The New York Knicks are getting to where they need to be after signing Carmelo Anthony and now Phil Jackson can look at trades to help clear space and names like Iman Shumpert, Andrea Bargnani, Shane Larkin, JR Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire all could be options as the team sets up for 2015 free agency and beyond and Andrew Bynum could be a target if he is healthy.
The Knicks made a number of moves this offseason already, including trading Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton for Jose Calderon and now the team has a solid point guard after the way Felton played last season. According to ESPN.com, the Knicks are willing to trade Shumpert and Smith this offseason, but they have made second year player Tim Hardaway Jr. off limits in any deal. The Knicks have a glut of players at the guard position and that is one reason why Steve Mills is looking to make a deal.
Shumpert is one of the top young players on the team, but the Knicks realize that to make a deal for someone like Stoudemire or Smith, they likely will have to give up Shumpert as well. According to Pro Basketball Talk, earlier in the offseason the Knicks were looking at a trade with the Sixers for Shumpert and Stoudemire, but nothing went down. The trade could come up again this season, as the Knicks will continue to look for deals to move cap space and set up for next summer.
Smith was the sixth man of the year a couple years ago and signed a new deal, but he has not lived up to expectations. Larkin also could move, as he is a young player with potential and he is not needed after the Knicks acquired Jose Calderon in the trade with Chandler and Larkin was also a part of that. The Knicks have a number of players at his position and they feel that Hardaway has a bright future and clearly they like him better than Shumpert, as he has come up in trade rumors dating back to even last season.
Last season the Knicks won just 37 games and missed the playoffs but they took care of business this summer and signed back Carmelo on a five year deal. Anthony took less than the max to help the Knicks a bit in the future and that could enable Jackson to make free agent signings next offseason. The team brought in Derek Fisher as head coach and this is his first coaching job, but Jackson has confidence in his former point guard and both are in on five year deals along with Anthony. The Knicks have some issues on defense, but Fisher is ready to get that going and now the Knicks are looking to build for the future.
The Knicks started off with just three wins in their first 16 games last season and that was a tough hole to dig out of and now they are looking to start things off much better this year. Anthony staying was a big deal for the Knicks and while some actually wanted him to leave, Melo gives the team an elite player to build around.
