Sharpshooter Matt Ryan and the Knicks certainly have mutual interest in working out a deal, but it’s a little complicated.
Ryan, a former Iona Prep star, is a free agent. Technically, the Knicks have the roster space and money to sign Ryan or any other free agent.
They have 12 players on traditional NBA contracts and have $3.6 million in room between their own team salary and the second apron ($188.9 million).
So they can give Ryan a veteran’s minimum deal and add him to the roster.
Again, both sides have interest in getting a deal done.
But this is where it gets a bit complicated.
Landry Shamet is currently rehabbing his dislocated shoulder. He suffered the injury in the preseason. The Knicks waived him prior to the start of the regular season.
There was initial optimism that Shamet could avoid surgery.
The Knicks were planning to play Shamet in their rotation prior to the injury. Maybe they want to keep a roster spot open while Shamet rehabs so they can add him if he returns to full health?
New York does not have enough money under the second apron to sign both Ryan and Shamet to veteran’s minimum deals.
(The Knicks’ team salary cannot exceed the second apron. They are hard-capped at that amount due to the Mikal Bridges trade).
An easier route for Ryan and the Knicks would be to sign a two-way contract. The Knicks don’t have a two-way spot open. But they can convert a two-way player they drafted to a rookie minimum deal and still have room to sign a player to a veteran’s minimum contract.
If they converted Ariel Hukporti’s deal from a two-way contract to a standard deal, they would then be able to sign Ryan on a two-way contract.
Ryan, who was named Mr. Basketball in New York in 2015, shot 45 percent from beyond the arc last season in 28 games with the New Orleans Pelicans. He could clearly give the Knicks a boost on the perimeter.
He’d also like to be in New York and the Knicks certainly have interest in him, as ESPN earlier reported. But there is no deal in place and there may not be a deal until the Knicks are forced to add a player.
The Knicks currently have 12 players on standard contracts. They can have fewer than 14 players on standard deals for no longer than 14 consecutive days and no more than 28 total days in a season.
So New York has to add two players by no later than Nov. 5.
The Knicks can save some money if they wait until Nov. 5 to make any moves, NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan says. (Gozlan has a fantastic YouTube page and website that breaks down all salary/CBA issues).
If the Knicks convert Hukporti to a standard deal on Nov. 5, it lowers his salary. If they wait until Nov. 5 to sign a veteran free agent, they’d sign that player to a reduced salary.
For example, if they convert Hukporti and sign another veteran on Nov. 5, they would spend roughly $250,000 less than if they’d made the same moves for Opening Night, Gozlan says.
In this new CBA world where every dollar counts, that matters.
The Knicks can also sign a player to a non-guaranteed deal to get to 14 and then waive the player one day later to re-start the clock with the 14-man roster minimum rule. In this instance, the player would count for three days of service on the team, Gozlan says. The Knicks would only be responsible for the player’s pro-rated salary based on days of service, per Gozlan.
In this scenario, they could keep a roster spot open for Shamet and also gain some short-term space under the second apron, Gozlan notes. If they waited another two weeks to sign a veteran, that veteran would have a smaller pro-rated salary.
So if the Knicks wanted to maintain roster flexibility for Shamet or another player, they could sign a player with two years of service to a non-guaranteed deal and then waive that player. Shamet – or another veteran – could then fit in that roster spot.
