If there is one positive out of the Knicks missing out on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, it is their smart spending on the second-tier options they have brought in for next season.

The Knicks made five signings since the start of free agency. It started with Julius Randle getting a three-year, $63 million deal, and since then, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, and most recently Elfrid Payton have followed.

Those four signings were all two-year deals for the Knicks, and they look even better now after the information ESPN's front office insider Bobby Marks first gathered.

Those deals all have a team option for the second year, which gives the Knicks flexibilty heading into next offseason, SNY's Ian Begley confirmed.

So the Knicks not only avoided their past trend of spending big money to compensate for losing out on the top free agents (i.e. LeBron James), but they can also get rid of the contracts they don't like depending on the player's performance this season. And even if they do perform well, these players could possibly be trade chips as well as simply return for the second season.

Team president Steve Mills may have released a statement telling disappointed Knicks fans to stay patient in the rebuild, and this would be a reason to believe in that process. The 2020 free agent class isn't the same as this year's, but 2021 is highlighted by players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo, and Bradley Beal.

Yes, Durant and Irving could have came this year, but the Knicks are giving themselves the necessary avenues to land those players down the road.

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