Where to now for New York?

Looks like a few players are going to shop around for better contracts. Lin is up for a new contract and already read JR is likely to opt out if his. Not a NY fan, but if they are going to take the next step, they need to re-sign both of these guys.

Sources close to the situation say there could be as many as six teams willing to make an offer to Jeremy Lin, some are willing to test New York’s resolve on Lin with a deal constructed like Larry’s outline above. It’s doubtful anyone is going to make an offer that averages $9 million, but would someone do a deal that averages $6 to $7 million? – that’s probable. HoopsWorld

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Alex Kennedy: I think J.R. Smith has played his last game for the New York Knicks. He'll likely opt-out this summer and N.Y. won't be able to afford him. Twitter

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This team has problems everywhere. Under achievers and over achievers, caps and desire to sort out.
They have to keep Chandler and Amare. This combo gives them solid inside punch at both ends.
Can they afford Lin and Smith ? Can they afford to lose them ?
I'd hate to get rid of any of their current team, but there needs to be a change.
For me, not seeing the true whole picture, I'd start by looking to trade Carmelo. If there are no takers, release Smith.
Then with Smith gone, I'd return Carmelo to the trade table with a lure of more cap space.
Or chase Dwight and Nash, trade to create salary space.
Lin isn't a franchise player, I'd be in no hurry to sign him. I'd address other issues first, but I'd like to keep him.

I'd Keep Carmelo, Stoudemire, Chandler and just build Around Them!

Harsha_12 said:

I'd Keep Carmelo, Stoudemire, Chandler and just build Around Them!

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yea, i agree. they would have too keep these 3 players and hope there tell will work better together next year

I think there is only one place the Knicks need to go this off season!!
To the Gym and train!!

They have been all over the show, and in many cases, not due to 'controllable' reasons. Give them a break I reckon. New coach, new role players, injuries! There has been no consistency for any of them and they just need to spend some time in the off season to get a structure that works!

They need a new coach to be able to mesh Amare (cause he's NOT going ANYWHERE lol) and Carmelo. Woodson cannot do it.
JR Smith doesn't fit, I think he'll go somewhere else. They need a more experience PG to go with Lin, not sure who will be available though cause they probably have no $$$.

Harsha_12 said:

I'd Keep Carmelo, Stoudemire, Chandler and just build Around Them!

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Yeah i dont think the Knicks will be able to find a team stupid enough to take the Stoudemire contract. They overpaid on that one.

They need to build around these guys but with those max deals they have given out it would seem they will have little room to move salary cap wise.

lol they need some years to ride out these shitty contracts and more years of mediocrity.

lin needs to go somewhere where it is not a circus.

Take them back to the gym, hire a new coach, straighten out some players and at best they'll make the second round. This team can not beat Chicago or Miami.
Great players as individuals, but never going to be a great team.

this team needs direction and an identity... it is currently all over the shop, its just a collection of players but not necessarily a collection of players to build a contender... knicks can score but cant stop anyone... they need to look at the san antonio and oklahoma city models of getting players in for need rather than just filling roster spots with crap

- the person that could do that for them is phil jackson... bring him in, they have the type of players phil likes who play multiple positions and can easily be plugged into the triangle offense... not sure mike woodson is the man to lead this team
- melo is there to stay and can produce well offensively but isnt the worlds greatest defender
- chandler has been their best acquisition for years and will continue to be a solid presence defensively
- based on this they will need to get some more defensive oriented players at the wing and forward positions and off the bench t
- if you could get rid of anyone it would be amare, plus his salary is outta control for what he produces and you cant have 3 players that perform quite mediocre that soak up around half of your annual salary cap... see below link
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm
- must keep steve novak as he is a gun shooter and spreads the floor
- re-signing jeremy lin would be wise... solid young point guard with athleticism and joy for the game that rubs off on everyone
- iman shumpert is also a keeper
- landry fields is a must to keep, multi talented and a real glue guy
- toney douglas is ok at times and is on small money so worthwhile keeping him around
- bill walker has shown small glimpses on minimal money so keep him too
- jr smith has been ok for knicks since arriving but he'll want more $$ so they will have to weigh that up

- the guy the knicks need to get here is steve nash, while not strong defensively he would help gel the offense a little more and get guys like tyson chandler (not gifted offensively) more involved
- if they could trade amare and get in some youth and some experience as well via that trade, it would bode well for them... atlanta needs to blow their team up sop maybe some of their guys might work in new york? maybe a trade of amare for josh smith and zaza pachulia might work? salaries roughly match up... josh would replace amare in starting lineup and zaza comes off bench for tyson

I agree with keeping Novak, he's probably too cheap not to, he was great in the regular season. But Miami planned for him that round and he was a NON FACTOR. He had Chalmers in his SHORTS man. Was some great D played that series. By both teams.

