According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Atlanta Hawks will not match the New York Knicks large offer sheet.
Fans freaked out when the New York Knicks signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year, $71 million offer sheet. They hoped for the Atlanta Hawks to save them by matching that crazy number. So much for that.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that the Hawks are being smart and not matching the offer sheet.
ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz reported that the Hawks were willing to go as high as a whopping $45 million. $71 million over four years is crazy for the Knicks. $71 million is a stretch when they have all that money tied up in fellow wing player Kent Bazemore.
This leaves little money left for the Knicks to spend on a point guard. It will be difficult to convince either Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo to come to New York.
Incumbent shooting guard Courtney Lee is now likely on the way out. He’s set to make $12 million next season and having both salaries on the books makes no sense.
However, sense and the Knicks rarely go together. So who knows what this makeshift front office will do next?