ROBIN IN THE HOOD
Lopez contract official; Knicks snag Williams
Knicks owner James Dolan hosted his lavish Fourth of July party extravaganza Friday night, but there were no fireworks on the Phil Jackson free agency front.
The stars continued to shun the Zen Master as Jackson’s Plan C of settling for teamoriented role players went into effect on Day 3 of free agency.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan chose the Mavericks over the Knicks on Friday, leading Jackson to officially cement a fouryear, $54 million deal with Portland’s 7foot defensive center Robin Lopez — finally adding a legitimate big man to the roster.
And in an even lesssplashy move Friday night, Jackson signed 6foot8 forward Derrick Williams, a former secondoverall pick — to a twoyear, $10 million deal, leaving the Knicks with about $3 million of cap space.
To recount, the big freeagency splash of 2015 is Lopez, serviceable shooting guard Arron Afflalo and Williams — not exactly the sparkly moves that were expected.
Lopez, 28, whose twin brother, Brook, plays for the Nets, announced on Twitter he was “excited” to be a Knick.
In 59 games last season, Lopez, known as a free spirit, averaged a modest 9.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in 28 minutes for a Blazers team on the verge of breaking up.
Lopez and Carmelo Anthony still appear to need more up front as Jackson attempted to beef up the frontline with Williams, though he’s not much of a rebounder.
A source said Jackson and Williams met Friday night and he closed the deal with the 2011 secondoverall selection by the Timberwolves. Williams never lived up to his draft standing in four seasons with Minnesota and Sacramento, but improved last season, when he averaged 8.4 points. He shares the same agent as Derek Fisher.
“He really doesn’t have a position,’’ one NBA personnel director said of Williams, who is considered a poor defensive player. “He’s the size of a 3, but really a 4. But he’s only 24 and he finally had a solid year.’’
Anthony still doesn’t have a legitimate sec ondary scoring option. Lopez is not that type of player. Greg Monroe, who spurned the Knicks on Thursday, would have filled that role.
Instead, Lopez is a solid, active center and — dare we say it — is not dissimilar to Tyson Chandler.
“He was the best option left on the board they realistically could get,’’ one NBA executive said. “It’s hard to say how the fit is considering how many holes they still have for the future. But he runs the floor, blocks shots, [has a] super motor and [is] comfortable doing the dirty work.’’
Earlier Friday, Jackson sat down with Rockets forward Corey Brewer, who decided to resign with Houston on a reported threeyear, $23.4 million deal. Jackson didn’t make an offer because he was still trying to split what he had left.
The Knicks also have contacted shooting guard Caron Butler and Houston’s young swingman, K.J. McDaniels. But Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley is off the market after resigning with Houston on a deal that started at $6.5 million.
Jackson went into free agency with the vision of trying to get the elite players to take a little less so he could spread his money around. But they only saw dollar signs and the Knicks’ 1765 record.
Many of the best free agents didn’t want to join a club with too many holes following their 201415 catastrophe, starting with David West and ending with LaMarcus Aldridge, who cancelled his meeting with the Knicks. Wesley Matthews, who agreed to terms with the Mavericks, also was a top target, but never agreed to a meeting with Jackson.
Once the Knicks hit the cap after another signing, they also will have an exception to sign one player for $2.8 million. The Knicks still have visions of resigning big man Jason Smith or combo guard Alexey Shved.
The Knicks’ starting lineup could be Jose Calderon, Afflalo, Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Lopez, with Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway the first two guards off the bench. Jackson needs to add more bigs, preferably a starting power forward.