The NY Knicks have high expectations for this season and while Carmelo Anthony is expecting to make the playoffs, he knows a New York NBA championship is a couple years away at least and as Phil Jackson prepares to chase free agents like Rajon Rondo and Greg Monroe next summer, the team may look at trade deals with Iman Shumpert and Amar'e Stoudemire to free up cap space.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks and Shumpert have not yet gotten together about a new contract, as he is eligible to sign an extension before the season. Shumpert and the Knicks have until October 31 to get a deal done and if they don't, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. The Knicks want to keep open as much cap space as possible and signing Shumpert would mean a four year deal and that would lock up money over the next two seasons.
Shumpert has been a solid player for the team, but the Knicks would rather wait and see how this year plays out before signing him. On top of that, the Knicks feel that with the way restricted free agents have been treated the past couple years, they will have a chance to sign him. Greg Monroe and Eric Bledsoe stayed on the market for a while without getting any deals and Monroe ended up signing a one year deal, while Bledsoe held out for a while and eventually got what he was looking for.
Shumpert is an above average defender and athletic wing player, but so far he has not developed a great scoring touch and the Knicks feel comfortable letting him hit restricted free agency. Shumpert came up in trade rumors last season and he has previously been shopped by the team, but obviously no deal has been good enough for the Knicks to pull off. The team likely will extend a qualifying offer to make him an RFA and as long as he doesn't get a crazy deal given to him like Jeremy Lin did, they probably will match it.
The Knicks come into this season after finishing with 37 wins last year and they missed the playoffs last year and now Anthony and company expect to return. The team took a major step back last season after winning 54 games and the division the previous year and this should be a much better season overall. The team was a mess last year and now that Phil Jackson is in running things, the roster is already deeper and more talented than it was in 2013-14. Jackson has made some solid trades and other moves and now there is depth behind Anthony and some solid options in the backcourt.
Jackson is signed to a five year deal and so is Anthony and head coach Derek Fisher and that means the franchise finally has the time to build something. The team has had so many stops and starts over the years that stability has to be a major change. The moves Jackson has made so far have been solid and he has upgraded the point guard and now he has to get the team set to add at least one star next summer in free agency.
