It is fair to say that the New York Knicks have had a disappointing season. This is a team that always has high expectations and actually looked like they could be a playoff team this year, but they instead have fallen off in a big way and will finish with a losing record and out of the playoffs.
This season hasn't been without bright spots for the Knicks, though, as they have had a few players really make a name for themselves. Kristaps Porzingis is the first one that comes to mind, as he showed he has star potential. Another player that comes to mind for the Knicks is Lance Thomas, who became an incredibly important player for the Knicks this season.
Thomas is dealing with a sprained knee that has kept him out of the Knicks' last 11 games. It was always expected that Thomas would be back at some point during this season, but now that doesn't seem so likely. Thomas has started to do some running, but he has yet to do any sort of cutting so the Knicks may just decide to hold him out for the remainder of their games.
The former Duke Blue Devil was undrafted in 2011 but signed on with the Pelicans where he spent three seasons. Thomas moved on to the Thunder for part of last season, but they let him go which is when the Knicks signed him to a couple of 10-day contracts. The 27-year-old forward took full advantage of that opportunity with the Knicks and turned it into a one-year minimum salary deal with them this season.
In 22.3 minutes per game, mostly as Carmelo Anthony's backup, Thomas has averaged 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 40 percent from three-point range. The 6-foot-8 small forward has carved out a nice role for himself in the NBA, and the Knicks have been really impressed with what he has done this season which will make this offseason for him very interesting.
Thomas will have made $1.65 million this season, but he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is likely due a pretty big raise. As much as the Knicks like Thomas, they may not be willing to give him the raise he will likely seek because they have their sights set on bigger targets this summer. The Knicks also don't like the fact that Thomas' knee injury made them miss out on time to evaluate his value. That goes for all teams that have interest in Thomas, but his 59-game sample this season was pretty good, and he should draw some interest on the open market.
