Steve Novak might take his final shots in a Knicks uniform tomorrow at the Garden.  Because the Knicks don’t have any cap room, the fan favorite and valuable sharpshooter could hit the open market once free agency begins following the season.  Read more after the jump.

@Shay_Marie x @gametimegirl

Novak insisted yesterday he doesn’t think about free agency during the season, but he said he definitely is interested in returning to the Knicks, who head into tomorrow’s Game 4 vs. the Heat just one loss from being swept out of the playoffs.

“Absolutely,” Novak told The Post yesterday. “Without a doubt. This has been a really good year. I think obviously speaking exactly where we’re at now, we’re down 0-3 and things don’t seem as good. But I feel like we’ve done good things and we’ve made big steps.”

“More than anything, I just have loved playing basketball here.”

That’s hardly a surprise. Novak has thrived this season, emerging as a valuable reserve and topping the NBA in 3-point accuracy (47.2 percent). In his sixth season and with his fifth team, Novak established career-bests in scoring (8.8 ppg) and minutes (18:53).

“I really haven’t given next year any thought,” he said. “I’m kind of of the mindset that during the season I never look at my own statistics. Just to not get ahead of myself and think at the end of the season, what should they be and that kind of thing.And I feel the same way really about free agency.”

The Knicks own just the mid-level exception (expected to go to Jeremy Lin), the $2 million bi-annual exception and the veteran’s minimum.

Novak made approximately $1 million this season, so the issue is: What can he command around the league? And will that price out the Knicks? Besides Novak and Lin, other free agents include J.R. Smith, Landry Fields and Jared Jeffries.

Novak’s situation is similar to Shawne Williams’ last season. Both are unsung forwards who emerged to become sharpshooters. That doesn’t bode well for the Knicks. Last year, Williams said, “This is where I want to play at.” He ultimately signed with the Nets.

Novak has struggled against Miami this series, hitting just three of seven shots for nine total points.

“They’ve been very conscious of me,” he said. “I think the matchup of putting [Dwyane Wade] on me, obviously the way he covers ground, he’s able to kind of bump that roll man and then get back out to the perimeter so quick… I just think that they’ve obviously been told to run me off the 3-point line and they’ve done a good job.”

NY Post