The New York Knicks are heading into the 2013 season with championship aspirations after making it into the second round last season and with Carmelo Anthony getting older, it's time to try and make it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals to try and dethrone the Miami Heat, or many will see this year as a failure.
The team has already made a number of moves this offseason that should make the team stronger, including signing back JR Smith and Pablo Prigioni and the team also traded for Andrea Bargnani and added Metta World Peace after he was released by the Lakers. The team looks improved from last season and with more experience and a healthy summer for Iman Shumpert, hopes are high at MSG. Some other players the team could go after includes Dahntay Jones as well as Corey Maggette or Raja Bell.
The team has some space to add a veteran at the minimum and Maggette could be an option again despite being 33-years-old, as he could add some solid depth for the team on the bench. He previously was an excellent scorer and he could add some solid minutes, as could Bell, who has been a dominant defender during his career and that could come in handy during the playoffs. The Knicks have a chance to end the three-peat, they just need a lot to go their way as well.
Here is a look at the future as well and what the team may decide to do in 2015 if Melo is still around, including signing another major star.
Despite all the fears of fans that Melo will bolt next summer, all signs so far point to him staying put and trying to cement himself as a NY legend by winning a championship. One reason that he is likely to stay are the new reports that say the Knicks are prepared to let him rebuild the roster in 2015, much like Dwyane Wade did back with the Miami Heat when they got LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Knicks purposefully signed players to contract to free up space heading into the 2015 summer and reports from Yahoo Sports say that the team is prepared to let Anthony build it the way he wants.
The Miami Heat have won two straight championships and have been to three straight finals since Wade was able to convince his friends to come play and in two years Anthony will be one the elder statesmen of the league and there will a prime crop of players who will possibly be free agents, including Zach Randolph, Kenneth Faried, Andrew Bynum, DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rajon Rondo. Of course LeBron could also be a free agent, but that is a pipe dream for the all NY fans out there who thinks he is going to come to MSG.
The Knicks least last season in the Eastern conference playoffs to the Pacers and if the team doesn't make it to at least the conference finals this year, there could be some big changes ahead and that could spur what Anthony decides to do in the future. The team wants to keep Melo and it is in the franchise's best interest and that is likely why they will let him build the roster. If Anthony retires without bringing a title home to NY, the whole era may be looked at as a failure and that is something he does not want to happen.
While a number of these players may be out of reach, it isn't crazy to think that Anthony could convince one or possibly two of them to sign and try to win a championship. Obviously Melo will have to watch out for the Miami Heat rebuilding their roster as well, but with all those names out there, at least one could be New York bound. Rondo is coming back from serious surgery now, but in two years he could be playing at a high level again and after averaging 13.7 PPG, 11.1 APG with nearly six rebounds, he will be a prime option to work with Melo and he has the finals experience that the Knicks could use.
Portland Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge has been mentioned in trade talks quite a bit this season and if he makes it through to the end of his contract, New York could be a place for him to shine, especially after have averaged nearly a double-double last season with over 21 points per game and nine rebounds. Aldridge is young and by 2015 he will be 29 and still in his prime. Marc Gasol will be older at 30 but as an unrestricted free agent he fits exactly what the Knicks want to be and after averaging 14 points and eight rebounds while taking the Grizzlies to the West finals, buy 2015 he likely will be a top two center in the league and by then Tyson Chandler may be out of town anyway. The other players all have something to add and that could equal a championship for the franchise.