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Knicks Miss Out on Greg Monroe, but Reach an Agreement With Arron Afflalo
New York’s top free-agent priority agreed to a max deal with Milwaukee; Afflalo strikes two-year, $16 million deal
By
Chris Herring
July 2, 2015 12:15 p.m. ET
Hours after the Knicks reached a verbal agreement with veteran swingman Arron Afflalo, big man Greg Monroe—who appeared to be New York’s top free-agent priority—agreed to a maximum contract Thursday with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a report.
Monroe’s decision to go to Milwaukee, particularly after months of rumors that he was essentially a lock to join the Knicks, strongly suggests that team president Phil Jackson, in a relatively patient, cap-oriented fashion, offered the Pistons forward less than a max deal when the two sides met on Wednesday.
Monroe, just 25 years old, would have immediately become the Knicks’ second-best player. He’s a talented scorer out of the post and is quickly emerging as one the league’s best rebounders.
Yet signing him would have created several new questions for New York on the defensive end. He’s not regarded as a rim protector, and would probably need a bona fide center to play behind him. But doing that would clog the lane offensively.
Depending on who the Knicks sign, without Monroe in the mix, it leaves open the possibility that the club can allocate more minutes to Carmelo Anthony playing power forward, which helps him considerably on defense.
After having swung and missed on Monroe, the Knicks—who have no centers under contract—figure to focus more seriously on Robin Lopez, whom they reportedly met with last night. The club is set to speak with big men DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, the two most poachable names on the free market, later Thursday, though the Knicks are seen as a long shot in those discussions.
Monroe’s decision to sign with Milwaukee happened just hours after the Knicks struck a reasonable two-year, $16 million agreement with Afflalo. The second year of the deal, which ESPN first reported, is a player option.
Even after a down year in which the 29-year-old Afflalo shot just 42% from the floor, his worst mark since his rookie season in 2007, the Knicks appear to have gotten decent value with this pickup. That becomes even more true when considering the types of deals players are garnering in anticipation of the salary cap jumping to nearly $90 million next summer. (Afflalo reportedly entered free agency looking for a deal worth nearly $12 million a season.)
Afflalo, the first player Jackson has signed using cap space, wasn’t the top swingman in this class. A person familiar with the matter said earlier in the week said the Knicks wanted to have serious discussions with Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll—a late bloomer who’s logged 10,000 fewer minutes over his career—before he took a four-year, $60-million offer from Toronto.
The Spurs locked up guard Danny Green before New York or anyone else had a chance to make an overture. And it was beginning to seem as if Portland’s Wes Matthews was out of the Knicks’ price range; particularly following a devastating Achilles rupture that very few players ever bounce back from.
For all the concerns about Afflalo, though, namely whether last year was an indicator that he’s hitting the downside of his career, he does have some familiarity with the role he’s going to be asked to play in New York. Aside from being a second or third fiddle on offense, like he often was with the Blazers off the bench last year, he also played alongside Knicks star Carmelo Anthony when he was in Denver.
He’s also a good enough defender (though far from elite at this point) to guard the opposing club’s best wing scorer if need be. Afflalo also regularly shoots about 45% from midrange, potentially making him a good fit in the triangle offense, which provides several looks per night from the pinch-post area of the floor. He’s averaged a respectable 15 points per game over the past five seasons.
So yes, the Knicks still need a reputable big man to plug the lane defensively. But for the time being, they’ve addressed one key need, and done it without spending too much.
Write to Chris Herring at [email protected]
New York’s top free-agent priority agreed to a max deal with Milwaukee; Afflalo strikes two-year, $16 million deal
By
Chris Herring
July 2, 2015 12:15 p.m. ET
Hours after the Knicks reached a verbal agreement with veteran swingman Arron Afflalo, big man Greg Monroe—who appeared to be New York’s top free-agent priority—agreed to a maximum contract Thursday with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a report.
Monroe’s decision to go to Milwaukee, particularly after months of rumors that he was essentially a lock to join the Knicks, strongly suggests that team president Phil Jackson, in a relatively patient, cap-oriented fashion, offered the Pistons forward less than a max deal when the two sides met on Wednesday.
Monroe, just 25 years old, would have immediately become the Knicks’ second-best player. He’s a talented scorer out of the post and is quickly emerging as one the league’s best rebounders.
Yet signing him would have created several new questions for New York on the defensive end. He’s not regarded as a rim protector, and would probably need a bona fide center to play behind him. But doing that would clog the lane offensively.
Depending on who the Knicks sign, without Monroe in the mix, it leaves open the possibility that the club can allocate more minutes to Carmelo Anthony playing power forward, which helps him considerably on defense.
After having swung and missed on Monroe, the Knicks—who have no centers under contract—figure to focus more seriously on Robin Lopez, whom they reportedly met with last night. The club is set to speak with big men DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, the two most poachable names on the free market, later Thursday, though the Knicks are seen as a long shot in those discussions.
Monroe’s decision to sign with Milwaukee happened just hours after the Knicks struck a reasonable two-year, $16 million agreement with Afflalo. The second year of the deal, which ESPN first reported, is a player option.
Even after a down year in which the 29-year-old Afflalo shot just 42% from the floor, his worst mark since his rookie season in 2007, the Knicks appear to have gotten decent value with this pickup. That becomes even more true when considering the types of deals players are garnering in anticipation of the salary cap jumping to nearly $90 million next summer. (Afflalo reportedly entered free agency looking for a deal worth nearly $12 million a season.)
Afflalo, the first player Jackson has signed using cap space, wasn’t the top swingman in this class. A person familiar with the matter said earlier in the week said the Knicks wanted to have serious discussions with Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll—a late bloomer who’s logged 10,000 fewer minutes over his career—before he took a four-year, $60-million offer from Toronto.
The Spurs locked up guard Danny Green before New York or anyone else had a chance to make an overture. And it was beginning to seem as if Portland’s Wes Matthews was out of the Knicks’ price range; particularly following a devastating Achilles rupture that very few players ever bounce back from.
For all the concerns about Afflalo, though, namely whether last year was an indicator that he’s hitting the downside of his career, he does have some familiarity with the role he’s going to be asked to play in New York. Aside from being a second or third fiddle on offense, like he often was with the Blazers off the bench last year, he also played alongside Knicks star Carmelo Anthony when he was in Denver.
He’s also a good enough defender (though far from elite at this point) to guard the opposing club’s best wing scorer if need be. Afflalo also regularly shoots about 45% from midrange, potentially making him a good fit in the triangle offense, which provides several looks per night from the pinch-post area of the floor. He’s averaged a respectable 15 points per game over the past five seasons.
So yes, the Knicks still need a reputable big man to plug the lane defensively. But for the time being, they’ve addressed one key need, and done it without spending too much.
Write to Chris Herring at [email protected]
