By Matthew Henson
As a Knicks fan, it seems that, over the past six or seven years, it’s always been about looking forward. Mediocre seasons are consoled by false hopes about the upcoming free agency class. In 2010, the Knicks failed to sign LeBron James and, in turn, won the consolation prize of Amar’e Stoudemire.
Monday afternoon, Knicks president Phil Jackson waived the thirty-two year old power forward in the final year of his contract, a year in which he was scheduled to make 23 million dollars. This followed a similar transaction involving the departure of the king of sporadic scoring and the Manhattan night life, J.R. Smith, as well as the flat top legend himself, Iman Shumpert, to the now rolling Cleveland Cavs. This begs the question: do the Knicks have a plan for this offseason?
Because I’m an unreasonable yet optimistic Knicks fan, I will examine the potential outcomes that, in all likelihood will never be realized. Phil Jackson will have the ability to sign two max players this offseason. The biggest free agent names out there are LeBron James, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Goran Dragic, Rajon Rondo and Deandre Jordan. Aldridge is showing every indication of an extension with the Trailblazers, and as unfortunate as this is, LeBron isn’t really a free agent. His short contract is due solely to the pending television deal that the NBA is going to complete next year, which will allow players to drastically increase their salaries.
The Knicks need to strategically surround the most mentally fragile scorer in the league, Carmelo Anthony. A balance must be struck between getting Melo his buckets and instilling the confidence in him that a primary scorer desperately needs, while not allowing for a consistently stagnant and unmotivated offensive dynamic. The solution to this is a high IQ pass first point guard that demands from his teammates a level of respect equal to that of an NFL quarterback.
From the above list, Dragic and Rondo stick out, but neither are close to perfect. Dragic, while unique in his style, likes to have the ball in his hands and is a shoot first guy, averaging just four assists per game this season. Rondo, while a brilliant mind, distributor and defender, has a stubborn personality that could clash easily with Carmelo. Reggie Jackson of the Thunder is a tier below those two guys, but is a restricted free agent this summer and a possible fit despite his 27 percent mark from behind the three point line.
The next necessity for the Knicks is a rebounding big man. We are now feeling the after effect of Tyson Chandler’s departure. His leadership on the squad was second-to-none over the previous two seasons. The Clipper’s Deandre Jordan feels like it makes a ton of sense. I don’t see him leaving his life of glamour and style in LA, but if he could be convinced to leave, New York would naturally make the most compelling case.
Finally, Kawhi Leonard. Honestly, Kawhi needs to be the number one priority for the Knicks this summer. With the Spurs, he is a 15 point and seven rebound-a-game type of guy. Keep in mind that this is within an offensive system whose goal is to distribute the ball equally and frequently, disallowing for individual high volume scoring performances. After his finals performances and Finals MVP award, however, it is clear that he is the real deal at just 23 years old.
He’s a work horse on defense that has no problem fitting into a system, not to mention his mastery in both ends of the transition game, and unshakable competitive demeanor.
We’ll probably end up with a Nate Robinson or Raymond Felton comeback, but oh well, it’s fun to dream
