Knicks To Sign Robin Lopez; Might Start Looking At Available Free Agents Not From Portland

The New York Knicks have reportedly come to a verbal agreement with Robin Lopez. The terms are supposedly 4 years for $54M. This is the second player that New York has signed that played for Portland last year. Arron Afflalo was picked up earlier in the week for a 2 year rental.

The Knicks are probably feeling pretty good, grabbing 2 of the 4 best available players from one other team. My own personal theory is that Isiah Thomas is advising the team of this strategy. Zeke notoriously used this plan in his tenure as Knicks GM, grabbing as many players as he could from the 2004 Chicago Bulls roster. Seven players (Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Roger Mason, Antonio Davis, Tyson Chandler, Jerome Williams, and Jalen Rose) ended up playing for the Knicks. Although the Jacksonian spin seems to be that he’s choosing one of the better teams in the league to poach from. The 2004 Bulls only won 23 games, while Portland had 51 victories last year. So the Knicks are making progress.

More on this signing and what it means for the Knicks after I’ve stuffed my face with hot dogs, alcohol, and sun this weekend.

[Editor’s note: We are fully aware you can not stuff your face with sun.]

Knicks Morning News (2015.07.03)

  • [New York Daily News] Aldridge cancels Knicks meeting, Afflalo, Robin Lopez to MSG (Fri, 03 Jul 2015 06:07:29 GMT)

    As it turns out, New York and the Garden are a tough sell — even for Phil Jackson.

  • [New York Daily News] Isola: Big splash? Jackson’s Knicks barely make F/A ripple (Fri, 03 Jul 2015 02:42:55 GMT)

    The offseason is proving to be just as disappointing as the actual games for Phil Jackson. The losses are just measured differently.

  • [New York Daily News] Greg Monroe Bucks Knicks, agrees to max deal with Milwaukee (Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:13:01 GMT)

    What was supposedly such a great fit followed to money elsewhere.