The New York Knicks have interest in re-signing Maurice Harmless this offseason.

Harkless was initially considered a makeweight for the Knicks' trade of Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers for a first round pick.

Harkless grew up in Queens and would like to remain with the Knicks.

“It was a chance for him to showcase to the Knicks and to see if he wanted to be here,’’ one NBA source told The Post. “He always wanted to be a Knick.’’

The NBA was already expected to have a bear market this offseason due to the lack of teams with functional cap space, but the anticipated lowering of the cap for 20-21 due to COVID-19 will make the use of exceptions even more invaluable for teams to sign free agents.

"The mid-level exeception is going to be like the priority exception," said Bobby Marks on The Hoop Collective Podcast. "With so few teams with cap space, these numbers might go down a little bit further. Teams that have that $9.8 million exception... you might be able to go get a guy that's looking for $15 million to $16 million. Or you might be able to split that up among two guys getting $10 million each."

The NBA sent out an estimated cap number for 20-21 at the end of January at $115 million, which was down from $116 million.

Donovan Mitchell can sign a contract extension with the Utah Jazz this offseason, something Tony Jones of The Athletic expects to happen.

"I can say with confidence that Mitchell loves Utah, has embraced the community and genuinely loves playing for the Jazz," Jones writes. "I can also say that the Jazz have Mitchell under team control for the next (two) years. As a result, worrying about Mitchell’s unrestricted free agency is not worth worrying about..

"Mitchell will sign a max contract extension at some point before next season. That extension will kick in for him in year five, and he will be here for the length of his second contract. Again. Anything can happen. But, I can certainly say with confidence that Mitchell loves it here."

Pau Gasol has been hoping to return to the NBA at some point, but he's now considering retirement.

“With this recovery process and the injury that I have been dealing with for more than a year, it’s undoubtedly inevitable to think about retirement,” Gasol said. “Also taking into account that I will be 40 years old in a few months. So it’s definitely in my mind.”

Gasol was released by the Portland Trail Blazers in November as he was unable to work his way back from a foot injury.

“It’s something that will come one time, sooner or later. We hope that time hasn’t come yet. But I also take the opportunity to focus on the Gasol Foundation and other off-court projects. And also think of what my next professional stage may be, my next challenges. All this while I’m still recovering, trying to give myself a chance to keep playing. Now, the priority is to overcome this pandemic among all. Everything else is completely secondary.”

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to match any offer sheet for restricted free agent Brandon Ingram, according to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.

With the likes of Buddy Hield, Domantas Sabonis, Jaylen Brown, and Dillon Brooks signing extensions, Fedor adds that Ingram is the "one restricted free agent with appeal."

Ingram is averaging 24.3 points and 6.3 rebounds on the season.

The New York Knicks monitored Christian Wood's progress throughout this season, league sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Several members of the Knicks' front office are said to be "enamored" by Wood.

The 24-year-old Wood, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

With only $1 million of Taj Gibson's contract guaranteed plus a team option on Bobby Portis, the Knicks could go into this summer's free agency period with only Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson at the post position.

Wood averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, and shot 40% from 3 after becoming a starter for the Pistons. 

DeMar DeRozan intends to decline his $27.7 million player option if he and the San Antonio Spurs are unable to agree to an extension by the late June deadline.

DeRozan would become one of the most high profile unrestricted free agents on the market.

DeRozan could return to the Spurs if he becomes a free agent, but he could also sign with a team like the New York Knicks who are expected to express interest.

DeRozan is in his second season with the Spurs following a trade from the Toronto Raptors. 

The Golden State Warriors have signed Mychal Mulder to a multi-year contract.

Mulder averaged 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.5 minutes over six games during his initial 10-day contract with the Warriors.

Mulder went undrafted in 2017 out of Kentucky.

Donatas Motiejunas received interest from the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves as well as Maccabi Tel Aviv. 

Motiejunas has been on a hiatus from the Chinese Basketball Association with the Shanghai Sharks.

Motiejunas last played in the NBA at the end of last season with the San Antonio Spurs.

The Capital City Go-Go have claimed Jordan Bell on waivers.

The Go-Go are the G League affiliate of the Wizards.

Bell was recently waived by the Memphis Grizzlies.