The New York Knicks fell short of expectations, but backup shooting guard Justin Holiday overachieved. Re-signing him should be a top priority.

When the New York Knicks traded for Derrick Rose, the general belief was that shooting guard Justin Holiday was nothing more than a throw-in. He’d been nothing more than a journeyman, and while he’d earned the respect of his teammates, he hadn’t yet proven himself on the court.

Roughly a calendar year later, Holiday has earned his place as one of the few players whom the Knicks should re-sign in 2017.

Holiday was a rare source of optimism and intrigue during the 2016-17 NBA regular season. Unfortunately, the optimism could run dry when Holiday becomes an unrestricted free agent and rationally pursues a multi-year contract in 2017.

In order to truly ace the 2017 NBA offseason, team president Phil Jackson should do everything within reason to ensure that Holiday’s multi-year contract is with the Knicks.

It may not seem urgent to re-sign a role player, but Holiday proved to be an invaluable contributor in 2016-17. As the Knicks conceivably—or hopefully—improve overall, his contributions should be magnified.

The question is: why is it so important for the New York Knicks to re-sign Justin Holiday during the upcoming offseason?