The New York Knicks will only be interested in adding Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James if the Los Angeles Lakers buy him out, according to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints.
The Knicks are one of the many teams that will line up to get James for the cheap, according to Irwin.
“Most teams, according to league sources, are waiting to see if James is bought out before next season,” Irwin wrote on July 16. “Sources say the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks are among the teams waiting for such an end to the James-Lakers relationship.”
The Knicks are left with only the veteran minimum to offer James if he enters the buyout market. And they have only a little window between now and before the opening night of next season to add James if he gets bought out. That is because teams above the aprons are not allowed to sign a player from the buyout market during the season. They can only do it in the offseason.
Klutch Sports is Back in Business in New York
James’ past flirtations with New York and the squashing of the old beef between his current agent, Rich Paul, and former agent, Leon Rose, who is now the Knicks president, only add fuel to the fire.
Klutch Sports is back in business in New York.
For the first time since Cam Reddish’s ill-fated stint in New York, a Klutch Sports client — Jordan Clarkson — is joining the Knicks.
According to the New York Post, it was Paul who first reached out to the Knicks. This could pave the way for a potential LeBron final act in his favorite arena in the world — Madison Square Garden.
The 40-year-old superstar, who is ranked No. 2 in Bleacher Report’s 100 Players of All-Time, could cement his legacy if he could end the Knicks’ five-decade-old championship drought.
LeBron-to-Knicks Trade Pitches
GettyThe Knicks continue to be linked to LeBron James if he decides to part ways with the Lakers.
ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks named the Knicks as one of the two teams that can realistically trade for James — via a one-on-one swap with Karl-Anthony Towns — if he demands it from the Lakers.
Zach Lowe of The Ringer proposed a more complicated trade that would help the Knicks clean their books while providing the Lakers with a starting center and a much younger, elite defensive wing than James.
“To me, the Knicks are the most interesting one because they could sell it as like if it’s [OG] Anunoby] and [Mitchell] Robinson or some combination of Anunoby, [Mikal] Bridges and Robinson,” Lowe said on his podcast “The Zach Lowe Show” on Tuesday, July 1. “They could sell it as like, well, we get LeBron James and we’re kind of actually sneakily cleaning up our books for like two or three years down the line, assuming it’s a short-term LeBron deal.”
Bridges’ extension is coming and they will soon have to pay Brunson his supermax two years from now.
However, such a mega-trade is not feasible right now for the Knicks after they hard-capped themselves at the second apron following the signing of French forward Guerschon Yabusele to their $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception.
The Knicks are not allowed to aggregate salaries in any trade. Unless they can dip below the second apron by first making a salary dump trade, Lowe’s proposal will remain a fantasy.
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