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.]