New York Knicks rumors reveal Robin Lopez is the new starting center. Previous rumors about the Knicks signing Lopez hinged on what DeAndre Jordan would do, but Jordan has decided to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. A report from CBS Sports on Friday (July 3) confirms that Jordan will receive $80 million over four seasons from the Mavericks. That is a disaster for the Los Angeles Clippers, which is why the Knicks have moved quickly to take Lopez off the market as well.
A report from Yahoo! Sports lays out what the New York Knicks rumors regarding Robin Lopez entail. Lopez has reportedly agreed in principle to a four-year, $54 million contract. Netting a deal that will pay him $13.5 million per season (on average) is a pretty good move for Lopez, but his agent might deserve a lot of credit as well. That’s a huge pay raise from what he was making for the Portland Trail Blazers last year and indicative of where the market has gone.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Arron Afflalo already agreed to a free-agent deal with the Knicks, so this gives the team two good signings in the NBA offseason. Previous New York Knicks rumors had linked the team to free agents like LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, and DeAndre Jordan, but the team missed out on all three big men. That’s not too surprising, as Knicks president Phil Jackson is still trying to rebuild a terrible roster that he inherited from the front office.
By signing Lopez to this long-term deal, it likely means that Carmelo Anthony will play power forward in a lot of games next season. For the Knicks to get the triangle offense to work, Phil Jackson and head coach Derek Fisher needed more players who could run it. It will be interesting to see how Lopez can do with it, but he is pretty agile for a big man. He can also play heavy minutes with the starting rotation, likely something that will be needed during the 2015-16 NBA season.
Though the team didn’t sign one of the top-tier free agents this offseason, the Knicks did put some talent on the roster around Anthony. That might already be enough to get them into the 2016 NBA Playoffs. Fans should expect more New York Knicks rumors to come up, though, as the team needs to add some depth. Several more role players are likely coming to town before the NBA offseason comes to an end.
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