The New York Knicks are tied to the movements of the former free agency’s former all-defense first-team player.
Since opening the NBA free agency, the New York Knicks have already made two acquisitions that will be important next season.
Jordan Clarkson and Gerson Yabsel are both valuable players, allowing them to play a considerable amount of time and provide stellar production.
Signing them was a great move to add Knicks depth. This was often not apparently used by coach Tom Thibodeau in the playoffs.
After securing two extremely popular moves, the Knicks are linked with another large player who can occupy multiple positions.
Ben Simmons played for the LA Clippers and averaged only five points last season.
Although not so many of these, he played a lot less with the Clippers than he did at Brooklyn Net.
In his time with the net, Simmons gave a glimpse of glow, but his injuries made him unable to showcase consistency.
According to Ian Begley, the Knicks view the former Rookie of the Year as one of the players in the free agency market.
Yabusele was a player who was impressed by his performance with the Philadelphia 76ers last season, but Clarkson has consistently shown he can be a great addition off the bench.
But there’s not much that Simmons can bring with him with the already stacked Knicks team, especially since immersing himself in post-injury production in the rear.
One of the problems the Knicks faced in the playoffs was the lack of offensive threats other than Jalen Brunson.
Clarkson handles it for them, but he usually gets out of the bench and boosts the depth.
But they still need players who can score points as starters for their teams.
Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and others can all earn points, but consistency is a problem.
This is one reason why elite defense and playmaking are not what the Knicks need for players like Simmons.
The team has great defenders that can make things difficult for the opponent, but the points that showed the problem in the playoffs are the points.
Mike Brown’s arrival as head coach needs to resolve some of that issue. He is an elite coach and led the Sacramento Kings to a stellar offensive year in 2023 when he defeated the 16 playoff drought.
He is expected to play more fluid brands of basketball and fuel them to help the franchise win the championship.