New York Knicks' Updated Free-Agency Big Board

Shockingly, a New York Knicks team in disarray after moving on from its president of basketball operations and in open conflict with both its star of the past and future is having trouble attracting players.

According to RealGM.com, the Knicks had been connected to George Hill, Dion Waiters, Justin Holiday, Ben McLemore and Michael Carter-Williams, all of whom have agreed to terms with other teams.

They did, however, sign restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year, $71 million offer sheet.

The deal consumes most of the Knicks' cap space, but they could create more. Atlanta could match the offer sheet. Also, there is rampant speculation that Carmelo Anthony could get traded to the Houston Rockets. Such a trade would likely include several non-guaranteed contracts, and the Knicks could use that money in free agency.

Finally, there is the room exception at $4.3 million.

What could the Knicks do? I ranked the players they've spoken to from worst to first and added a slide on how they should handle the Anthony situation.

Trade or Buy Out Carmelo Anthony

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Though not a free-agent situation, this is the most pressing question the Knicks face. There are three possibilities: trade him, waive him or keep him.

Trading him requires a team to take on his contract. As ESPN.com's Ian Begley notes: "Anthony has a 15 percent trade kicker that would add $8.1 million to his 2017-18 salary. That would bring Anthony's contract to $34.7 million, which is almost untradeable."

However, Anthony can waive that, and he said he would for Houston or Cleveland.

Trading Anthony to Houston would require Houston to send back, at minimum, Ryan Anderson and several non-guaranteed contracts, just to make the salaries match. However, Anderson is 29, on a clunky contract and not in line with the Knicks' rebuild. 

So, that means involving a third team. While that's possible, it's complicated. And Houston isn't likely to include Trevor Ariza or Eric Gordon in any such moves as some have suggested. 

Any trade to Cleveland would require the Cavaliers shipping out Kevin Love, which won't happen for Anthony. Love is a better player and a better fit.

Keeping Anthony does nothing positive for the Knicks. All it does is add a few wins to a lottery team. It also disrupts the development of their kids and makes the daily "Melo drama" a cloud that hangs over the locker room.

The Knicks are best off buying him out. Sure, that's a lot of money to give away, but it's sunk cost.

Derrick Rose

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Before free agency kicked off, Begley reported the Knicks had "legitimate interest" in Derrick Rose. Even with the Hardaway agreement, it's not impossible.

However, that gives most Knicks fans this feeling.

There is no reason to bring Rose back. He still has value (perhaps for a team like the Spurs), but not with this club.

Last year, he had a high usage percentage (25.7) and turnover percentage (11.9) combined with a low assist percentage for a point guard (22.8) and true shooting percentage (53.0). In fact, no player in the league used the ball as much as ineffectively.

Rose is a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer. He stopped looking to pass somewhere between his first and second knee injuries. He still does a nice job of penetrating, and he can make some highlight plays. But the Knicks just used the No. 8 pick on Frank Ntilikina, a smart and capable young point guard who is raw and needs to learn.

Is Rose the guy you want to help teach him? The Knicks are better off looking elsewhere to mentor their leader of the future.

Jonathon Simmons

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Begley reported the Knicks "reached out" to Jonathon Simmons. Simmons had some great moments in the postseason, but that could be a concern in a contract year.

You have to be aware of the "Austin Croshere effect." Croshere had a decent season in 1999-00 but really got everyone's attention by averaging 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Finals. He parlayed that into a seven-year, $51 million contract. He averaged 6.7 points 3.9 boards over the course of that contract.

Bismack Biyombo and Solomon Hill, among others, have likewise turned big postseasons into bad contracts.

Simmons has career averages of 6.1 points, 1.9 boards and 1.4 dimes. He shoots 45.1 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from deep.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports the Spurs are offering him around $9 million per year. For a team that has a history of bringing up players and developing them, that makes sense. But for a team as dysfunctional as the Knicks, to outbid San Antonio would be frivolous.

Alan Williams

Rocky Widner/Getty Images

Per Begley:

"The Knicks reached out to Suns' restricted free agent Alan Williams on the first night of free agency. Williams, a 6'8" power forward, averaged 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season in 15 minutes per night. Williams fits the profile of a player the Knicks are targeting—young and able to play on both ends of the floor."

The Knicks need to pivot into a high pick-and-roll offense featuring Kristaps Porzingis and Ntilikina. Doing that requires a big who can set screens, rim run and generally play "garbage" offense.

Williams is one of those guys, as seen here.

He's smart, reads plays on the fly and knows how to make himself productive (19.7 PER, 21.0 usage). When you find a guy who has those numbers, you have someone worth pursuing. For reference, Clint Capela's numbers are 19.6 and 18.1, respectively.

Williams is a restricted free agent, but this one is worth a bit of an overpay. A three-year deal in the neighborhood of $30 million wouldn't be egregious and should be enough to snag him from Phoenix. 

The Suns have extended Williams a four-year offer in the range of $5-6 million per year, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. So, the Knicks would either have to create space or work a sign-and-trade to acquire him if Atlanta doesn't match the offer sheet on Hardaway.

Rajon Rondo

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

According to Begley, "Several people in touch with the Knicks earlier in the week got the impression that not everyone in the organization was high on Rondo."

A year ago, I thrashed the Bulls for signing him. Over the course of the season, he proved me wrong, and not because of anything he did on the court. He bonded with the young players and helped them learn the NBA game. He became a great locker room guy.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune quotes Nikola Mirotic: "I feel so comfortable with him, and I think all the young guys do. He's very honest. He's talking all the time, supporting before the game, after the game, during the practice. He's always positive."

Even in the East, the Knicks have about as much chance at making the playoffs as Derrick Rose has of winning his second MVP. The Knicks need to embrace losing. They need to play for the future.

That's not just about tanking. It's about letting Porzingis and Ntilikina swim in the deep end. That is also going to mean going underwater every now and then.

Having Rondo there would be beneficial for Ntilikina in particular in terms of the individual mentor-protege relationship and the "team captain" responsibilities.

Best of all, it shouldn't require a ton of cash or a long-term contract to get it done. It's feasible he even plays for the room exception.