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It is the evening of July 1, and we have a little bit of insight into what's going on with Chris Copeland and who else the Knicks are looking at. First, Copeland stuff. Teams are into Copeland. The Lakers were the first of several clubs to contact him, but the Pacers apparently have the strongest interest, and it's mutual. Cope'll probably meet with some teams later this week.
The Knicks, meanwhile....nothing. The last thing they did was give Cope his qualifying offer-- a mere formality-- and they have apparently not reached out to him about re-signing on this first day of free agency. Perhaps they'll do that soon. Perhaps they're waiting for someone else to make him an offer (remember they can only match up to the $3.2ish million per year). Perhaps they're just gonna let him walk.
Of note, then, is interest in some similarly-sized (if not exactly similarly-skilled) free agents. We heard previously about Carlos Delfino being a potential target, which is fine with me. Also fine with me:
#Knicks have inquired about two small forwards in Francisco Garcia and Matt Barnes. Still a need.
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) July 1, 2013
Those are capable wing defenders who can hit the occasional three (and while we're at it, the Knicks still fancy Tony Allen, even if they have no money to pay him). The Knicks could use a couple of those. If any of the above would accept the veteran's minimum, sign 'em up! If any of the above would accept part of the mini-MLE...maybe sign 'em up depending on who else is willing since there's only so much to go around! Okay, break!
Update (9:47PM):
Pacers and Nuggets are the latest teams to inquire about Chris Copeland, according to a league source. #Knicks haven't contact Copeland yet.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 2, 2013