Panos wrote:...why the Knicks agreed to pay Baker $8mm per year with a player option?

Baker is not making 8 million AAV, he's making 8 million total IF he opts in next season, through his player option.

Guaranteed Money Versus Limited Obligation

The good thing about fringe players, truly back of the roster guys and UDFAs is you can get them often with little to no financial commitment and cut them loose if needed without a massive cap hit. The flip side to that is if they work out/pan out then the team often had limited options in keeping said player, as said player will hit the open market and start to garner interest in line with actual market approximation.

Generally if you want a fringe player to sign multiple years and be subject to team options, you have to give him some kind of guaranteed money. Can you see how critical it is for a fringe guy to know X amount will hit the bank no matter what?

When the Knicks FIRST signed Baker, they could have signed him for more than the rest of the season and incorporation some team option years. Of course, that meant ponying up some guaranteed money of some kind, which would create a cap charge.

You have to weigh out the math here. Odds are, fringe guys won't make an impact. You start putting in guaranteed money across the board for all these guys, your cap will be hell on Earth. It's more viable to operate with little commitment and see how the player reacts to the market forces around him.

In his defense...he missed a lot of playing time during pre-season because of his ankle, and as far as I can recall, we never had much info thrown our way about the nature of the injury- so maybe it was worse than we know.

On the other hand, I have not seen an improvement in his shooting. Is this because of the injury, or is the shooter we saw last year the real Baker?

I would also note that he became a PG in the Triangle, which is not a PG heavy offense. Is he capable of being a PG, a position he didn't play in college, in a regular NBA offense?

Still feel that his shooting is the most disquieting thing. If it is an ankle thing...time will tell. If not, he won't get much court time, especially if Frank shows progress.

Andrew wrote:

Cartman718 wrote:baker relegated to far end of the bench as soon as ntilikina is healthy. even in garbage last 2 mins, jeff put ntilikina and dotson out there not baker.

Baker didnt dress

NYKBocker wrote:If you are a stats guy then you will never like a player like Baker. Bakers contract at $4M per season for 2 years does not affect anything but it shows freeagents that this organization will pay you for hardwork

Unfortunately that's a type of statement often pushed by media pundits, if only to try to maintain open avenue with their sources in the various front offices around the league.

Players go for max money, max AAV, max years and/or best chance to win.

No free agent will say , "Dude, I'm going to pass up the most money and most years because Team X did this three season ago for Player A and Player B!"

Ring chasers, guys like David West, or guys like Mike Bibby giving up money to go to a contender, that's a different animal. Those guys have made their core money in the league already.

And ESPECIALLY fringe guys, those guys just want guaranteed money. They don't know how long they are going to play, so any chance to lock in some security, they do.

Sometimes the team, like the Heat the past few years, do it, because the market is thin and they don't have a ton of other options. They stick to guys who are established in their system and are known quantities. It's framed as "loyalty" because it sounds good. But kid yourself not, both sides are as ruthless as the rules allow them to be.