Knicks Could Consider Third Run With Veteran Guard

The New York Knicks still have room to sign one more veteran. Thanks to free agent forward Guerschon Yabusele passing up the full taxpayer mid-level exception in inking his deal, they can still afford to invite one more player to next season's situation.

They've used their offseason money wisely to this point, throwing a bag at Mike Brown to take over as the team's next head coach while upgrading their bench with the aforementioned Yabusele signing and bringing Jordan Clarkson aboard coming off of a buy-out, putting the Knicks in a position to succeed with a deeper bench than before while retaining their star assets.

The list of remaining free agents a week after teams could sign available names isn't a robust collection, generally limited to older players on their last legs and prospects who never totally panned out in the NBA. There are some available guys left out there who could provide much-needed ball-handling in the back court, though, with one familiar Knicks name looking like an interesting candidate to take on on a veteran's minimum contract.

Alec Burks had not one, but two different turns with the Knicks during the five-year Tom Thibodeau era. He was a favorite of the since-fired coach, always playing with composure despite spending the vast majority of his well-traveled career on bad teams.

He tasted fresh air in a winning environment in the 2023-24 season when the Knicks traded for him for his second stint in New York, and he had several 20+ point performances in an eventual second-round loss to the Indiana Pacers before disappearing back into NBA anonymity with last year's Miami Heat.

Michael Zeno of SB Nation's Posting and Toasting made the case for Burks making the trip back to New York after a positive stint with the Heat, writing "Burks spent 2024-25 as a part-time player in Miami, going back to the dead-eye shooter he’s been for almost his entire career (42.5% from deep)." The Knicks, as they demonstrated in their Eastern Conference Finals run, were shooting deprived, especially from their bench.

The fact that Thibodeau is no longer in charge would hurt the free agent's chances of another return, but as he points out, "the Knicks could do worse than adding a 6’6” career 38.6% 3-point shooter."