New York Knicks (group A)

2009-10 payroll: $83.1 million
Projected 2010-11 payroll: $27.3 million

• The VP's Take: They need to clear $18 million of Eddy Curry/Jared Jeffries contracts before next summer's LeBron Sweepstakes, either by trade or by spiking their Gatorade with heroin. The second move would be a criminal act; the first move could only happen if they threw their past two lottery picks (Danilo Gallinari AND Jordan Hill) into the trade (or trades). They need to carve out $45-48 million in cap space so they can lure LeBron, Bosh and either Wade or Joe Johnson as The Ultimate Big Three. Everything else will take care of itself.

• Mitigating Factor: Knicks GM Donnie Walsh has been offering Al Harrington around for ECs (expiring contracts), then insisting the other team takes Curry or Jeffries, as well. Gee, thanks, Donnie! Really, you're throwing one of them in for me free of charge? How nice of you! He's the annoying guy in your fantasy league whose e-mails you finally just start deleting. Donnie, you need to get a little more realistic. And soon.

• The VP's Verdict: Trade! Trade! I am thinking something like this …

Fake Trade 1a: Gallinari, Curry and $3 million to Minnesota for the Mark Blount/Brian Cardinal ECs. Basically, Minnesota would be paying $10 million next year to get Gallinari for 2011, 2012 and 2013. Total financial commitment: $23 million. Isn't a lottery pick and potential 50-40-90 percentage guy worth $23 million over three years (just $9 million for the last two), especially for a team stupidly playing the "we're waiting for Ricky Rubio, so tuck yourself in and enjoy three years of losing and misery!" card? Of course.

Fake Trade No. 1b: Jeffries, Hill and $3 million to Sacramento for Kenny Thomas' EC. Same principle, less money: You just bought a lottery pick for the price of Jeffries' 2010-11 contract ($6.5 million, and by the way, he's a valuable defender). The same offer could work for the Nets (Bobby Simmons), Zombie Sonics (Etan Thomas) and Blazers (Steve Blake/Travis Outlaw). Someone will bite.

Back to the Knicks: Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas did so much damage to that franchise that, really, there's a certain symmetry in them emerging from the 2000s without keeping a single lottery pick thanks to the aforementioned two trades. But if they cleared the decks completely, couldn't they seduce LeBron with the offer of building his own franchise from scratch in America's biggest city -- the metropolis where basketball matters the most, in a market he could potentially own like no New York athlete since Namath, in one of the two cities that would allow him to pursue all the non-basketball things he wants to pursue -- and put himself on the map for eternity as the guy who saved basketball in New York City? Anyone can win a title. Not anyone can own New York for a few years.

Look, I change my mind on this topic almost every month. I have no idea how it will play out. None. I just know the Knicks have a chance to offer LeBron James something that nobody else has ever been offered in sports history: A blank canvas and unlimited resources for a potential top-10 player of all time who is just hitting his prime to build his own All-Star team. It's unprecedented. If Gallinari and Hill have to be sacrificed to make it happen, you do it. You don't even think twice.

AnubisADL wrote:

nyballer wrote:http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/091223&sportCat=nba

New York Knicks (group A)

2009-10 payroll: $83.1 million
Projected 2010-11 payroll: $27.3 million

• The VP's Take: They need to clear $18 million of Eddy Curry/Jared Jeffries contracts before next summer's LeBron Sweepstakes, either by trade or by spiking their Gatorade with heroin. The second move would be a criminal act; the first move could only happen if they threw their past two lottery picks (Danilo Gallinari AND Jordan Hill) into the trade (or trades). They need to carve out $45-48 million in cap space so they can lure LeBron, Bosh and either Wade or Joe Johnson as The Ultimate Big Three. Everything else will take care of itself.

• Mitigating Factor: Knicks GM Donnie Walsh has been offering Al Harrington around for ECs (expiring contracts), then insisting the other team takes Curry or Jeffries, as well. Gee, thanks, Donnie! Really, you're throwing one of them in for me free of charge? How nice of you! He's the annoying guy in your fantasy league whose e-mails you finally just start deleting. Donnie, you need to get a little more realistic. And soon.

• The VP's Verdict: Trade! Trade! I am thinking something like this …

Fake Trade 1a: Gallinari, Curry and $3 million to Minnesota for the Mark Blount/Brian Cardinal ECs. Basically, Minnesota would be paying $10 million next year to get Gallinari for 2011, 2012 and 2013. Total financial commitment: $23 million. Isn't a lottery pick and potential 50-40-90 percentage guy worth $23 million over three years (just $9 million for the last two), especially for a team stupidly playing the "we're waiting for Ricky Rubio, so tuck yourself in and enjoy three years of losing and misery!" card? Of course.

Fake Trade No. 1b: Jeffries, Hill and $3 million to Sacramento for Kenny Thomas' EC. Same principle, less money: You just bought a lottery pick for the price of Jeffries' 2010-11 contract ($6.5 million, and by the way, he's a valuable defender). The same offer could work for the Nets (Bobby Simmons), Zombie Sonics (Etan Thomas) and Blazers (Steve Blake/Travis Outlaw). Someone will bite.

Back to the Knicks: Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas did so much damage to that franchise that, really, there's a certain symmetry in them emerging from the 2000s without keeping a single lottery pick thanks to the aforementioned two trades. But if they cleared the decks completely, couldn't they seduce LeBron with the offer of building his own franchise from scratch in America's biggest city -- the metropolis where basketball matters the most, in a market he could potentially own like no New York athlete since Namath, in one of the two cities that would allow him to pursue all the non-basketball things he wants to pursue -- and put himself on the map for eternity as the guy who saved basketball in New York City? Anyone can win a title. Not anyone can own New York for a few years.

Look, I change my mind on this topic almost every month. I have no idea how it will play out. None. I just know the Knicks have a chance to offer LeBron James something that nobody else has ever been offered in sports history: A blank canvas and unlimited resources for a potential top-10 player of all time who is just hitting his prime to build his own All-Star team. It's unprecedented. If Gallinari and Hill have to be sacrificed to make it happen, you do it. You don't even think twice.

LOL

Nice idea but we know Walsh isn't trading Gallo or Hill just to get rid of Curry or Jefferies.

Walsh never rushing (LOL..., to say the least).
Why he will lose his head about 18 mils coming of the books in 2011; the year when we are planning to get the final touch to the team he is building?
Just to give the beat writers another big-3 hype? I don't think it worth it and plus it is not happening regardless.

Rookie wrote:IF Curry wants to play, couldn't he opt out after this year? It would be a miracle, but if I'm him, do I really spend another year riding the bench?

easy $$$ for curry. he leaves this contract, he isnt getting another so big at this point. why leave certain $$$ for less?

sidsanders wrote:

Rookie wrote:IF Curry wants to play, couldn't he opt out after this year? It would be a miracle, but if I'm him, do I really spend another year riding the bench?

easy $$$ for curry. he leaves this contract, he isnt getting another so big at this point. why leave certain $$$ for less?

He would be lucky to get the league minimum with incentives at this point, but two years on the bench is a long time to not play. Crazy, but if the guy wants to play, he needs to opt out of become the new Jerome