The NY Knicks have been up and down to start the season and down the line Phil Jackson may consider trade deals with Iman Shumpert, Amar'e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani or JR Smith, as the team is now 2-2 and are coming off of a loss against the Washington Wizards at home that saw Carmelo Anthony struggle in the triangle offense.
The Knicks have been inconsistent to start the season and while that is not unexpected, the team is looking to get into a rhythm with the new triangle offense. Anthony has looked good at times, but the Wizards held him in check on Tuesday night and he struggled shooting the ball and ended up with just 18 points. Iman Shumpert led the way in scoring for the Knicks and now the team has two wins and two losses through their first four games, although one of those wins was against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The team next plays the Pistons and so far this season they rank 29th in the league in scoring offense, averaging just 88 points per game. The team is ranked 10th in points allowed per game and eighth in assists, but they need to get their scoring and rebounding in line to be a successful team this year. Anthony and Derek Fisher both stressed that it would take time for the Knicks to get things going and as the schedule picks up they will need to do that more consistently.
Anthony had 28 points against the Hornets in the win on Sunday and he now is averaging 21 points per game, which is below his marks from the past two seasons. Anthony said before the season that his numbers likely would go down from the previous two when he was scoring champion and second in the league, but he likely needs more for the team to be in the playoffs. Anthony had 18 points and shot just 8 for 23 for the game, while Shumpert had 19 points in the loss, which snapped a two game winning streak for the Knicks.
Phil Jackson may look at trades down the line this year when things get closer to the deadline, as he has some players that could be attractive for teams. The Knicks like Shumpert, but they did not sign him to a contract extension and now he is set to be a restricted free agent next summer and they will have some decisions to make. The team has had trade offers for Shumpert and have rebuffed them over the past year, but Jackson could look at making a move to put the team in better position to sign free agents.
The Knicks want to keep the cap as open as possible and that is why Jackson did not sign Shumpert to a deal. The team would have had to sign him to a likely four year extension and that would bottle up some cap space. The team is getting Stoudemire off the books after this season and there is a chance he could be a trade target because of his expiring contract. Reports have the Knicks looking at Marc Gasol, Rajon Rondo and Greg Monroe as top free agent targets.