Updated New York Knicks' Free-Agency Big Board

It's a calm, feet-up, seat-back kind of free agency for the New York Knicks. The front office is being patient and committing to a modest diet of cheap, short deals this summer to save room for dessert in 2019. 

After officially signing their second-round draft pick to a multiyear contract Sunday, the Knicks are already over the salary cap and carrying 17 players on the roster. Even if they free up some cap space (by using the stretch provision to cut Joakim Noah or by trading another player), they aren't likely to splurge.

Expect the Knicks execs to mosey along, and by summer's end, they will calmly sign athletic youths eager to prove themselves and wily veterans ready to play supporting roles. 

So, who is still available and might look good in a blue-and-orange jersey? Here are a few possibilities.

Jarrett Jack

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

As the Daily News' Stephen Bondy reported, new Knicks head coach David Fizdale said that the team has discussed adding a few years to the increasingly young squad:

"We've talked about it. There's still a possibility, there's still time to do some things and plug some gaps with some quality leadership and veteran leadership. But at the same time you got to be right with that. You can't bring in a guy who is looking for more than we can give. Because that could end up tearing your locker room apart."

Jarrett Jack already proved to the Knicks he's not only willing to play a supporting role, but he relishes it. Whether it be mentoring the team's trio of young point guards, cheering every great dish from the bench or being ready to perform big minutes when called upon, Jack can be that guy.

Although it would put the Knicks four-deep at one position, re-signing Jack at the veteran minimum might be the best way to use that roster spot.

Marcus Smart

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

The Boston Celtics extended a qualifying offer of $6.05 million to restricted free agent Marcus Smart in order to hold on to the right to match offers for him.

A source told the Boston Herald's Mark Murphy that Smart is disappointed that the Celtics haven't offered him a more serious deal (like perhaps a multiyear, eight-figure contract):

"He pushed himself to return early (from thumb surgery) in the playoffs, taking the gamble that he was healed enough to play. He pours his heart out every day for that team. He's been hurt and quite frankly disgusted by how this has gone. But you know what else? He's kind of over it. You have to move on."

So far, the Knicks have not expressed the same interest in Smart that they did last year, when rumors surfaced of a trade to acquire him. They should be interested, though. 

Smart is only 24, but he has already logged over 1,200 playoff minutes and, as a bench player, he ranked fourth in NBA.com's defensive win shares per game last season (0.056).

New York could get Smart in a Knicks uniform for a season at a discount, and it's an offer worth making. A Marcus Smart with a chip on his shoulder might be scrappier than he is now—and for a guy who spends half his time scrabbling for loose balls, that's really saying something. 

Alan Williams

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Just released by the Phoenix Suns, Alan Williams now begins the next curious chapter of what has been an anything but straightforward NBA career.

After going undrafted in 2015, Williams played in that year's NBA Summer League and then went to China for a season. He was eventually signed by the Suns in 2016 after a 10-day contract, but his 2017-18 campaign was cut short five games in by an injury.

Now he's on the market again, and the Knicks' interest is piqued, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman. 

Williams' biggest contribution could be crashing the glass, and he has a nice soft touch when shooting inside the paint. In the 2016-17 season, he averaged 6.2 rebounds and 7.4 points on 51.7 percent shooting in only 15.1 minutes per game. 

Then again, Williams' biggest contribution could be grit—the kind of staying power that only an undrafted, injured and waived player could have.

David Nwaba

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Another young player on the rise who might be disillusioned with or undervalued by his current team is the Chicago Bulls' David Nwaba.

Mike Scotto of The Athletic reported this week that since the Bulls offered the athletic wing a qualifying offer of $1.6 million, he and Chicago are "at a stalemate" over further negotiations. 

Possessing a 7-foot wingspan, the 6'4" Nwaba has many of the qualities the new-look Knicks are shopping for. The 25-year-old averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 boards last season, and like Smart, he impresses in other ways that don't appear on a stat line, like blocking an 11-inch taller Kristaps Porzingis from behind and following it up with a fast-break slam. 

All that, plus a developing three-ball and creative baseline drives, makes Nwaba an intriguing investment for a rebuilding team looking for help at the wing position.

The Bulls will probably mess this up, and the Knicks could benefit from their folly—that would be a nice change of pace for New York.