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At the beginning of free agency, Austin Rivers took control of his destiny by opting out of the volatile situation in Houston and forgoing the second year of a minimum contract. New York has been linked to Houston in light of the tumult between Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Both stars have expressed their interest in moving on from the current situation. The Knicks, by all accounts, have appeared lukewarm on Westbrook because of his gargantuan contract, and are not in the running for Harden.
No matter! After the Knicks waived Kenny Wooten’s two-way contract and the Rockets subsequently claimed him off waivers, New York acquired Rivers on a three year deal for practically minimum dollars.
Update on Rivers' contract: Three years, $10M, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/mfOQ2XIne7
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 23, 2020
Right as this went down, New York shipped the recently acquired Ed Davis to Minnesota for Omari Spellman, Jacob Evans and a future second-round pick.
The Knicks turned $5 million in cap space into 3 future second-round picks, Omari Spellman (the No. 30 pick in 2018) and Jacob Evans (No. 28 in 2018). Heady maneuvering from Leon Rose, Scott Perry, Brock Aller, Frank Zanin, Walt Perrin, and Co. https://t.co/buW5ZsXSa1
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) November 23, 2020
According to Marc Berman, Spellman and Evans might be immediately waived. If not, the Knicks are carrying 16 players on their roster and they can bring as many as 20 to training camp. Is this the dawn of a new era in New York?
UPDATE
The last two years of the Rivers contract aren’t guaranteed.
The final two years of Austin Rivers’ three-year deal with the Knicks are non-guaranteed, per SNY sources. He has a three-year, $10 million deal, ESPN reports.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 23, 2020