Under Steve Mills, the Knicks have actively dipped into the second-draft pool.
Emmanuel Mudiay (No. 7 pick in 2015), Trey Burke (No. 9 pick in 2013), Mario Hezonja (No. 5 pick in 2015) and now Noah Vonleh (No. 9 pick in 2014).
Knicks release:
These are the types of moves the Knicks should make. Vonleh hasn’t sustained much success in four seasons with the Hornets, Trail Blazers and Bulls. But he’s still just 22. Don’t close the book on him yet – especially if you can take a cheap flier on him.
This signing leads to two questions, though:
1. What is Vonleh’s contract structure? New York signed Hezonja for only one year. So, if he makes strides next season, the Knicks get no long-term benefits without re-signing him to a larger deal. Ideally for them, they gained more team control with unguaranteed seasons after the upcoming one on Vonleh’s contract.
2. Who will New York drop? The Knicks now have 16 players with standard contracts, one more than the regular-season limit. They reportedly plan to stretch Joakim Noah on Sept. 1, which would solve the issue – but add a $6,431,667 cap hit in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.