The New York Knicks opened up significant salary cap space as they prepared for this summer’s class of free agents. But if they’re unable to land the big targets they’re chasing like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they may look to DeMarcus Cousins with a big offer.
The New York Times’ Marc Stein reported on Wednesday that the Knicks are considering offering Cousins a considerable one-year offer.
The Knicks are weighing the prospect of extending a considerable one-year offer to Warriors free-agent big man DeMarcus Cousins if they miss out on top target Kevin Durant, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 27, 2019
The Knicks are projected to have the most salary cap space in the league and will have to spend the money somewhere if they don’t get a player like Durant. They did not extend qualifying offers to Emmanuel Mudiay and Luke Kornet in order to keep the maximum amount of space.
New York’s young core includes Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith, Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier and Mitchell Robinson.
Cousins’ free agent market did not develop last offseason because he was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, so he settled for a one-year deal at the taxpayer mid-level exception price with the Warriors. He may be looking to maximize his earnings this time around.
