Phil Jackson believes a top rookie could help turn the New York Knicks around after back-to-back dismal seasons, but it is free agency he believes will be the most crucial part to rebuilding the franchise in 2015. The team president made it clear that the time to insert big talent is now and with $30 million in salary cap space to burn, the Knicks have a lofty wishlist of free agents they intend on target. All the moves made in the next few months will impact who the team targets with their top five draft pick.
According to Jackson, he believes free agency will be more fruitful than the draft for the Knicks as he inteds on targeting top defenders and an elite point guard with the money the team has to burn.
"In the present day in the NBA, 19-, 20-year-olds, coming into the league, it's really hard to project what that player will be like in his first contract situation,'' Jackson said, via the New York Post. "We know what the first-round pick will mean to us, but we also know we will build the team on free agents. We have 190 players or so who will be free agents. That's where our priority stands.''
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, both LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe will be two players the Knicks target heavily. They have been linked to deals for players like Kevin Love, but there is uncertainty he intends on leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. Adridge and Monroe are both predicted to be gone in 2015 and the Knicks will make a move on them first. The Knicks need to replace players like Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire and while bringing back Andrea Bargnani could help the effort, Aldridge and Monroe will be upgrades.
If the Knicks are able to sign one of the two stars, what does that mean for their draft plans? According to the New York Daily News, Jackson likes both Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns in the first five picks. Will either player be necessary if the Knicks land Monroe or Aldridge? ESPN's Ian Begley reports that Jackson might be open to trading the team's first-round pick if free agency goes as planned. If veteran players are favored more than rookies, trading the pick could help New York gain more stars. Carmelo Anthony is in favor of that idea especially when it comes to the point guard spot as he plans to recruit Goran Dragic and Rajon Rondo.
"I think with younger point guards now coming out of college, that position is a little tougher to come in and be effective right away," Anthony said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "The guards in this league that we have right now is out of this world. They're at the top of their game right now. It's kind of every team, every night, day in and day out so you have to be physically ready for that and mentally ready for that. So I think from that position it's a little more of a learning curve than it is at any other position. Not saying that the guards that's coming out this year can't come in and be effective and be ready but that's the toughest position right now in our NBA so it will be a little bit of a learning curve."