The NY Knicks may look at an Amar'e Stoudemire trade to the Philadelphia 76ers this season to help clear cap space and Iman Shumpert also could be traded by Phil Jackson at some point, as New York may potentially want to try and target Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe or Marc Gasol in the future to build around Carmelo Anthony in free agency in 2015 and beyond.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Knicks may look at moving Stoudemire this season if they can and one target is the Philadelphia 76ers, as they have tons of cap space and could be receptive to taking an expiring contract. The report says that the Sixers could be into taking on the $23 million on his contract, because they actually would only have to pay 30 percent and it also would get a player or a pick in with the deal. The Sixers are not at the minimum right now, but with his contract they could try and pull a move to get over.
Basketball Insiders also reports that the Knicks are looking to trade Stoudemire and potentially some other players, as they have a logjam at guard. Pablo Prigioni has been mentioned in rumors along with JR Smith and Iman Shumpert, while Tim Hardaway has been described as off limits. The team also has Shane Larkin from the Mavs after the Tyson Chandler deal, so they have a number of players in the backcourt that they can mix and match with.
Pro Basketball Talk also reported about a trade offer to the Timberwolves for Kevin Love by Phil Jackson, but everyone knew that was just a formality. The team offered Stoudemire as well as Hardaway and Shumpert in the deal and that was not accepted, as the Wolves felt the Cavaliers offer was better. Jackson has been smart this offseason and he has pulled off some solid moves to help make the team better and those came after the team signed Carmelo Anthony to a five year deal and that was their main goal this offseason.
Jackson traded away Chandler and Raymond Felton, essentially getting rid of two problems at once, and made the team better by adding José Calderon. Felton was horrible last year and Chandler has not played up top his contract since winning defensive player of the year and now the Knicks also have Samuel Dalembert and a young guard with potential in Larkin. Another smart move was trading Wayne Ellington and Jeremy Tyler for Travis Outlaw and Quincy Acy. The team already has Dalembert and Jason Smith, so Tyler was going to see the bench mostly and now Outlaw can come in as a backup for Anthony along with Cleanthony Early.
The Knicks are coming into the season after missing the playoffs last year and now they have the chance to bounce back and make the postseason. The team started off 3-13 last season and could not dig out of that hole, but their roster is already better and deeper than last season and the team should be much better. Anthony comes in looking to have a strong year and this could be the start of something big for the franchise.
