GM: Don’t overhype Kevin off Summer League

With Kevin Knox impressing at Summer League, the annual media hype machine is working in overdrive to prop up this rookie class as the saviors of a woebegone franchise.

Slow down, said GM Scott Perry, who didn't want to set any hard goals for the Knicks next season.

“I think it's way too early to make that assessment, especially after two Summer League games. You have to measure Summer League – the excitement or the disappointment. It is what it is. It's Summer League basketball. Do we see some encouraging things from some guys? Yes,” Perry told reporters Tuesday in Las Vegas. “But we know the guys they're playing against are not the same guys they're playing against in the fall. So we got to go through training camp. We have to see how this team is going to come together before we can have an idea about what this team can do from a wins and loss perspective.”

The front office, despite David Fizdale's hyperbolic assessments of his own players (Lance Thomas can be like Draymond Green, for instance), is maintaining low expectations. Just like last season, the goal is not about the playoffs or a win total but rather to play hard, play defense and play fast.

“Those are the goals we have and how we're going to judge how we're doing, how David (Fizdale) is doing and how our players are doing,” president Steve Mills told reporters.

In a lot of ways, the abandonment of tangible goals helps in self-preservation. If the Knicks stink next season, it was part of the plan. Take Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks, for instance. His record since taking over is 48-116 – the worst in the Eastern Conference – but he's been lauded by the media because he doesn't expect to win and hasn't traded away future draft picks. A good job if you can get it.

Unlike the Nets, however, the Knicks have put pressure on themselves to make a significant move next summer when their cap space opens. As Fizdale put it, “big moves.”

So we wait.

Joakim Noah remains persona non grata.

With only about a monthand-a-half until the start of training camp, the Knicks said they still have no concrete plan for their highlypaid center.

“He's still a member of the Knicks franchise right now, so he's part of our team,” Perry said. “All options are on the table for us.”

The ideal option is trading Noah for an expiring contract. Another option is waiving Noah via the stretch exception, which would extend his contract for more years but reduce his cap hit per year. By waiting until after Sept. 1 to waive Noah, the Knicks would save about $12 million in cap for 2019.

In a potential buyout, the Knicks greatest bargaining chip is threatening to wait until next offseason to waive Noah, thereby wasting another season for a 33-yearold who doesn't have many of them left in his body.

Noah is owed $37.8 million through the 2019-20 season.