They signed prized PF Amar'e Stoudemire this offseason and were hoping to land LeBron James, but we all know how that turned out. At best the current roster could compete for the 8th seed in the East playoffs. And that's a big if. New York's defense looks to be one of the worst in the league, most definitely the worst in the East.
Here comes Chris Paul to save the day. He arrives with his Superman cape that he stole from Dwight Howard. Here to rescue the Knicks from obscurity, lure Carmelo Anthony to New York to form their own Big Three with Stoudemire, and challenge the already despised Heat. Somewhat of a romantic notion, don't you think?
First of all, spare the talk about how the NBA has changed. How back in the day superstars didn't want to team up, blah, blah, blah. I was against it in the beginning too. I'm over it. This is the future of the NBA and team's are best to adapt or get left behind. If someone is firing at you with machine guns, you're not going to run at them with a knife.
Paul spread the rumor about a month ago, at Carmelo Anthony's New York wedding nonetheless, that he has dreamt of playing with Anthony and Stoudemire in New York. On paper this certainly looks like a formidable combination that would have no problem gelling on the floor. The question is with salary cap restrictions, could this even happen? If things fall into place, the answer is yes.
Paul has demanded a trade from New Orleans and has listed the Knicks as his top team of choice. If the Hornets decide to give in to Paul's demands, they'd most definitely want some talent in return. The Knicks don't have much, but New Orleans would most likely target Wilson Chandler and Danilo Galinari. Galinari will make just over 3 million this year with a player option for next year. Chandler will make just over 2 million next year. Add Eddy Curry and his 11 million dollar expiring contract, and you have roughly equal value to the 15 million Paul is scheduled to make next season.
Why would the Hornets agree to such a lopsided deal? To clear salary cap space. Curry, Chandler, and Galinari's contracts all expire after this season, so they could clear them from the books. They also have Peja Stojakovic's 15 million off the books after this season, as well as Darius Songaila's 4 million, and David West is expected to opt out of his contract, clearing another 8 million. This would allow the Hornets to clear almost 45 million leading up to the free agent class of 2011.
They could then start their rebuilding process around their second year point guard they are so high on, Darren Collison. Collison excelled in New Orleans last year filling in for an injured Chris Paul. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists a game on the season.
By getting a little creative, the Knicks could clear enough space to pursue Anthony during next year's free agency period. Anthony is not guaranteed to be on the market however, he was offered a 3 year 65 million dollar contract extension from Denver that many expect him to sign. The Knicks also have the little problem of Raymond Felton. They signed him this offseason to a 2 year 15.8 million dollar contract to be their point guard.
Someones feelings are going to get hurt. For the sake of competition and mid 90s nostalgia, I hope they're Felton's.
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