The New York Knicks will likely not enjoy their offseason as the organization continues to face a lot of questions. Many are wondering what the Knicks should do during the break and a key question came up, should the Knicks focus on getting ball handlers or big men to help Carmelo Anthony in New York?
First of all, the Knicks aren't free financially to have fun with the free agents on the market. The big question is regarding Chris Paul much has been made about his status as he might have played his last game in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Paul is too expensive for the Knicks right now. The Knicks couldn't retain Jeremy Lin last year and there is no way they could compete for Paul over the summer.
Hypothetically speaking, what a guy like Paul would provide for the Knicks is another scorer and a guy to control the ball while Anthony runs around and looks for a spot to shoot. Anthony is a pure scorer and can hit shots from anywhere on the floor, but when his teammates struggle, Anthony attracts too much attention. Consequently, when Anthony doesn't score, the Knicks are in trouble.
Paul is a ball handler and can score, which is what the Knicks would need, but Raymond Felton did just that throughout the season. Of course, he's no Chris Paul, but during the regular season, Felton did a lot of distribution and scoring. However Felton can't consistently put up points and become a true scoring substitution for Anthony.
The problem with the Knicks, unless Amar'e Stoudemire proves to have a huge comeback, New York is tied to their once upon a time dominant player. Stoudemire is due $45 million over the next two years. The Knicks have seen very little in return for their near $100 million investment in the power forward. The Knicks ignored Stoudemire's injured past and they payed for it. If the Knicks could find a suitor for Stoudemire, it would do them well, but who will pay $20 million a season to a man who has played just 73 games combined over the past two seasons?
The Knicks need to get Anthony another scorer, somebody who is not afraid to take over games and can gain Anthony's trust so they can both share the New York spotlight and the ball on the court. However, chances are the Knicks will have to settle with what they have in their roster, but they should at least get rid of their weary veterans who proved useless at the end of the season.
