Knicks free agency notes: Gauging New York's interest in James Harden, Donte DiVincenzo, and Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown is signing with the Indiana Pacers and was once a target for the Knicks.

According to SNY sources, New York were to meet with the guard along with the Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers early on in the free agency period.

As noted previously, Brown has fans within the Knicks organization but with the guard off the board, the Knicks have wing Donte DiVincenzo high on their radar entering free agency.

I won’t claim to know if Knicks team president Leon Rose prioritized Brown over DiVincenzo. But Brown was widely seen as a player teams would prioritize at the start of free agency.

It’s worth noting that the Knicks, Mavericks and Lakers do not have cap space available. The Rockets and Pacers both have available cap space, so they could have made Brown offers that exceed anything the Knicks, Mavericks or Lakers can put on the table for him.

I assume the Knicks will meet with DiVincenzo early in the period. But there are multiple teams, including Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit, with interest in DiVincenzo. So it’s fair to assume that DiVincenzo will meet with multiple teams during the free agency period.

New York is expected to have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency. This would allow them to offer DiVincenzo or any other free agent a contract that starts at $12.4 million and is as long as four years.

By using the exception, the Knicks would be hard-capped at the first apron, which is projected to be $172 million.

But Josh Hart’s decision to exercise the $13 million player option on his contract for 2023-24 gives the Knicks more room to spend money before they hit the first apron. If New York wants to avoid paying any luxury tax in 2023-24 while also using its full midlevel exception, the Knicks will have to shed salary.

They also may have to create room in the rotation if they add a free agent like DiVincenzo.

Tom Thibodeau’s club had great success last season playing a nine-man rotation. All nine of those players are under contract for next season. So if the Knicks want to stick with a nine-man rotation, they would have to create room by trading or waiving a current rotation player.

Evan Fournier said after the 2022-23 season that he expected to be traded. Fournier would bring strong perimeter shooting and a veteran presence to any team that acquires him. Fournier’s expiring contract is also seen as a valuable trade chip for teams looking to shed salary amid the new, more punitive collective bargaining agreement.

Perhaps the Knicks include Fournier in a trade with one of their rotation players to create a rotation spot, if needed.

The other question for this offseason is if the Knicks will trade for a top player. They have the young players and draft capital to make a strong offer to any team looking to move a top player. New York can trade as many as eight first-round picks in a trade this offseason.

Could they pursue James Harden?

As of Thursday evening, the Clippers’ interest in Harden – as first reported by SNY -- was more significant than the Knicks’ interest. ESPN reported earlier Thursday that the Knicks would be among the teams interested in Harden. Sources said subsequently that New York’s interest in Harden was far from uniform throughout the organization. I still believe that the Clippers are the lead suitor for Harden at the moment.

The only way a deal makes sense from a Knick perspective is if Philadelphia is willing to move Harden for a minimal return. The Sixers presumably will seek a return that allows them to compete for a championship alongside Joel Embiid.

If the Knicks opt against making a big trade this offseason and return with the 2022-23 roster largely intact, there will be pressure for the club to improve on its 47-win total from last season.

This would also push the Knicks’ big trade off to the next trade deadline or free agency. And it would probably upset fans who were hoping for a splashy move this summer.

Who would the Knicks pursue next season if they don’t make a big move this offseason? That’s unclear.

But it’s worth noting here that several teams are keeping an eye on the situation in Milwaukee concerning the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo, as we’ve previously noted. Antetkounmpo is eligible for an extension with Milwaukee this summer. Financially, it makes sense for Antetokounmpo to wait on signing an extension or new contract. I don’t know if the Knicks are one of those teams keeping an eye on the Antetokounmpo situation, but I’d imagine most teams are monitoring it.

A few other notes

The Nets have spoken to a multiple teams about potential trades involving Joe Harris. The club hopes to retain restricted free agent Cam Johson this offseason. Johnson can sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Nets will have the opportunity to match the offer and bring Johnson back. As previously noted, those tracking Johnson’s free agency believed prior to the draft that Brooklyn was comfortable giving Johnson a four-year deal worth north of $84 million.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes in his fantastic offseason breakdown, the Nets may incur costly tax penalties if they re-sign Johnson on a significant contract. So the club would need to shed some salary to avoid those penalties. Harris, a strong perimeter shooter and solid defender, is under contract for $19.9 million in 2023-24.

Also, Spencer Dinwiddie is eligible for an extension later this offseason. Per people familiar with the matter, there is support within the Nets to add years onto Dinwiddie’s deal via an extension.

How Sixers Value Harris

With Harden’s future uncertain, it seems like there are a lot of potential outcomes for the Sixers this offseason.

One outcome that hasn’t come close to happening? A trade of Tobias Harris. (Not even for a Crumbl Cookie.)

Indiana is among the teams that had talked to Philadelphia about Harris earlier in the offseason, but a deal was never close. The Pacers declined to meet Philadelphia’s asking price.

Earlier in the offseason, the club had no interest in trading Harris for the sole purpose of moving his salary. Harris will earn $39 million in 2023-24 – the final season of his five-year contract. There’s been no desperation from Philadelphia to move him to date. If there was, he probably would have been traded already. The Sixers are said to value Harris’ solid, consistent leadership so it would make sense for them to only deal the 30-year-old if the trade strengthens the roster.

Harris shot 50 percent from the floor last season on 11.4 shots per game – his lowest total as a Sixer. The Long Island native, who ranked fourth in shots per game among Philly regulars, made 38.9 of his three-point attempts last season. He also had a roughly 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, putting together another efficient season.

It seems like there are trade discussions surrounding Harris every trade deadline and offseason. But Philadelphia, clearly, has decided to hold on to the veteran forward to date.

As noted above, the club values his consistent leadership. But they don’t seem to feature Harris in the offense. As Brian Windhorst noted on ESPN earlier this week, Harris had the lowest usage rate of his career this season. His usage dipped further
in the playoffs.

Is there a disconnect between how the Sixers value Harris and how they utilize him? Maybe it’s simply a product of having players like Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Embiid on the roster. Harris, you’d think, would be featured more often on a roster with a different composition.

So maybe his role changes in wake of a Harden trade.