Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Knicks get good value with Kyle O'Quinn

The New York Knicks added a young big man at a reasonable price when they agreed to acquire Kyle O’Quinn in a sign-and-trade on Saturday.

Here’s a look what the signing means for the Knicks and O’Quinn:

By the numbers: O’Quinn, a 6-10 power forward, has been productive in a limited role with Orlando.

In his three-year career, O’Quinn has averaged 13 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes. So if he can continue to develop under the Knicks' watch, his four-year, $16 million contract could look like a bargain when the salary cap rises.

Grantland’s Zach Lowe has a great breakdown of O’Quinn’s game. As Lowe notes, O’Quinn has shown an ability to find cutters with sharp passes from the perimeter. That's a skill that is useful in any offense, but could be particularly valuable in the Knicks' triangle offense, which requires constant ball movement and off-ball cuts.

It should be noted that O'Quinn hasn’t posted strong numbers from beyond the arc (28 percent on 48 attempts in 2014-15).

But, as Lowe notes, Orlando asked O’Quinn to shoot threes as an experiment last season. It will be interesting to see if this is something the Knicks' coaching staff continues with O’Quinn.

O'Quinn, a Queens, N.Y. native, also appears to have a good touch in the paint. He hit 49 percent of his attempts from 3-10 feet last season. But he lacks a post-up attack at this point in his career.

On defense, O’Quinn proved adept at defending the rim last season. Opponents shot 48.6 percent at the rim against him in 2014-15.

Given this profile, the 25-year-old O’Quinn seems like a good candidate to back up Knicks center Robin Lopez.

What’s next? The Knicks used all of their remaining cap space on the agreed-upon deal with O’Quinn. So, assuming the salary cap remains at its projected number, the Knicks will have only the $2.8 million room exception and veteran’s minimum contracts left to offer free agents.

New York has four players under fully-guaranteed contracts. They have agreed to deals with four more and they have two rookies who have yet to sign their contracts.

The Knicks also have Langston Galloway signed to a deal that is not fully guaranteed. Galloway is expected to remain on the roster.

That leaves them with four open roster spots.

Ricky Ledo is signed to an non-guaranteed deal and is a candidate for a roster spot. Thanasis Antetokounmpo played on the Knicks’ D-League team last summer and may be offered a contract. The Knicks also have expressed interest in bringing back Jason Smith and Lance Thomas -- two veterans from the 2014-15 team. Lou Amundson and Alexey Shved are also likely on the Knicks’ radar.

The question then becomes, what else do the Knicks need?

They appear to have voids on their bench at shooting guard and small forward -- depending on if they choose to play "small ball" or traditional lineups -- so it will be interesting to see who they target with their final roster spots.

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