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The 2019-20 Knicks roster should soon be set, as the team has reportedly agreed to pry 6’9” power forward Marcus Morris away from the San Antonio Spurs and are confident they will soon come to terms on a contract with 6’7” wing Reggie Bullock.
If they can lock up Morris and Bullock, the Knicks will officially have a full roster — one filled with some intriguing young talents plus with a group of wily veterans. Will it be a team that can put together a decent amount of victories? That remains to be seen.
Wait, didn’t Marcus Morris sign with the Spurs?
Kind of, except no. The other Woj, Shams Charania of the Athletic, reported just a few days ago that the twin brother of Markieff had agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with the Spurs, but apparently Morris never signed on the dotted line.
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Earlier this week, reports began trickling out that Morris was weighing the possibility of axing his agreement with the Spurs to instead sign with the Knicks. Ditching the Spurs to join the Knicks? That’s certainly an interesting career choice.
By Thursday afternoon, Shams was reporting that Morris is indeed ditching the Spurs to join the Knicks, to the tune of one year and $15 million.
Forward Marcus Morris tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium on reopening his free agency and signing with the Knicks on a one-year, $15M deal: “I had to make this decision based on the best situation for me and my family. This is no knock on the Spurs. I have respect for them.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 11, 2019
Morris brings a toughness that the Knicks may hope will harken back to the days of Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley, the latter of whom is still feuding with James Dolan. In 75 games with the Boston Celtics last season, Morris posted 14 points (45% shooting, 38% from three) and 6 rebounds per game. For his career, which spans eight seasons and four teams (the Knicks will be his fifth), Morris has averaged 11.5 points and 5 rebounds per game.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks have “long been enamored” by the big man, who will represent the fourth power forward the Knicks have signed since the start of free agency. Maybe he’ll play some backup center minutes or something.
You said the Knicks are confident they’re going to sign Bullock. I thought they already did that!?
Please calm the heck down, and by heck I mean hell. It’s true that the Knicks did previously agree to a two-year, $21 million deal with Bullock with a player option in year two, but then some kind of medical issue came up, the specifics of which aren’t totally clear.
According to Begley, “there remains mutual interest between the Knicks and Bullock to negotiate a new deal after a medical issue hampered their original agreement.”
Perhaps it has something to do with plantar fasciitis, which is an issue Bullock has had in the past, and the two sides are now in the process of renegotiating.
In a brief conversation with ESPN, Bauman was complimentary of how the Knicks handled this emerging situation with Bullock. He cited how accommodating ownership, front office and medical staff had been in dealing with new issues facing deal: “First-class throughout,” Bauman said. https://t.co/vFoTxswQpy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 9, 2019
First class! Did ya heard that, y’all? We dun been called first class!
Drafted in 2013 by the Los Angeles Clippers, Bullock is a career 39% three point shooter, meaning this is a move the Knicks hope will result in some serious net splashing. Last year, in 63 total games with the Detroit Pistons and then the Los Angeles Lakers, Bullock tied his top scoring average (11.3 per game) and had career highs in rebounding (2.7 per game) and assists (2 per game). Career highs, damn it. He’s definitely a guy who plays basketball, that much can be said with certainty.
Can you break down what the Knicks would look like for me if this does indeed all happen?
Sure, here are the Knicks, sorted by position, in no particular order except that Frank Ntilikina will be first.
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Oh, and positions aren’t really a thing anymore anyway, so any of these guys could play any position at any second. Ok, here we go:
Point guard: Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., Elfrid Payton (Kadeem Allen is on a two-way contract, so he may start the season in the G-League)
Shooting guard: Allonzo Trier, R.J. Barrett, Damyean Dotson, Wayne Ellington
Small forward: Kevin Knox, Reggie Bullock, Ignas Brazdeikis
Power forward: Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson
Center: Mitchell Robinson
So...what do we think? It’s time to place your bets on how many games that team wins. Might they beat the Golden State Warriors regular season record of 73 wins? Haha, jk lol. Will they at least eclipse last year’s total of 17 victories? You’d think it shouldn’t be that hard.
The team certainly has a new crop of basketball players, and if the most recent summer league game is any indication, the Knicks are never going to lose again.