NEW YORK — Armed with the league's most cap space as big names were crossing off the board, the Knicks' first move in free agency was a small ripple Friday: agreeing to sign Alec Burks to a reported one-year, $6 million deal.
Burks, 29, is a combo guard who averaged 12.2 points over 18 games in Philadelphia last season after being traded from Golden State. He's a solid spot-up 3-point shooter with two-way skills but has adopted journeyman's status lately with five different teams since 2018.
The first seven full seasons of Burks' career were with the Utah Jazz, where he developed a close relationship with assistant coach Johnnie Bryant. That's the same Bryant who was recently named Tom Thibodeau's associate head coach in New York.
"He'd come to where I'm from, meet my family, work out with me," Burks said. "Showing me a different type of love and getting me better at the same time," Burks told the Daily News over the summer about working with Bryant. "He gets to know your game, gets to know you as a person. I think that makes it easier on the court when he gets to know you off the court. He's big on that. He knows his basketball. He studied the game. He studied your film, know you individually, know what you got going and just preaches what he knows and gets you better through that."
The signing put a small dent in New York's cap space, leaving them with just over $30 million. They still have a glaring hole at point guard. Although several potential Knicks targets were scooped up in free agency — including Davis Bertans (Wizards) and Christian Wood (Rockets) — Fred VanVleet and Gordon Hayward were still unsigned Friday night. VanVleet planned to meet with his suitors in Chicago, according to SportsNet in Canada. The Raptors are the favorite to re-sign VanVleet, and multiple sources said they hoped to convince him with a contract similar to Malcolm Brogdon's in Indianapolis (four years, $85 million). But as history has demonstrated, the longer a free agency drags on, the less of a chance the player re-signs.
The most interesting development involved Hayward, who surprisingly declined his $34.2 million option and hit free agency. The 30-year-old forward has been pushing to get to his hometown Pacers, according to a source close to the Celtics.
"He really wants to get out of (Boston) and has been telling his teammates and friends that he wants Indiana," the source said. "That's where his focus is."
The issue, however, is that Indiana doesn't have the requisite cap space and needs to execute a sign-and-trade. Predictably, the Celtics were demanding more than what the Pacers were offering, according to the Boston Globe, delaying Hayward's free agency. The Knicks are interested in Hayward and could sign him outright, representing leverage against the Celtics' demands.
Another option for the Knicks is to use their cap space to absorb a contract in a trade, with Russell Westbrook in Houston representing the highest-profile option.
