The New York Knicks had one of the better benches in basketball, at least until the playoffs rolled along. Because it's New York and the postseason plays such a big role in decisions the organization makes, one of the interesting guys to look at is 29-year-old rookie Chris Copeland. 

Fans were imploring Mike Woodson to give Copeland more action. It seemed like the deeper the Knicks got into the playoffs, the more confused Woodson was about who to play in general. The Knicks stayed away from their gameplan of shooting threes and they found themselves quickly down 1-3 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Granted, the Indiana Pacers defense played the perimeter well, the Knicks had made contested threes all year long. 

Copeland made a bid for getting more minutes in the playoffs. For whatever reason, Woodson decided not to give Copeland more than 19 minutes a game, Copeland hit 11-20 threes from the field against the Pacers in their series. It's not amazing, but that's 55 percent from beyond the arc. It's efficient and though Copeland isn't the best defender in the world, at least the Knicks would have had some hope on offense. 

Copeland doesn't want to leave New York, that's been made clear, but after showing a lot of potential, though not meant to be a starter, the Knicks might have to drop a couple of million to keep the 6' 8" forward from Colorado on their roster. Copeland might draw interest from other teams outside of New York who might have space on their roster for Copeland's contributions. Hey, Landry Fields and Jeremy Lin earned fat paydays as teams in need thought these guys could fill perfectly in their rosters. Who says it won't happen again?

Copeland could be J.R. Smith's side man on the offense when they come off the bench and they could be in the backup rotation as Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire (if healthy) take a rest. 

Did Copeland speak to soon though? He was interviewed by Jared Zwerling and had this to say about his experience in New York and the possibility of returning to the Knicks:
"An opportunity to play is huge for me. But honestly, I've had a lot of great, great memories and experiences in New York, and I've met a lot of great people here. I really love it here. It's very possible I'll be in New York."  

When looking at the Knicks rosters, guys like Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace and Pablo Prigioni will more than likely be gone. Though the Knicks' payroll is jammed, they will have enough space to keep a decent bench together.