Knicks To Offer $22M Per Year To Fred VanVleet?
The New York Knicks are entering one of the franchise’s most important offseasons in a long time.
With Leon Rose now at the helm of the organization, expectations are growing. Nobody is expecting a title within the next few years, merely competent decision-making.
Because of that, there is a lot of intrigue regarding how precisely Rose will opt to spend money.
Will he blow it frivolously, like so many Knicks execs have in the past? Or will he invest it wisely in proven, established talents who can serve as building blocks for the future?
On Wednesday, a report emerged suggesting that New York was planning to make a three-year, $22 million per year offer to Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet.
The Knicks are expected to offer Raptors unrestricted free agent Fred VanVleet a hefty deal, worth over $22M per year, per league source.
— Ross 🏀 (@LegionHoopsRoss) September 16, 2020
Knicks fans – would you want Fred VanVleet on a….let’s say:
3 year deal, worth $65M?
— Ross 🏀 (@LegionHoopsRoss) September 16, 2020
This is not the first time VanVleet has been linked to the Knicks.
Last month, Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School said something very similar.
“Some members of New York’s front office are ‘all in’ on VanVleet as a free agent target, feeling that he is the best available player on the market,” he said at the time.
“Despite speculation that the front office is not looking to add any long term money to the books, the source said they are planning on being involved in the sweepstakes for the combo guard this October.”
This was later confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“VanVleet is a shoe free agent and has multiple suitors for a new deal, sources say,” he wrote.
“And on the court, expect a strong market for the free-agent-to-be: Detroit, New York and Phoenix are expected to emerge as suitors for VanVleet outside Toronto.”
2019-20 marked the first time VanVleet started for the Raptors full-time. Over the course of the season, he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from beyond the arc.
This is a problem. https://t.co/7yhgCdRPIP
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 16, 2020
In the playoffs, VanVleet averaged 19.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Do those numbers warrant $22 million per year?
That will ultimately be up to Rose and Knicks brass to determine.
One way or another, despite a lack of big-name free agents available this offseason, this is going to be a tone-setting next few months. How the Knicks respond here will serve as a nice preview for what the Leon Rose Era will ultimately look like.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
