The New York Knicks are one of the most active teams this free agency, and already they have acquired free agent guard Arron Afflalo from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Afflalo, 29, became a vital cog for the Blazers after guard Wesley Matthews was sidelined for the rest of the season over an injury.
He opted not to pick up a $7.75-million player option he had with Portland and became a free agent this summer before his deal with New York.
The former Blazers guard agreed to a two-year, $16-million deal with New York according to a source of ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne.
According to the report, Afflalo's deal has a player option in the second year that will give him a chance to be a free agent again after the 2015-16 season.
The Blazers acquired Afflalo and forward Alonzo Gee from a trade deal with the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Will Barton and forwards Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson.
Splitting last season with the Nuggets and Blazers, Afflalo averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He was able to reach the playoffs with Portland but was limited to only three games after suffering a shoulder injury.
Afflalo is definitely a boost for the struggling Knicks franchise, which finished last season with a terrible 17-65 record. He can help ease the scoring load for franchise star Carmelo Anthony, who has failed to lead the Knicks to the next level.
Afflaolo can add depth to the roster with his three-point shooting which was at its best when he was still with the Orlando Magic. After failing to sign free agent center Greg Monroe, who decided to play with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks' recruitment of Afflalo is good news to their fans as it showed that the franchise can still sign worthy veterans.
