When your team is 5-29 like the New York Knicks are, you tend to look at the future for hope rather than the present. The worst 30-game start in franchise history will do that to you.
Plus, thanks to the beauty of the ESPN NBA trade machine, you can see from a salary cap perspective what deals your team could make to instantly become a contender again. So sure, trades like this one or this one would take care of things very quickly. But yeah…no.
The other complicating factor to the trade market is that expiring deals have somewhat gone out of fashion. Draft picks are now seen as the key asset in making deals happen. The Knicks won’t have any picks in the 2016 draft, and don’t have a second rounder until 2020. Thanks to the "Stepien Rule," they can’t deal a first rounder until 2018. So that’s out as an option too.
For sake of this thought exercise, we’re going to assume that Carmelo Anthony and coach Derek Fisher are in it for the long haul. And we’re also going to assume that every NBA team would at least take the phone call on a trade, which as we know doesn’t always happen. Remember, people: this is a fantasy. We’re not predicting that this is how it’s going to go down. This is merely a potential blueprint grounded in present-day realism and not factoring in the millions of things that could go on that would render all of this moot.
With that in mind, here is How to Fix the Knicks in Six Easy Steps.
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Step 1: Make a Series of Trades Using Expiring Contracts, Draft Picks, and Trade Exceptions
Rather than go ahead and dismiss the notion of the Knicks being able to pull off all three of these trades, let’s take a look at each individual deal and judge it on its own merits. Then, you’ll see that in a vacuum each one is feasible and with the right mixing of draft picks could be pulled off.
Trade No. 1
Knicks get: Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson
Hornets get: Amare Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert, Knicks’ unprotected 2017 first round pick, cash
Why the deal makes sense: The Hornets are 10-23, and are looking like last season’s playoff appearance was a total fluke. They’re already openly trying to deal Stephenson just a couple months into a three-year deal, and with just one year left on Jefferson’s contract the likelihood of him leaving is looking pretty high. So if you’re going to suck, why not send Lance back home, get something for Al when you probably won’t next season, and enjoy the $26 million in cap space that opens up this summer? If they want to use some of that money to re-sign Shumpert, great. If not, they’ll have the cash to offer a max deal to someone like Jimmy Butler, who would potentially give them what they’d hoped they’d get from Lance.
The Knicks get two building blocks on short deals, which is an ideal scenario for them to test out their new nucleus. They’ll have a full season next year to test out Al and Lance, both of whom can become free agents if it’s not working (Al’s contract is up, and Lance’s third season is fully non-guaranteed).
Trade No. 2
Knicks get: Eric Bledsoe, $4.1 million Keith Bogans trade exception from Cleveland
Suns get: Jose Calderon, Knicks’ unprotected 2015 first round pick, Cavaliers’ unprotected 2016 second round pick
Cavaliers get: Samuel Dalembert
Why the deal makes sense: While at first blush it would seem like Phoenix is not getting nearly enough for Bledsoe, it’s worth considering that they really didn’t want to pay him this much money in the first place. Plus, after bringing in Isaiah Thomas and needing to pay Goran Dragic this summer, the Suns suddenly have three guards who need huge minutes and only two spots to put them in. Getting a veteran backup and a really good pick in this year’s draft might be enough to get them to part ways with the dynamic young point guard.
The Cavs are in serious need of help in the frontcourt now that Anderson Varejao is out for the season, and have been saving their Keith Bogans trade exception for just such an occasion. Dalembert is a veteran body who doesn’t need the ball on offense and can block shots, which will help provide some rim protection for their otherwise lackluster interior defense. A second round pick is a small price to pay for a player who might help the Cavs make a run to the Finals.
Trade No. 3
Knicks get: Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace
Celtics get: Andrea Bargnani, Jason Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Knicks’ lottery-protected 2019 first round pick
Why the deal makes sense: After trading Rajon Rondo to Dallas, the Celtics are next looking to dump the mercurial Green, who has shown flashes of brilliance but has never been the night-in, night-out scorer many thought he’d be. He’d be a great fit for this new-look Knicks squad, floating between the three and the four, running the floor, and never having to take a big shot. The tax for getting Green is Wallace, who is so bad at this point that he can’t even sniff the floor for the woeful Celtics. Parting with Hardaway is tough, but he’s the only real asset the Knicks have who would even pique Boston’s interest; indeed, it might even be that first round pick that seals the deal, since it seems like the Celtics are running some kind of experiment on what happens when they have two or three first rounders every single year.
Step 2: Cut J.R. Smith
Step 3: This Summer, Do Nothing
Step 4: Patiently Play Out 2015-16
Step 5: After the New CBA Is Signed in the Summer of 2016, Re-Sign Current Core or Use the Cash to Chase a Huge Name
Step 6: Enjoy
