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Knicks tenure: 2013-14
Current team: Grizzlies
Age: 31
Salary: $913K
2013-14 stats: 32 G, 18.7 MPG, 5.5 PPG, 3.5 APG, 0.72 SPG, .425 3PT%
Yes, he wore out his welcome with the Knicks earlier this season, but most of the Knicks’ recent former point guards are either playing at an advanced age or retired. Ideally, Lin would handle the bulk of the minutes at point.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images / Bruce Bennett
With so many talented players having worn a Knicks uniform over the last decade, despite the team’s lack of success over that period, amNewYork thought it would be fun to put together a full roster of former Knicks who are still on NBA rosters.
That doesn’t mean simply taking the 13 best active ex-Knicks and making a list. That’s too easy. Instead, the task was to build a starting lineup and a productive bench, all with an eye toward a cost-effective squad with a solid mix of veterans and emerging young players.
Using salary figures from HoopsHype.com, the ex-Knicks’ total payroll for 2013-14 would be $64.4 million. The current Knicks payroll sits at $87.7 million, which ranks a distant second behind the Nets’ $102 million figure.
If these ex-Knicks were a real team, they would sit just ahead of the Spurs with the 19th-highest payroll. That also puts the ex-Knicks well under the luxury tax threshold of $71.7 million.
Because cost was a factor, that meant some very talented players didn’t make the cut. Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph, twice an All-Star since being traded by the Knicks early in the 2008-09 season, was left off due to his salary ($17.8 million) and age (32). Suns starter Channing Frye and key Clippers reserve Matt Barnes were other notables left off the roster, but any of these three could be subbed in if this was a list of the 13 best former Knicks.
With that said, here’s amNewYork’s fantasy team of former Knicks — let’s call them the Knix — with the first five being the team’s starters.
(NOTE: All statistics through Wednesday’s games)
