NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Moe Harkless' Impending Free Agency, Knicks, More

They may not have had any real playoff hopes, but it would be unfair to simply characterize this season as already lost for the New York Knicks. This year has been more of an exercise in character-building.

And with the body of this organization breaking down over the past months, that character will be building out its true colors in the offseason.

As a starting point, from what we're seeing, New York wants to move toward better shooters by 2021. The newly acquired Moe Harkless is a part of that plan, but outside talent, such as the Detroit Pistons' Christian Wood, is higher on the list.

In 2020, Leon Rose replaced Steve Mills as New York's general manager and Mike Miller replaced David Fizdale at head coach.

Per the New York Daily News, Fizdale has since remarked that the Knicks need better shooting at the 1 and the 4, a sentiment echoed by the front-office sources of SNY's Ian Begley:

As noted by Begley, the team is dissatisfied with its shooting, and rightly so. Marcus Morris led the team in three-point percentage (43.9) but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

That leaves shooting guard Damyean Dotson as the best shooter on the team, at just a 36.2 percent clip from deep. Among point guards and power forwards, the best shooters are Bobby Portis and, somehow, Frank Ntilikina. Portis shoots a decent 35.8 percent from three, while Ntilikina leads his group with a paltry 32.1 percent. 

Wood is viewed as the team's top target by Begley, who said: "We know that people in that organization, the front office, have been enamored with Detroit's Christian Wood."

The 6'10", bouncy big shot 38.6 percent from beyond the arc in 62 games for a bottom-feeding Pistons squad this season, which would make him the best shooter on the Knicks right now. 

But the team's dysfunction can be blamed for its players' shooting woes and that helps explain why Harkless is in contention for a return in 2021. The 6'7" veteran wing isn't an elite shooter, but he is versatile and was shooting 37.0 percent from three in 50 games for the Clippers this season before that rate dropped to 28.0 percent in his 12 games wearing orange and blue.

Begley has noted the Knicks are expected to "have interest in Harkless as a free agent" per opposing executives. And the New York Post's Marc Berman cited league sources who believe the team's desire to roster Harkless in 2021 "grew after they obtained him." 

Regardless, the 26-year-old is an ancillary, veteran piece who can provide stability off the bench for a team with a penchant for chaos. He won't solve Julius Randle's inability to keep his head up and play steady-paced team basketball, but maybe acquiring real shooters will.

New York's shot selection has felt sporadic at best this season and that's largely due to abysmal spacing. It's unclear whether the Knicks will acquire shooters in the draft, free agency or via trade, but doing so should pay immediate dividends.

The Knicks have two first-round draft picks this season: their own and the Clippers'. They're certain to be targeting a point guard with an early pick, specifically one with a high ceiling as a shooter like North Carolina's Cole Anthony or the Illawarra Hawks' LaMelo Ball. 

Neither was blistering from deep this past season, as Anthony shot 34.8 percent from deep and Ball hit 25.0 of his threes—but that was on a lot of attempts per game (6.4 for Anthony, 6.7 for Ball). More importantly, each shot a high enough free-throw percentage to confer confidence in their upside (75.0 percent for Anthony, 72.3 for Ball).

As for players the Knicks can look at—without breaking the bank or dismantling their roster, in trades or free agency—there are a few intriguing options outside of Wood.

For the sake of simply establishing some strong shooting depth at point guard, players such as Trey Burke (41.0 percent career three-point shooter), Reggie Jackson (37.5 percent from deep over the past two seasons) and Isaiah Thomas (41.3 percent from deep in 40 games for the Washington Wizards this season) are all modestly intriguing free-agent additions. 

On the trade front, the most interesting yet affordable target is the Denver Nuggets' Jerami Grant. 

The 6'8" Grant is known for aggressively getting above the rim on both sides of the ball, but in the past two seasons, he's started taking and making more threes. Over his first four seasons, he took 1.7 threes a game and hit just 30.1 percent of them. Over the past two, he's taken 3.6 per game and knocked down 39.6 percent.

The Nuggets already have Paul Millsap at the 4 and could soon hand over the backup reins to Michael Porter Jr., making Grant relatively affordable as far as trade targets go for Rose. 

Keeping Harkless should be easy, but New York fans will be keeping a close eye on Wood's market value and the shooters they choose to complement their young core through free agency and the draft.