New York Knicks guard Arron Afflalo will not pick up his $8 million option next season, according to the Associated Press' Michael Scotto, so he will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Given that Afflalo lost his starting job to Sasha Vujacic and clashed with interim coach Kurt Rambis while the Knicks dropped out of the playoff picture this past season, this outcome is not particularly surprising.
Afflalo signed a two-year, $16 million deal with New York last summer, but given that the salary cap will rise to a reported $94 million this summer, he should be able to get a raise on the open market. All signs point to him leaving the Knicks to join his fifth team in five years.
New York forward Derrick Williams, who signed a two-year, $10 million deal last summer, did the same thing as Afflalo, per ESPN's Ian Begley. The Knicks won't be upset about this -- they will have more than $30 million in cap space this summer as a result. It is no secret that they would like to use that space to strengthen their backcourt.
At 30 years old, Afflalo is still in his prime. He can help a contender with his 3-point shooting, post-up game and ability to guard three positions. The key questions here: Do good teams still want to pay him like a starter, and would he accept a role coming off the bench?
After a disappointing stint in Portland and weird year in New York, there won't be a lot of buzz about Afflalo. He's probably underrated now, though, and he can be one of the better role players in the league if he's in the right situation.
