Reports: Steve Novak re-signs with New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have reached a deal to bring back Steve Novak, the sharp-shooting forward who excelled after point guard Jeremy Lin broke into the lineup, according to multiple reports.

Agent Mark Bartlestein says F Steve Novak re-signing with the Knicks.

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David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 09, 2012

Deal is four years, $15 million, according to Bartlestein.

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David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 09, 2012

The 29-year-old Novak has bounced around the NBA during his six seasons in the league, but he seemed to find a home with New York last year. He led the league in three-point shooting by hitting 47.2 percent of his attempts and averaged a career-best 8.8 points per game off the bench.

Novak’s re-signing was made possible by an arbitrator’s ruling in a dispute over the requirements for a player to keep his early “Bird rights.” The disagreement between the NBA and the players’ association hinged on whether a player who had been waived would keep his “Bird rights,” which allow his team to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him. The arbitrator ruled for the players’ association, which let the Knicks bring back Novak when they otherwise likely would not have had enough cap room to do so.