The most likely remaining move for the Knicks would be to trade Fournier, their star free agent signing of the 2021 offseason who fell out of the rotation last season.
Fournier has an expiring $18 million contract with no minutes in sight barring injuries to the New York wingers.
Of course the Knicks want to use up all their roster spots, free up some salary, and send the veteran somewhere he can see some action, but they may want to wait. The upfront and opportunity costs of dealing with him could mean he enters training camp with the team.
First, if New York simply wants to dump Fournier’s salary, it’s going to cost him some draft capital. While there is a case for him bringing shooting to a team, look no further than the Brooklyn shipment of Joe Harris, an arguably better player on a similar contract who they had to package with two second-round picks to face.
The Knicks may not be willing to incur the additional expense after using picks to ship other signed contracts in 2021, especially when Fournier’s deal could increase in value. Due to new cap limitations coming with the new CBA, Fournier’s large expiring contract could turn into an asset instead of a liability by the trade deadline.
They could also use it as a salary filler between now and then in any trade for a major upgrade, whose probable high salary needs to be matched somehow.