The NY Knicks are in London to take on the Bucks, but moving forward the team may look at more trade deals at the NBA trading deadline, as players like Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Amar'e Stoudemire or Tim Hardaway could be on the move, as Phil Jackson plans on targeting Reggie Jackson and Marc Gasol in the future for Carmelo Anthony support in free agency.
The Knicks have already made a number of trades this year, including moving Iman Shumpert and JR Smith to the Cavaliers. That deal came after the Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton trade to the Mavs and now Phil Jackson may have some more moves up his sleeve. According to ESPN New York, the Knicks are considering making more trades as the deadline gets closer, with Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani the most likely candidates to move.
Reports have the team considering a buyout over a trade with Stoudemire, as most teams will not want to take on his large contract, even with it expiring at the end of the season. Mark Woods wrote last week that the Knicks and Stoudemire could look at a separation closer to the trading deadline, but that the team is not actively shopping him. The Knicks likely would pursue a buyout over a trade as it gets closer to the end of Stoudemire's five year, $100 million contract. If the team does not release Stoudemire, they likely will keep him for the rest of the season over a trade, according to Woods.
According to ESPN.com, if the Knicks make more after trading Iman Shumpert and JR Smith, they likely will look to trade Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani. Calderon is considered to be a strong target for teams in need of a point guard and he comes in shooting 40 percent from the field and averaging nearly 10 points per game. Calderon came over in the Mavericks deal with Tyson Chandler and he has two years left on his contract worth over $15 million.
Pro Basketball Talk reports that the Knicks will target players like Rajon Rondo, Greg Monroe and Marc Gasol in free agency this summer and that if they miss out on those names, Reggie Jackson also could be a target. Jackson has the chance to be a restricted free agent this summer and he could be an option for the Knicks if they want to wait until 2016 to splurge when Kevin Durant hits the market.
The Knicks have been terrible this season and while that wasn't always part of the plan for Phil Jackson, this rough time hopefully will lead to some winning down the road. The team is just 5-36 on the season and last in the Atlantic division and they are not looking like they will improve much by the end of the year, which has sparked talk of Carmelo Anthony shutting down. Jackson is looking to make big moves this summer and with all the cap space he has cleared he should be able to woo at least one big name free agent.