Lin aint going anywhere... Simply because he makes them too much money.
I've never liked the amare/Melo combo from the beginning.
They both need the ball at all times. So 1 of them has to go..
I say trade chandler and amare for Dwight. (if orlando is interested)

Well said Loafic, I like it all except Alanta aint going to trade for Amare.
Nino, Chandler and Amare for Dwight ? If I had a choice between Chandler or Dwight, I'd take Chandler. And they already have him.
I agree with your statement that Amare and Carmelo don't work well together.
I guess what this post does show is that NY has plenty of options and are in a fairly good spot for a solid few years.

New York don't need to do anything. People forget, one of the main reasons the Knicks had such a werid season with INJURIES. It can happen to any team. Every major Knick player was injuried at one point during this season. New York will be fine, give this core of players a full training camp and a chance to get healthy and they will be good. Also people forget that Melo and Amare hasn't had a full off-season together yet!

two other more realistic pg options for the knicks outside of steve nash are:

goran dragic - 26 yr former back up now entering his prime years... unrestricted free agent... would be good if they dont resign bibby and if b-diddy isnt right to go for a while... will prob command $6-$8M a season
andre miller - the quintessential do-it-all pg that is still producing well but on the down side of his career... not many more savvy nba vets than this guy... will prob command $4-$5M a season

i reckon dragic is a better option for the knicks... he is younger & better shooter, he is quick and can push the ball, not a flash defender though... have combo of him and lin as your 2 pg's and i reckon knicks will do well at the position

personally the only way to get NY to the Finals next year is to do what is not normally recomended but in this case NY is already oozing with talent & quite clearly underperforming.The only way NY will be able to get there full potential out of Melo, Amare & JR is to have Steve Nash out there running the court for the remainder of he's career.I would most certainly trade off Jeremy Lin (lets face it if he had of been traded 12 months ago
NY would not have got nearly what they will be capable of securing in the nexttransfer period)
OK usually you wouldnt let a guy like this be traded off although he wouldnt be that much missed from a side like NY
On the back of that statement i would like you all to look at this starting 5 & tell me weather they could match OKC & Miami.
Chandler Stoudemire Anthony Smith Nash
Not to mention the depth on the bench i think NY could be a really good fit for Nash in an attempt to score that illusive ring he deserves.

Actually, I see it this way,

1) Bye Bye Amare.... I would take anything to rid ourselves of his contract. Replace him with a garbage can as that is about all he can defend, as he has shown he cant defend a fire extinguisher.
2) Resign Lin for whatever it takes, he is a spark plug the team needs to get its crowd going. He will end up with the Brooklyn Nets though....
3) Trade Carmelo to the bobcats, he will get Jordan an extra 5-10 wins a year just on hogging the ball. He is so damn dominant however he is so ONE WAY... I hear they are renaming 6th Ave in NYC after him, being that its also a ONE WAY AVE.
4) Smith needs sedatives as he plays like a crack head with a tooth ache. No way in hell I want him doing anything with the ball other then Jamming it into a hoop, cant shoot for squat, but has some of the best dunks I have seen any Knick Player do.
5) Sign Novak as he can shoot a 3 point shot from the 38th street mens room, blind folded smoking a smuggled cuban cigar upside down.
6) Give Phil Jackson the key the garden, city, state, empire, name a street after him, give him gogo girls at half time, I don't care how they do it, just get Jackson here, and if so, forget numbers 1 and 3, as he is the only person who could command enough respect to get the two bloody fools to play together.
7) Bring Charles Oakley back as a coach so he will get up into someones grill and get them to play defense.... Hell, hire Chuck Norris to show up and beat the living hell out of anyone that gives the Oak any lip.
8) If the above does not happen by opening day, I just might start to show interest in a special place, BROOKLYN...
9) Thanks for the memories Woodson... Now back to the unemployment line for you. Anyone why would put an offense though Melo needs to be taken out back and lashed with dirty nappies for hours.
10) Good thing the Knicks will have enough issues to keep the NY JETS off the back pages of the paper!

35 years of watching the Knicks and this year was awesome for drama and all that other good stuff, however I am now over it, time to get serious and play ball like you are paid to do. Will they ever play good ball with Melo and Stat on the same team??? I saw things this year out of Melo that I never thought I would see, he actually tried to be a team player... Try is the important word here, but its more then I had seen him do any other time in his career. He cant play with Lin, because Woodson already said that the offense is going to go through Melo, so if that is the case, I would think that anyone that can run for 33 minutes a nite can do the job. Nash would be a waist with Woodson as coach and everyone knows this.

Now to sit back and watch a team that I thought at the beginning of the year might take it all, the Thunder.

So glad I never became a Knicks fan when I got into the NBA, would be worse than being born a Richmond fan... I have no sympathy for the basket case of a team they've been for years. They have the money, the resources, the massive market and yet they find a way to fuck it all up. The term "circus" used above is correct, a "no ring circus". I bet New Yorkers wake up everyday and the first thing they do is thank god for the Giants.

Nah, we thank god that we are not Dallas Cowboy fans....

MandC Perth said:

Nah, we thank god that we are not Dallas Cowboy fans....

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lol! I always think of the Cowboys when theres chatter about rubbish big market teams, but then I remember the 90's and think, well a least they have that....