With arguably the biggest free agency period in NBA history approaching and some of the game’s biggest stars possibly changing scenery, the matter of selling points becomes critical in persuading free agents to play for your team. Unlike in the uncapped sport of baseball where a free agent usually goes to the team that throws the most money at him, players in the NBA can only be signed to a certain “max” contract.

Permitting a team has the cap space, a player can sign a max contract in any city. In baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers can’t contend with the New York Yankees when it comes to spending in free agency. In basketball, the Milwaukee Bucks can contend New York Knicks due to salary caps and max contracts. The financial monster known as New York doesn’t have a leg up over the competition in basketball like it does in baseball. 

This is where selling points factor in. Being that numerous teams will have the available cap space to make max contract offers in free agency this summer, it’s going to take more than just money to sign a superstar. 

If the Knicks are able to pull off a trade for Tracy McGrady that includes Jared Jeffries, they will have enough cap space to sign two players to max contracts this summer as concluded by Hoopdata, who took an in-depth look at the Knicks cap situation.

The ability to sign two max contracts becomes the Knicks focal selling point.

Forget trying to use the endorsements as a persuasion point. If this were 20 to 30 years ago, New York would be a better destination for free agents due to the fact that they could make more money in endorsements by playing in New York. In today’s world, an athlete can make just as much money in endorsements in one city compared to another thanks to globalization and technology.

The Knicks need to drill the fact that they can sign two players to max deals. That means they can call LeBron and say ‘Hey we want to bring you to New York and oh yea, we can afford Chris Bosh too’. The Knicks can call Dwayne Wade and say ‘Come sign with us and then let’s go out and get Amare Stoudemire’. 

With enough cap room for two max contracts, the Knicks can sign two superstars who are longing to play with each other. This is a solid selling point that most of the other teams looking to make a splash in free agency cannot say. 

Hoopdata makes a very interesting remark;

An interesting angle to watch in all this is what happens if Amare goes to Cleveland, Amare and Lebron both re-sign there after winning a championship, the Heat miss the playoffs, and the Raptors get knocked out in the first round. I don’t think you’d find anyone around who would think that Bosh or Wade alone could build a team strong enough to knock off those Cavs (or even the Lakers or other teams), so it may become a necessity for Bosh and Wade to team up if they want to have a legitimate shot at winning a title in the near future. 

If Donnie Walsh pulls the trigger on a trade for McGrady, the Knicks will have a leg up over a number of teams in free agency because they can sign two of the top free agents. Pairing two of the NBA’s top players together would be a formula for success in the Eastern Conference and as Hoopdata put it, it may be the only way to dethrone a team that has two superstars of their own, which in-turn becomes a huge selling point for the Knicks. As risky as the trade for McGrady is, it may be the key to the promise land for the New York Knicks.

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