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The free agents who the New York Knicks will meet with once free agency begins is starting to pile up, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported that the Knicks front office will meet with big men LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles.
The Knicks have been reported to be the favorites to sign Greg Monroe, but they would absolutely take either Aldridge or Jordan if they can agree to terms and outbid other teams. The Knicks are not believed to be the front-runners for either Aldridge or Jordan, but they are among a handful of teams set to meet with them, which gives them somewhat of a chance.
The two bigs are very different players, but are both among the best at their strengths. Jordan is widely regarded as the best defensive center in the NBA. He’s the league’s premier rim protector, but he struggles on offense. He cannot create his own shot, and relied on Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul to create shots for him. He’s also notorious for his free throw woes.
However, in an effort to sway him to sign, Broussard reports that the Knicks will offer Jordan the opportunity to be the second option on offense. While it seems foolish given Jordan’s offensive ineptitude, it could be a way to bring him to New York. He was the third option behind Chris Paul and Blake Griffin with the Clippers.
Aldridge is among the most offensively skilled big men in the NBA. He thrives both on the low block and in the 15-20 foot range. He is coming off two great seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 23.2 and 23.4 points per game. He’s not known for his defense, but he’s also not as bad as some people may believe. Last season, he had a career-high 3.7 defensive win shares.
It will be interesting to see how the Knicks fare in these meetings. They are going up against teams with much more to offer like the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. Phil Jackson‘s pitch is likely to include his belief in team basketball and his system, the triangle offense. The triangle doesn’t appear to be that appealing these days, but it will all depend on how the Knicks higher-ups try to sell it.
The Knicks landing either of these guys would be huge. It makes sense for them to aim for the fences, especially given that they appear to have Monroe all but locked up. If they whiff on Jordan and/or Aldridge, they can go ahead and sign Monroe. They are also reported to be very close to signing David West, so the Knicks’ frontcourt is almost certain to be improved this season.
Patrick Piascik is an NBA Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickpiascik.
