New York will have enough cap space to make Schroder a competitive offer in free agency. The club is projected to have at least $50 million in cap space in the 2021 offseason. Point guard is a key position for the Knicks heading into the offseason — Elfrid Payton, Derrick Rose and Frank Ntilikina will all be free agents in 2021, so they will probably have at least one new lead guard in 2021-22. Between now and free agency in August, the Knicks will have to decide if Schroder is the right fit for a lineup that’s likely to heavily feature RJ Barrett and Julius Randle next season.
Frank Ntilikina Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: G
Born: 07/28/98
Height: 6-4 / 1.93
Weight:190 lbs. / 86.2 kg.
Salary: $6,176,578
Born: 07/28/98
Height: 6-4 / 1.93
Weight:190 lbs. / 86.2 kg.
Salary: $6,176,578
While everyone waits (and waits …) to see what happens around the league, a quick note on the reported interest by the Knicks in Andre Drummond. Because the Knicks are still $15 million below the salary cap, there are two potential avenues open to New York that are not to other teams. First, if there were to be a trade for Drummond, the Knicks don’t need to match his entire salary. New York just needs to send the Cavs at least $13.7 million in salary, and because of this, a trade would likely help Cleveland generate a large trade exception. For example, a combo of Nerlens Noel, Frank Ntilikina and Austin Rivers would get it done and generate a $14 million exception for the Cavs.
Ian Begley: Frank Ntilikina, longest tenured Knick, was asked if this year feels different: “Definitely. First of all, the winning percentage.” Ntilikina then cited Thibs telling NYK early on that they’ll have to pay a price to achieve their goal. “That’s what we’re doing on a daily basis.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has expressed confidence in Ntilikina in public and, per SNY’s Ian Begley, Thibodeau has in the past said privately that he believes Ntilikina has the potential to develop into a player who can help the Knicks in the future.
This year, their trade candidates were expected to be Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, Austin Rivers and Elfrid Payton. Frank Ntilikina, scheduled to be a free agent, also figured to be on the block, and now he may be used as a pawn to obtain a veteran.
