By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
With the NBA’s moratorium on player transactions having been lifted on Wednesday morning at 12:01 a.m., the Knicks have made two of their offseasons moves official.
The team announced on Wednesday that it has traded for 7-foot power forward Andrea Bargnani from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson, a first-round pick in 2016 and second-round picks in 2014 and 2017.
Additionally, the team announced it has re-signed 36-year-old point guard Pablo Prigioni. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but multiple outlets reported last week that Prigioni will get a three-year deal for approximately $6 million. The third year is partially-guaranteed.
Barngnani is the Knicks’ big splash for the summer, acquiring the former No. 1 overall pick after he had become discontent in Toronto while the fans there felt the same way about him.
Capable of stretching defenses at both the power forward and center positions, the native of Rome averaged 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 35 games while dealing with injuries throughout last season.
“He can score both inside and out,” Knicks head coach Mike Woodson told reporters in Las Vegas leading up to Vegas Summer League, which opens on Friday. “He will be a great complement to Carmelo, Tyson and Amar’e.”
A 35-year old rookie last season, Prigioni was a pleasant surprise for the Atlantic Divison-champion Knicks. He averaged 3.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.8 rebounds over 16.2 minutes in 78 regular season games and was inserted into the Knicks starting lineup on Mar. 18 to help lead the team to the franchise’s third-longest winning streak of 13.
In 11 postseason games (10 starts), Prigioni averaged 4.5 points, 3.2 assists and 1.27 steals over 20.9 minutes.
“We are very excited to have Pablo back in a Knicks uniform, he is one of our catalysts on both the offensive and defensive end,” Knicks Executive Vice President and General Manager Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “His tenacity, leadership and experience played an integral role in our team’s success down the stretch, and into the postseason.”
Prigioni’s deal leaves the Knicks with approximately $1.7 million left on their $3.2 million mini mid-level exception for next season. With that amount of money, plus only a veteran’s minimum contract to offer, the Knicks have found it increasingly difficult to gain a commitment from a mid-level free agent.
Another surprising Knicks rookie last season, Chris Copeland, turned down the rest of the Knicks’ mini-MLE for a two-year, $6 million deal with the Indiana Pacers.
Francisco Garcia, Will Bynum and Carlos Delfino are among the mid-level free agents who have committed elsewhere since news of Prigioni taking a good chunk of the Knicks’ mini-MLE came out.
