Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter |
Knicks GM Scott Perry was asked about free agency on Monday on ESPN Radio's Golic & Wingo Show. The Knicks have enough cap space to sign two max free agents. Kevin Durant will be a top target. During the regular season, multiple players who played with Durant in the past and currently play with him in Golden State told friends that they expect him to sign with the Knicks, per sources. The Knicks, along with every other team with enough cap space to pay him, would love to sign Kawhi Leonard.
Perry didn't feed into the Durant/Leonard hype during his interview on Monday, as you'd expect.
"We're going to play the hand we're dealt," he said. "… Sometimes in free agency, guys may decide to stay where they're at. Whatever happens, we know we're going to add some talent to the roster this summer. And we think we'll have a better basketball team next year. How much better obviously will depend on the level of free agent that we're able to attract and how much we've improved internally with our young players from this past season."
Because of the Durant and Kyrie Irving speculation, the expectations about New York's summer are high. The team included Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. in its trade of Kristaps Porzingis in late January, which opened up enough cap space for the club to sign two max free agents.
"We're looking to add some talented players that fit into our culture, guys who are committed to building a championship contender in New York," Perry said. "Competitive guys who understand what it takes to win at this level. We have a good young core of players but we feel that we're going to need to add some veteran players who have been through the wars if you will, who understand the winning, like we talked about.
"We feel that we have a very good coach and coaching staff here who have shown the ability to not only develop young players but work with good veteran players as well, develop them," Perry added. "… We're just feeling really good about the direction that we're headed. And we just want guys who feel strongly about that, who see that vision alongside with us and who want to come here and help make the Knicks a sustainable winner for some time."