Former Knicks Lottery Pick Finds New Home With Eastern Rival

kevin knox

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The New York Knicks have been busy so far in free agency as they’ve been wheeling and dealing to make room to sign Jalen Brunson.

After trading Kemba Walker, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, the team freed up enough cap space to offer a four-year, ~$110 million deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Brunson will solve a long-standing problem with the Knicks and that’s uncertainty at point guard. Walker was brought in last season to be an answer, but that never panned out and he found himself out of the rotation entirely.

With rumors flying that Cam Reddish, a player acquired ahead of the trade deadline last season, could be traded, fans might be interested in knowing where Kevin Knox, the player traded for him, has landed.

Knox was sent over in the Reddish deal, but he didn’t get much of a chance to shine with the Hawks, so he departed in free agency. Interestingly enough, he was one of the players to sign with a team within the opening hours and he found himself joining the Detroit Pistons.


Knox to Detroit

Charania reports the Pistons signed Knox on a two-year, $6 million deal. At that price, it’s hard to go wrong, especially for a team that can afford to give him minutes.

The Pistons have been a landing spot for the Knicks for the past week as Walker, Burks, Noel and now Knox have all found their way there. Walker was eventually bought out, but Burks and Noel are going to stick around with the team.

Knox, perhaps best remembered on draft day for wearing a Fortnite suit, was selected ninth overall in the 2018 draft. At just 22 years old, there’s a good chance his best days are still ahead of him, but he’ll need a chance to prove that.

Going to a young team like the Pistons will give him a good shot, and playing alongside Cade Cunningham means he can potentially get some open looks.


Knicks Find a Backup Center

SNY’s Ian Begley reported earlier that the Knicks were in the market for a backup center after trading away Noel, and it didn’t take long for them to find that.

Charania reports Isaiah Hartenstein is coming to New York on a two-year, $16 million-plus deal. This is a nice, team-friendly contract and he’ll fill the void left by Noel very well.

While these moves are nice, they aren’t really anything that will get fans too excited outside of Brunson. It’s not clear how much signing Brunson moves the needle for the team, but it certainly makes them better than they were without him. For the first time in years, point guard isn’t a position of need as both him and Derrick Rose will anchor the spot for the Knicks.

There are still some questions that need to be answered, but free agency is off to a good start. If New York is able to pull off some sort of blockbuster deal that would land another All-Star, fans would be even more excited.

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