NEW YORK — The Knicks had spent the previous two days creating a baseline for what they hope will be the first steps toward righting the long-struggling franchise, with Leon Rose staging a draft night that satisfied fans, making trades that seemed competent and ripping apart the remnants of last season's roster.
But the work to be done is arduous, and the competition was put on display as the doors to the free-agent market swung open Friday night.
A less-than-star-studded class received an addition when Gordon Hayward opted out of the final year of his contract with the Boston Celtics. The Knicks, like many teams, did their due diligence, and as one of two teams with the salary-cap space to absorb his asking price, they might seem like a fit.
But league sources indicated that he is not placing the Knicks at the top of his wish list, instead hoping to help orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal to return home to Indiana, where he grew up and attended college at Butler University.
The Knicks remain interested and on the outskirts while the Celtics and Pacers continue to posture. The Boston Globe reported that there was a huge schism between the two sides, with the Pacers offering Myles Turner and Doug McDermott and the Celtics asking for Turner, Aaron Holiday and Victor Oladipo.
Still, if the Knicks want to spend, they emerged from the first few hours of free agency holding the most cap space of any team after the Atlanta Hawks agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal with Danilo Gallinari. The Knicks have $35 million in cap space but seemingly nowhere to spend it unless the Pacers' efforts fail.
Unlike years past, perhaps as a result of the Kings and Milwaukee Bucks finding themselves the subject of an NBA investigation after a failed sign-and-trade involving Bogdan Bogdanovic, there was no mad rush of deals being announced at the 6 p.m. start time. Last year, word was leaking out that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were bound for Brooklyn before the market officially opened.
This time, the signings began with Goran Dragic announcing his own deal, a two-year contract to remain with the Miami Heat. And there were odd moments, such as when Dwight Howard tweeted out his excitement about sticking with the Lakers, loyal to the purple and gold, then promptly deleted the tweet. He later agreed to a deal with Philadelphia.
For Rose, there is plenty of work to do. The Knicks have not only the cap space to sign free agents but the space to absorb contracts, such as Russell Westbrook if they opt to revisit that trade possibility.
The Knicks acquired Ed Davis and a 2023 first-round pick on Thursday with no assurances that Davis will remain with the team as it heads to camp Dec. 1. The Knicks took on his $5 million deal this coming season to pick up the draft capital.
The other name that has been on their list of targets is Raptors free-agent point guard Fred VanVleet. As in the case of Hayward, however, with the Raptors hoping to keep VanVleet in place, the Knicks approach the market as a long shot. And for the price that it will cost — believed to be approximately four years and $80 million — VanVleet might have more value to the Raptors than serving as a leader of a rebuilding team such as the Knicks.
The Knicks are more likely to bring in a fallback such as Jeff Teague, who played for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and is regarded as a solid locker room presence for a young team.
The Knicks had interest in Christian Wood, who flourished last season with Detroit, but that waned after they drafted Obi Toppin on Wednesday.
