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The Jalen Brunson signing is proving to be more of a bargain with each passing day, unlike some of the free-agent moves the Knicks made in the past.
At 47-35, the New York Knicks just recorded their second-winningest season since the turn of the century. They also finished fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, which puts them up against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the postseason.
The season that the Knicks just had can be attributed to several things, but in large part to what turned out to be the biggest free agent acquisition this summer — Jalen Brunson. However, Brunson, as a successful free-agent signing, has been an outlier in recent Knicks history. Every team has made some free-agent mistakes but the Knicks have some legendary ones.
Biggest free-agent mistakes in the Knicks franchise history:
5. Amar’e Stoudemire
In 2010, the Knicks came into free agency ready to make a splash and they did just that when they agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract with Amar’e Stoudemire.
This move was made with the hopes of luring another star to come to play in MSG, where we eventually saw the arrival of Carmelo Anthony. While Stoudemire makes this list, his first season as a member of the Knicks was a huge success.
In 78 games, he averaged 25.3 points per game to go along with 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the field. The Knicks went on to have a 42-40 record before getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
However, that would be the last time we see Stoudemire play anywhere close to a full season’s worth of games. Unfortunately, Stoudemire had damage to his knees dating back to his days playing in Phoenix for the Suns, which the Knicks chose to overlook.
In the next three years, Stoudemire appeared in just 141 of a possible 246 games. In 2014-15, the Knicks were in last place in the NBA and going nowhere fast. Eventually, they decided to buy out his contract that season. Stoudemire’s inability to stay healthy is ultimately what cut short not only his tenure with the Knicks but what could’ve been a special career.