There is no strikeout insurance.
There is no way in they don't renounce McGrady, and thereby lose his birdrights. There's no major caproom without renouncing him.
They aren't going to pay McGrady anything first. They'll renounce him. Then end up having to sign 2nd tier guys like Joe Johnson and Amare to team with D'Antoni for another team of playoff losers.
IF they can't get anything other than one max, they might sign him to a small deal. But they could have done that anyway because they won't be signing him with bird rights, they could have done it with him being a straight free agent this summer. But they can't sign him to a small deal before renouncing because whatever that amount is could screw up signing 2 MAX guys, they won't take that chance.
So . . .
1. The idea that the Spurs couldn't match 23 in salary has been buried because of the expirings that NYK traded away
2. The idea that the Knicks want McGrady for birdrights seems very unlikely. A tryout this year for a post-renounce look next season, maybe. But they could have had that after Sacramento bought him out.
3. The only real objection would be the additional year on the Jeffries deal. Weighted against the return of Bogans on a minimum next year because the roster will be filled with vet mins, and with 1 first rounder outside the lottery plus swapping a pick that could get the Spurs maybe 1-5 spots higher, it's not so clear cut.