The New York Knicks are coming into the season with trade options on the rosters, as names like Iman Shumpert, Amar'e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, JR Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Shane Larkin all could be targets for Phil Jackson, as he is trying to build up the team around Carmelo Anthony and at the deadline this year he could be a very busy man.
The Knicks are coming into the season with high expectations after the way they played last year and while the team knows it won't be a title contender, they should be back in the playoffs. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Jackson has looked into trading Shumpert this summer and he has also been looking at the possibility of trading Stoudemire at the trading deadline. The team knows that the massive contract for Stoudemire will be tough to move, but a team like the 76ers could be interested come deadline time, as it will be an expiring contract into next year.
Throughout the summer there have been various reports about Jackson shopping players and names like Shumpert, Smith, Bargnani and Prigioni have all come up. The team likely is looking to shop Prigioni over Larkin, as he is an older guard and the team has a bit of a logjam at the position right now. That is one reason why Jackson traded Jeremy Tyler to the Kings, which moved one of the big men for Travis Outlaw since the team already had Jason Smith and Samuel Dalembert up front.
The Knicks also made a move with Tyson Chandler this summer, trading him and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks for Jose Calderon and Dalembert along with Larkin. The trade was a win for the Knicks, as Calderon is a massive improvement over Felton after the way he played last season and he could be the link that keeps the offense moving for Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks have some long term planning and franchise building coming if everything holds, as Jackson, Carmelo Anthony and Derek Fisher are all in on five year deals. The performance of Fisher as head coach remains to be seen, but Jackson bringing in a name he can trust and someone to run the system he wants is the perfect way to see if his building of the team will be a success. Jackson is bringing in the triangle offense and Anthony and everyone else has bought into it and now they have the chance to rebound after winning just 37 games last season.
The Knicks should be better overall and even with LeBron James returning to the Cavaliers, they at least have a chance to make the playoffs this year. The team started 3-13 last season and now they know they have to get off to a better start than that and the roster is already improved over last year. Calderon over Felton is huge and the team also added Cleanthony Early in the draft and also brought in some solid bench options. The roster is deeper and Jackson now has the chance to try and bring some prestige back to the franchise.
