Many of you all still aren't getting it. Talking about Frank v. DSjr misses the forest for the trees. As we currently stand, it will be nearly impossible to sign Durant for the money he would require without having very little left.
Using the
Capulator I made the following year end adjustments to the team:
RED used for moves that the capulator hasn't already accounted for by in season moves1. Renounced $ 1,512,601 2018-19 cap hold for Jarrett Jack
2. Renounced $ 838,464 2018-19 cap hold for Isaiah Hicks
3. Renounced $ 27,933,771 2019-20 cap hold for Enes Kanter
4. Renounced $ 12,883,440 2019-20 cap hold for Emmanuel Mudiay
5. Accepted Frank Ntilikina's 2019-20 team option worth $ 4,855,800
6. Waived Lance Thomas in 2019-20 with $ 1,000,000 remaining over 1 year(s)
7. Renounced $ 8,634,360 2019-20 cap hold for Ron Baker
8. Renounced $ 1,603,638 2019-20 cap hold for Trey Burke
9. Renounced $ 7,800,000 2019-20 cap hold for Mario Hezonja
Leaving us with:Hardaway: $18,150,000
Lee: $12,759,670
Frank (option picked up): $4,855,800
Knox: $4,380,120
Dot: $1,618,520
Mitch: $1,559,712
KP (Cap Hold): $17,091,162
Vonleh (Cap Hold): $1,618,486
Kornet (Cap Hold): $2,024,075
PICK 3 (give or take): $7,758,000
And minimum roster fees, which amount to about 1.8 mil.
That leaves us with a total committed salary of $81,025,068 or $26,974,932 on the booksSo - keeping options open on a bare minimum of players puts us in a position where we don't have the cash for Durant. OF COURSE, you renounce guys like Kornet, Vonleh, Dot, or maybe even Frank to get the money to sign a guy like that but it leaves us with very little left to work with, especially once you resign KP.
Move Hardaway, and even if you can't secure two maxes you have a LOT more flexibility to make decisions on the guys currently on our roster, other available free agents, AND you have room for that one max.
A move like this is about so much more than Frank or DSjr. It's the whole enchilada of whether we can build a team around a star core.
If we have it on good info that he wants to come, the Knicks need to do some work to prepare for it. It's not a question of Frank vs. DSjr. It's a question of whether you want to be able to sign Durant and flexibility to sign other pieces. And yes, we would also have DSjr.
That said, I don't touch it if we don't have REALLY good info about Durant (or Kawhi, for that matter). If we're pulling it out of our asses and he doesn't come, then yes the trade is mostly a big waste of our time.
