Nerlens Noel

The Knicks’ frontcourt has dealt with a lot of injuries this season and they will be dealing with a lot of uncertainty entering the offseason. Taj Gibson is not a long-term solution in the frontcourt for the Knicks and with Mitchell Robinson being a free agent, all attention is now going to be casted on Nerlens Noel and his future with the team. 

Noel had a really strong defensive year during the 2020-21 season, but he has only played in 25 games this season due to multiple injuries and is under contract for $9.2 million next season. 

Assuming they are going to keep Mitchell Robinson on a new long-term, high-paying contract, the Knicks will have to free up cap space, which could lead them to trying to move Nerlens Noel while he still holds some value. 

Having Taj Gibson as mentioned before, the Knicks do not really “need” to keep Noel next season and they also have Obi Toppin and Julius Randle in their frontcourt, who they could utilize as “centers” in small-ball lineups. 

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Nerlens Noel brings nothing to the table for this team offensively and is taking up a lot of valuable cap space that the Knicks could utilize to add some reliable scoring talents in the backcourt or on the perimeter. 

Packaging Nerlens Noel with some other assets in the offseason to free up cap space would make a lot of sense for the Knicks not only to sure things up in their frontcourt with Robinson, but in order to have available cash funds in free agency.