Roger Mason (REUTERS)
No Shannon Brown. No problem.
Continuing to stock their roster with the rest of their salary-cap space, the Knicks agreed to terms last night on a one-year, $1.4 million deal with former Spurs combo guard Roger Mason.
After striking out with Brown, who is going back to the Lakers, as first reported by The Post, the Knicks jumped at the former San Antonio backup despite his coming off a lousy season.
The Knicks think Mason can help back up the point-guard position along with Toney Douglas. They view the 29-year-old journeyman as a solid outside shooter and a good, veteran character guy on a very young club. They also continue to add chips that could be moved in a potential major trade down the road.
Early last night, Mason tweeted, “I’m headed to the Big Apple with a big chip on my shoulder.”
The Knicks will be Mason’s fifth team in eight NBA seasons.
However, he fell out of favor with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich late last season and played in only six of 10 playoffs games, averaging 10 minutes and 0.5 points.
The Knicks would still be $1.3 million under the cap and can still make another signing. There was a Yahoo report Houston’s Jared Jeffries is on the block or could be bought out, and the Knicks have inquired about his availability, offering Eddy Curry. Both have expiring contracts.
The Knicks are only offering one-year deals at this point to protect their 2011 salary cap for a run at Carmelo Anthony.
If Mason returns to his 2008-2009 form, the Knicks will have a bargain.
On a solid Spurs club that season, he started 71 times for injured Manu Ginobili and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range — 15th in the league. That figure dipped to 33 percent last season, though sources say he was bothered by a sore thumb.
Mason, who also played for Toronto, Chicago and Washington, shot just 38.1 percent overall last season.
Three weeks ago, he changed agents, replacing Mark Bartelstein with Dan Fegan.
A source said Mason feels the Knicks are the right fit and predicted on a YouTube video yesterday his next stop was New York.
“What’s up guys. This is Roger Mason Jr. from the San Antonio Spurs and quite possibly, very soon, the New York Knicks.”