With a limited amount of flexibility available to bring back J.R. Smith, and only the mini mid-level exception to offer Chris Copeland and/or Pablo Prigioni, it will be tricky for the Knicks to bring back all their free agents this summer. Here's the latest out of New York on the team's continuted attempts to improve the roster:
- With an international report suggesting that the Knicks have extended a two-year contract offer to Prigioni, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets that Prigioni told a friend today that he hopes to reach an agreement with the club "real soon."
- There's a growing feeling among insiders that Smith will sign with a team besides the Knicks, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Based on the money available from rival suitors, one agent tells Zwerling that Smith "has to" leave New York, though we did see him take a discount to re-sign with the Knicks last year.
- In a separate tweet, Zwerling passes along a couple more notes, reporting that DeJuan Blair will be too pricey for the Knicks, and that Kenyon Martin may field other offers this week.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post examines the Knicks' pursuit of Elton Brand, noting that the team may have to use part of its mini mid-level exception to lure the veteran big man to New York.
at 27yrs old, the Knicks NEED to bring back JR Smith. They need any bit of youth they can get.
Im not sure who other than Melo can score above 15ppg consistently on their squad.
for all the craziness JR Smith can bring, the guy averaged 18pts & 5rebs OFF THE BENCH.
there aren’t a lot of players that can average 20-5-5 anymore, but imagine if JR played somewhere as a starter with even a half decent big man….he could get close to 20-5-5 for a season.