1. New York Knicks
The Knicks offer many of the same benefits for Butler as the Nets would, at least from a marketing and brand standpoint. He would be playing in a big city for a historic franchise, in the world’s most famous arena. It’s not hard to see why a player would want to come to the Knicks, at a surface level.
When it comes to basketball, it begins to be a little more clear as to why the Knicks have been unable to acquire big name free agents. The fact of the matter is that they haven’t been very good for several years now, and their front office has been one of the worst in the NBA. With Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek finally out of the picture, the Knicks are looking to turn over a new leaf and usher in a new generation of New York basketball.
The Knicks are the one team on Butler’s list that could pair him with a true star. Kristaps Porzingis is one of the league’s best young players, and is also a great two-way player, sharing that ideology with Butler. The Knicks have also hired a defensively sound head coach in David Fizdale.
Fizdale has worked with some of the league’s best and brightest and has also won championships while on the Miami Heat’s coaching staff. If any coach can get the best out of a player like Jimmy Butler, it would be David Fizdale.
The Knicks also offer Butler a bright future, with players like Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson. Butler’s presence on the Knicks would show an organizational commitment to being competitive in the near future – something that free agents will definitely notice. It would be hard to find players that wouldn’t want to play alongside both Butler and Porzingis on a nightly basis, and that means the Knicks could finally be major players in the free agent market.
