Responding to a reader’s question in a video mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv identified Hawks big man Clint Capela as one of the centers the Knicks have checked in on this offseason as they scour the trade market.
“I don’t know how far talks went,” Begley said (Twitter video clip). “I don’t know if they’re active at this very moment. But they did check in on Capela.”
According to Begley, it’s unclear whether the Knicks envisioned Capela replacing Mitchell Robinson on the roster as their starting center or if they viewed the duo as a potential platoon at the five. Either scenario is a long shot, given that Capela will earn $22.3MM in 2024/25. Sending out enough salary to exceed Capela’s cap figure (avoiding a first-apron hard cap) would be tricky, unless the Knicks were to move either Julius Randle ($28.9MM) or multiple rotation players in a deal.
Although the Knicks have kicked the tires on higher-salary center options like Capela, Begley says the most likely scenario is that they add a lower-cost backup for Robinson and enter training camp with a roster that looks very similar to the current group.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- The influx of money that the NBA’s new media rights deals will bring into the league has Knicks forward Josh Hart rethinking how long he wants to play, he said during an appearance on the Front Office Sports Today podcast. “I wanted to retire at like 34, maybe 35, so I’d still got a bit of juice left,” Hart said (story via Dennis Young of Front Office Sports). “But then I saw (reports of the new $76 billion media deal), and I was like, you know what? I’m gonna play until my knees fall off.”
- Jacob Gilyard is no longer with the Nets‘ Summer League team, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). While there are no details yet on Gilyard’s absence, Lewis speculates that the free agent guard’s strong play in Las Vegas – including a .375 3PT% and 3.3 steals per game – may have earned him a contract offer from another NBA club.
- Nets swingman Jalen Wilson, who had already been excelling in Vegas, had 33 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s victory over Orlando and looks like a legitimate candidate for this year’s Summer League MVP award, writes Collin Helwig of NetsDaily. Wilson has averaged 24.3 points per game on .463/.556/.882 shooting in four outings. The 23-year-old, who has a $1.89MM minimum-salary contract for 2024/25 that is currently just partially guaranteed for $75K, looks like a safe bet to make Brooklyn’s regular season roster, which would increase that partial guarantee to $325K.