Given that the Knicks have virtually no salary cap space whatsoever, it came as a rather big surprise that they actually took on an extra $1 million in the Andrea Bargnani deal, despite trading three players for one. And now, while still considerably over the luxury tax for this year and next, comes a report from CBS Sports' Ken Berger that New York has expressed interest in guard Monta Ellis.
Ellis is a pure scorer, but that's about all you'll get from the free agent, who opted out of his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. He is a sub-par passer and a certifiable defensive liability, but a career 19.4 points per game average will go a long way in easing those pains.
While Ellis would certainly benefit the Knicks, the math here is just not adding up. The contract he opted out of with Milwaukee would have paid him $11 million next year, and the only room the Knicks seem to have is the $3.2 million mid-level exception. Ellis has said he would be willing to take a discount to play for a contender, but a $7.8 million one is pretty steep.
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