Route
1: Anthony on Board
Let us not forget that the reason the Knicks are in the
predicament they are in is because Anthony was hell bent on getting his money
sooner rather than later. Instead of waiting to sign in the offseason Anthony
told the Knicks now or never. You know the rest of the story. If Anthony is
still about his money the Knicks give him the max contract this summer. On the
trade front every player not named Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr. should be
for sale. It was reported last week by Frank Isola of the Daily News that teams have inquired about Chandler, but the Knicks are not interested in dealing him.
The team owes it to Chandler that he no longer has to suffer with being the
lone defender and deal him to a contender.
A team like the Clippers or Trail Blazers would be nice
trade partners for the Knicks. The ideal scenario would be for one of these
teams to take Chandler and J.R. Smith’s contract in exchange for a young player
or draft picks. However, getting any team to take on J.R.’s contract is as
likely as someone taking Amar’e Stoudemire’s. This is where the team would have
to part ways with a Shumpert or Hardaway Jr. Teams have already inquired about
Shumpert and the Knicks have already shown they are willing to part ways with
their best two way player. Shumpert will likely yield the greatest return, but
they should make that trade only if there are no takers for Smith (a likely
case). Mills can add Felton to any offer with the point guard making a paltry
$3 million over 3 years. If Mills can somehow unload Bargnani he should get the
key to the city and free up even more cap space to go after Love and maybe
entice LeBron James to jump ship. It’s a stretch, but so is saying the Knicks
are a playoff team.
Route
2: Anthony Flees
If Carmelo Anthony has finally had enough, which it looks like he has, then the Knicks need to start shopping their star. Anthony is
easily their best asset and can flip him to a contender that is willing to roll
the dice on him re-signing in the summer. In this scenario the Knicks objective
is get young players and draft picks. The building blocks would be Shumpert, Hardaway
Jr. and maybe even Jeremy Tyler and Toure’ Murry depending on how they perform
down the stretch. The team has treated draft picks with little to no importance
and its big reason why they are where they are right now. If the team can turn
Melo into a draft pick for this year or next year’s draft (both expected to be
deep drafts) then they have to pull the trigger. If Mills can make the team eat
Smith’s contract then it’s an even bigger win. Chandler would be the second
player traded, if not included in a deal with Anthony. Chandler’s contract is
good enough for teams to make a trade with Felton attached. Shedding Bargnani
and Stoudemire would likely happen in the summer or next season when they
become expiring deals.
Best
Route?
Whichever route the Knicks decide if they actually go into
reconstruction mode will be dependent on how successful Mills is in the trade
market. If Mills can’t wheel and deal then keeping Anthony is unlikely and will
have to build with younger guys like Hardaway Jr. and Shumpert. If the Knicks
bottom out and get a high pick next year they can run out a nucleus of Jabari
Parker or Joel Embiid, two players who have been indecisive of whether they are going to declare for the NBA Draft. This may be another pipe dream, but Parker is more likely to stay
at Duke another year giving the Knicks more incentive to bottom out and hope
they strike gold.
If Mills is able to wheel and deal, shedding Smith’s
contract in a Chandler deal then convincing Melo to stay is the best option.
Kevin Love and LeBron James are free agents in 2015 and a core of Melo, Shumpert
and Hardaway Jr. doesn’t sound bad. Lakers Nation reported that Love intends to
become a free agent and his hometown Lakers and Knicks are two likeliest
destinations. Stephen A. Smith said on First Take that if LeBron James leaves
Miami the Knicks and Cavs are only places he would consider going. Whatever
James Dolan ends up deciding let us pray he lets the basketball people do what
he pays them to do. It’s time he gives
the loyal Knick fans a straight answer. We’re tired of dreaming.
Dope Post!
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