Grading Knicks' Early Moves in NBA Free Agency
The New York Knicks are off to a productive start to the 2023 NBA offseason.
Pair that with the progress made during the 2022-23 campaign, and it's clear the 'Bockers are trending the right direction. Now, they probably need to uncover a path to a true needle-mover to get on a realistic championship track, but when a conference semifinalist is trending up, that means good things are happening.
To accurately assess just where the Knicks are headed, let's review their most significant moves so far and assign each with a letter grade.
Donte DiVincenzo
1 of 3
The Contract: Four years, $50 million
The Analysis: The Villanova-to-New York pipeline continued with DiVincenzo joining the Knicks and reuniting with his college teammates, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson.
Much like those former 'Cats, DiVincenzo should become an early favorite of this fanbase.
The 6'4" combo guard bounced all the way back from an injury-plagued 2021-22 season during his lone campaign with the Golden State Warriors. He set career-best marks in three-pointers made (2.1) and percentage (39.7), tallied more than twice as many assists (3.5) as turnovers (1.6) and was a disruptive presence on the defensive end.
He's a little bit of a jack of all trades, master of none, but on a good team, those players are often labeled as glue guys. If his shooting sustains (he's a career 36.2 percent shooter from range), he could be a steal. If it doesn't, he is appropriately compensated for what he brings.
The Grade: B-plus
Josh Hart
2 of 3
The Move: Hart exercised his $13 million player option.
The Analysis: It feels like this is a move in progress, as Hart opting into a perhaps below-market salary could be the early sign of a long-term extension. Locking up the versatile swingman beyond next season could give this group more stability and the chemistry perks of continuity.
Until that happens, though, we can only assess him on his current deal. And at this price, he's a certified steal.
While he's a streaky, sometimes hesitant outside shooter, that's really the only wart in his game. He may not have a standout skill (beyond being an excellent rebounder for his size), but he plays an energetic, mostly mistake-free style that makes a ton of subtle, but important contributions to winning.
Again, the true evaluation likely starts when Hart signs an extension, but for now, the Knicks are getting a tremendous bargain for next season.
The Grade: A
The Obi Toppin Trade
3 of 3
The Trade: Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers for two future second-round picks
The Analysis: Considering the Knicks spent the No. 8 pick of the 2020 draft on Toppin, this is not a great return on that initial investment. But with Toppin barricaded behind All-NBA forward Julius Randle, New York likely already knew Toppin's trade stock wasn't in great shape.
The 6'9" forward has tons of bounce and some natural scoring skills, but his game had started to stagnate in his reserve role. He logged just 15.7 minutes a night this past season, shooting a career-worst 44.6 percent from the field and posting a below-average 13.6 player efficiency rating, per Basketball-Reference.
Toppin possesses enough upside that, in a vacuum, a team could regret giving up on him so quickly and for so little in return. In the Knicks' reality, though, this situation had grown untenable. He wasn't going to log major minutes as long as Randle remained in town, so if Toppin's trade value moved at all over the next calendar year, it almost certainly wasn't going up.
That doesn't make this a great deal by any stretch, and it's hard to reach any conclusion other than New York botched Toppin's development. Under the circumstances, though, the Knicks could have done worse than adding a pair of second-rounders to keep or put in future trades.
The Grade: C-minus
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.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")