Pau Gasol (Photo : Getty Images)
The New York Knicks could lure Pau Gasol and Bradley Beal to the Big Apple following the team's acquisition of ex-Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose.
The Knicks kick started their offseason by trading for Rose, addressing the need to have a quality floor commander to run Jeff Hornacek's up-tempo offense. While it did net the Knicks an All-Star guard they have been looking for in the past few seasons, the move left them without a starting center after including Robin Lopez to the blockbuster deal.
According to the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy, the Knicks' option for a starting big man could start with Pau Gasol, who is expected to opt out of his three-year $22.3 million deal with the Bulls to become an unrestricted free agent.
Gasol to the Knicks will give the Spaniard a chance to reunite with Phil Jackson, the team's president of basketball operations. Gasol is fond of Jackson's works as he had played for the Zen Master for three season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite his age, the two-time NBA champ still has a lot to offer the Knicks and Jackson, averaging 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the Bulls.
Gasol could also be enticed by Rose's arrival at the Garden and the potential to become frontcourt partners with Kristaps Porzingis. The two skillful European bigs could create nightmare matchups to other frontcourt tandems in the league, and would give the Knicks an intriguing mix of young and veteran talents in their roster.
With Carmelo Anthony playing at small forward, the Knicks could form a formidable starting lineup of Gasol, Rose, Anthony and Porzingis, although New York still need to feel the hole at the shooting guard position.
"The Knicks will be entering free agency with over $30 million in cap space and need, in addition to a starting center, a two-guard," Bondy wrote.
According to Fox Sports' Dieter Kurtenbach, the Knicks could overpay Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who becomes a restricted free agent in July.
"Landing a sharpshooting off-guard is a good way to do that, and Beal would be highly desirable and possibly attainable, should the Wizards not want to match a max offer sheet to an injury prone player," Kurtenbach wrote.
Beal has been adamant about seeking a max contract with the Wizards and is likely to do the same to other teams planning to pursue the 22-year-old shooter. If the Knicks have the cap space to offer Beal a max deal if they could get Gasol or other key free agents to take less money.
However, the Wizards are expected to grant Beal's demand of a max contract to keep the team's backcourt duo of Beal and John Wall. It may not be also wise for the Knicks to have two injury-prone guards, although it could prove to be lethal if Beal and Rose can remain healthy.
It would be interesting to see if Gasol or Beal truly get the Knicks' attention this summer. But they may actually have gotten the interest of other free agents after trading for Rose.
