be a hard pressed task to find anyone who thought this Knicks team would win 41 games and clinch the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Knicks team president Leon Rose had preached patience with the roster and New York backed that notion up by staying quiet at the NBA trade deadline. They have a ton of expiring contracts on their roster entering this summer. Perhaps a big splash or two awaits, and that could change the course of action with their own free agents. However, here's what the Knicks should do with their own free agents.
Derrick Rose – keep
Derrick Rose was sensational in the playoffs for the Knicks. Not only that, he was marvelous during the regular season for Tom Thibodeau as well. Acquired by the Detroit Pistons during the season for a bag of chips and Dennis Smith Jr., the Knicks could not have been more pleased with the returns.
Rose loves playing for Thibs and the feeling goes both ways. Rose being in New York is a perfect fit for both sides. At age 32, if Rose showed anything it's that he's refined his game to fit his current strengths and that there's plenty of gas left in the tank.
He was a finalist for the NBA Sixth Man Award and the Knicks need to bring him back and have him be the catalyst for the second unit.
Derrick Rose speaks on his future with the Knicks pic.twitter.com/PRiBNZwy0S
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) June 3, 2021
Elfrid Payton – go
This is the easiest decision amongst anyone in the group.
Elfrid Payton was a disaster for the Knicks throughout large chunks of the regular season and was utterly unplayable in the playoffs. It took a couple of games for Thibodeau to finally put his stubbornness aside and realize he couldn't keep starting Payton, let alone play him at all.
New York resigned Payton in the late stages of free agency a year ago and there's no reason whatsoever to bring him back next year.
Taj Gibson – go
Taj Gibson was so dang good in the playoffs for the Knicks given what his role on the team is. He was asked to do even more as Nerlens Noel dealt with an injury which limited him severely.
Thibodeau loves keeping around his former players that he's coached elsewhere and Gibson certainly falls into that category. But at age 36 and coming up the fairway of the 18th hole of his career, there's no real pressing need to bring Gibson back.
New York needs to figure out what they have in Mitchell Robinson after an injury plagued year kept him on the sidelines. After that, it could come down to Nerlens Noel or Taj and if the price is right, you resign Noel without a shred of doubt in that scenario.
Gibson's contributions were noteworthy and his teammates love being around him. But there's no real tangible evidence that makes it worth bringing him back.
Nerlens Noel – keep
This brings us to Nerlens Noel.
Noel was a dominant force defensively in the paint for the Knicks, finishing second in the league in blocks per game.
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The worry is the injuries, as they started to pile up for Noel at the end of the season and in the playoffs and he's no stranger to having dealt with plenty of them before. However, Noel seems to genuinely enjoy playing for Thibodeau and the Knicks and whether in a starting or reserve role, he fits in really well with this team.
While the price would need to be right and Noel will undoubtedly have some other suitors after the season he had, the price still shouldn't be anything crazy and New York should bring Noel back.
Alec Burks – go
Perhaps the surprise pick in the group, it has nothing to do with what Alec Burks did on the floor for the Knicks during the 2020-21 season. In fact, Burks was really solid, shooting 41% from three-point range while averaging a shade over 12 points per game for New York.
The reality of this comes down to a numbers game on the roster.
All signs point towards Immanuel Quickley developing his game even further and having a larger role on the team next year. Up above in this article, the idea is to bring back Derrick Rose. RJ Barrett and Reggie Bullock (more on him in a minute) take him large segments of the game at the spots that Burks plays as well. Add on that New York could be aggressive in adding a point guard like Lonzo Ball or a shooting guard like Buddy Hield while also addressing the position in the NBA draft, and Burks could be the odd man out.
There's no doubt someone will pick up Burks and they will get him at a bargain and enjoy the returns of their signing. With New York, they can't resign everyone who was good for them and Burks is a casualty to that.
Reggie Bullock – keep
Last but certainly not least, we arrive at Reggie Bullock.
The three-point shooting was clutch for the Knicks and his defense was well above average. While he may be suited better coming off the bench for the Knicks, he was just fine as a starter.
Bullock has already tweeted about the Knicks building off of what they started this season even though he's set to be an unrestricted free agent. It appears he has every intention of coming back and Leon Rose and New York should want him back as well.
NY WE BACK….work hard this summer and WE BACK
— Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) June 3, 2021
This one seems pretty simple and again, won't break the bank for the Knicks.
The Knicks will have plenty of decisions to make this offseason. They have four picks in the NBA draft, tons of free agents of their own to address and may be in the market to trade for a star. New York will have plenty of cap space to navigate about as they try to build on the successes of their 2020-21 season.
