The NY Knicks and Carmelo Anthony are coming into the season with high expectations and next summer the team expects to sign players in free agency and some names on the market may include Greg Monroe, Ricky Rubio, Rajon Rondo, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Omer Asik and Goran Dragic and those could be some targets for Phil Jackson and company.
The Knicks have made a number of deals this summer to help shape up the roster and now Carmelo is looking to get his team back into the playoffs after missing out last year. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Knicks main target will be Gasol this offseason, as Phil Jackson sees him playing the same role as his brother did for Kobe, but with Carmelo Anthony this time around. The Knicks have made it clear they are looking to sign players next summer and that is one reason they have not yet come to an agreement on a contract extension with Iman Shumpert.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks and Shumpert have not yet had talks about a contract extension and this comes as the October 31 deadline to get a deal done is looming. The Knicks have shopped a number of players this offseason as well with Pablo Prigioni, Shumpert and JR Smith all coming up and now they head into the season with those players still on the roster. The team is not actively looking to trade Shumpert yet, but he came up in rumors this summer and he also was a target last season for teams.
Shumpert is one of the best young players on the Knicks and while it could be wise to keep him and build around him, the team may trade him over trying to sign him long term. ESPN.com reports that Phil Jackson and the Knicks have not spoken with Shumpert yet about a deal and the main reason is due to the fact that they want to be free of money next summer and in 2016. Free agency next summer will be big for the team, as Monroe, Gasol and Rondo all could be on the market.
The Knicks also feel that they have a realistic shot to get Kevin Durant because of his relationship with Derek Fisher and that will be in 2016 when he hits the market. The Knicks will be a long shot to get him, as will all other teams, but he could make a major change in his career depending on how the next two seasons go. The Knicks want to add more for Carmelo and they will be targeting big names next summer no matter how this season goes.
The Knicks won just 37 games last season, but they should be better this year, as Jackson has already put together a better roster than the team had last season. The Knicks now have Jose Calderon at point over Raymond Felton, who was traded with Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks. The team also added Samuel Dalembert in that deal and he could be a solid defensive option up front. The team has a better bench than last season and there is a chance they make more deals down the line this season, including with Shumpert or Amar'e Stoudemire.