New York Knicks Must Prioritize Signing Tobias Harris This Offseason
The New York Knicks will have plenty of flexibility this coming offseason, but their focus should be on building a foundation for the future rather than looking for a quick-fix solution to their problems.
Of course, the draft will provide the franchise with a great opportunity to find a long-term building block to pair with Carmelo Anthony, but in free agency, it won't be quite as easy to add young talent at such a cheap rate.
Typically, the Knicks have used free agency exclusively to pursue ready-made stars, like signing Amar'e Stoudemire to a $100 million contract back in 2010, but that isn't the most sustainable way to build a franchise.
Besides, they may not even have the opportunity to do that this year, as most of the big names are likely to stay put. The idea that they'd seriously consider joining a team as bad as the Knicks is dubious in any case.
Looking around at the better teams in the Eastern Conference, most have been built around draft picks and value free agents who were good when they signed, but not quite at an elite level or in their prime just yet.
Think about the Atlanta Hawks building around Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague or the Toronto Raptors building around DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas.
Obviously the Knicks are in a bigger market and can go further over the cap if they want to, but certainly at this stage of their rebuild they should be following a similar blueprint, especially with an average of $24.8 million already guaranteed to Carmelo Anthony for each of the next four years.
Getting into specifics, there are a good number of "second-tier" free agents New York can pursue this summer. The likes of Millsap, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez and Omer Asik would be great fits and can probably be had for a relatively reasonable price, too.
The Knicks should definitely pursue players like this, but again, most of them are almost 30 years old and don't exactly have much upside. For real long-term prospects, the Knicks should also turn to restricted free agency, where Tobias Harris of the Orlando Magic should be their primary target.
Harris is in his fourth year in the league now and has grown considerably since his rookie year with the Milwaukee Bucks. There are few better combo forwards in his age bracket (he's just 22 years old), and more importantly he'd be a great fit in New York.
According to the New York Post's Marc Berman, Melo and Harris had been working out together this past summer in New York, which is conveniently Harris' hometown. It doesn't come as a surprise, then, that he has the Knicks atop his free agency list if he gets a chance to leave Orlando, per Berman.
This season, Harris has been productive, averaging 18 points and 6.9 rebounds per 36 minutes while shooting an efficient 46 percent from the field. These are numbers that would easily make him the second-best player on the Knicks behind Anthony.
The Knicks' primary needs this summer are a long-term point guard, a defensive center and a forward who complements Anthony. Harris would fill that last need nicely. He's capable of playing inside and out, with his versatility mirroring Melo's, affording both players some flexibility in their roles on the team.
Defensively, Harris isn't great, and that could be an issue. Like Melo, being stronger than most small forwards and faster than most power forwards is a great tool on the offensive end, but defensively it can also lead to matchup issues in the other direction. He is, however, intent on improving on defense, according to the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.
Harris' fit on the Knicks is hard to deny—the real issue is getting him to New York. Restricted free agents are, by definition, hard to sign, and the Knicks will have to offer a hefty sum to pry him from the Magic. It can be done, but the Knicks have to question whether paying slightly above his value is worthwhile.
Overpaying is never ideal, but when you're talking about such a young player who doesn't have too worrying of an injury history, it may be worth it. The NBA's upcoming new TV deal and subsequent salary-cap increase also needs to be factored in, as a questionable contract now may become the norm in just a few years' time.
The beauty of the Knicks' position right now, at least from a long-term perspective, is that they have plenty of options. As far as restricted free agency is concerned, however, Harris should be the primary targets—he'll fill a major short-term role and has the upside to contribute in a big way for years to come.
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