The NY Knicks have been terrible this season and as they head into the draft lottery in 2015, names like Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay and Andrew Harrison could be options and this comes as Carmelo Anthony is going to try and recruit players like Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler and others at the All-Star game this weekend.
Anthony has been dealing with knee issues all season, but he wants to be front and center for the Knicks this weekend for the All-Star game. According to ESPN.com, Anthony plans on speaking with players this weekend about coming to New York, which is something that other players did to him last year about playing in Chicago. While the Knicks are headed for a top draft pick, the team is going to have a ton of cap space and they expect to make some major moves this summer.
The Knicks are going to look at Gasol and Rajon Rondo as their main targets, but with those players expected to stay with their current teams, focus could turn to Greg Monroe and Goran Dragic. Marc Stein writes that players like Reggie Jackson, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris could be lower level targets, while LaMarcus Aldridge is also likely to stay with his current team. The Knicks like Butler, but the Bulls have already said that they will match any deal for him as a restricted free agent.
Anthony and the Knicks are hoping to get one or two big name players this summer in free agency, but after the way this season has gone, Anthony will need to do some strong convincing. The Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the league and Phil Jackson has admitted that his experiment has failed so far. The team traded JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton and they could be getting ready to move Jose Calderon and Pablo Prigioni next.
According to ESPN.com, Jackson may look at moving Prigioni at the trade deadline, as he has not been getting much playing time for the Knicks this season. Calderon could also be an option to move along with Bargnani, while ESPN.com reported that the team could look at a buyout with Stoudemire. The New York Post reports that the team could look at restricted free agents this summer, including Tobias Harris, who is having a solid season with the Magic, averaging 18 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Pro Basketball Talk adds that after the way this year went and the age of Anthony, the Knicks may have to find a way to speed up this process of rebuilding. While the team wants to try and sign Kevin Durant in 2016, they may not be able to wait that long to bring in a top free agent, especially with them running the risk he won't sign there, which is likely. While Durant probably stays in Oklahoma City, his next best bet is likely the Wizards over the Knicks anyway.
