It's not just a competition for players with the whole league. Only a few teams will have the cap space and even fewer teams actually looking to spend their cap space on free agents. Some teams like Portland and Atlanta will be trying to bring back their own Free Agents and that will cost them. Boston and Philly are less likely to be in the market for costly free agents even tho they have cap space.
Unrestricted Free Agents as i've listed above are free to do what they want and are the low hanging fruit for Phil to try and pick off. There will be players available to Phil who can help this team.
ACTIVE
RANK TEAM PLAYERS GUARDS CAP FORWARDS CAP CENTERS CAP TOTAL CAP MAX TYPE
1 Philadelphia 76ers 10 $4,171,689 $5,474,162 $8,084,760 30,911,959 Max
2 Portland Trail Blazers 8 $17,379,187 $12,235,750 $8,091,879 37,706,816 Hard
3 Detroit Pistons 9 $18,351,316 $10,127,110 $3,272,090 38,506,662 Max
4 New York Knicks 5 $9,552,391 $23,720,059 $0 39,601,427 Max
5 Atlanta Hawks 9 $18,196,733 $10,027,088 $12,000,000 40,223,821 Hard
6 San Antonio Spurs 5 $17,016,447 $1,142,880 $16,000,000 41,239,312 Max
7 Boston Celtics 10 $20,771,362 $15,800,625 $4,782,135 41,354,122 Hard
8 Dallas Mavericks 7 $16,723,759 $25,640,495 $0 44,538,215 Max
9 Los Angeles Lakers 9 $31,064,228 $6,802,151 $9,981,348 47,847,727 Max
10 Milwaukee Bucks 13 $19,311,400 $21,758,973 $5,200,000 49,317,267 Max
11 Phoenix Suns 10 $22,912,600 $17,211,545 $3,807,120 49,499,723 Max
12 Memphis Grizzlies 12 $28,740,108 $21,563,673 $0 50,904,157 Hard
13 Toronto Raptors 9 $32,253,917 $10,292,675 $6,502,482 50,950,974 Max
14 Orlando Magic 12 $17,236,444 $19,431,696 $11,250,000 52,494,214 Max
15 Utah Jazz 10 $33,252,513 $17,722,276 $1,175,880 54,343,004 Max
Here is a synopsis of the Knicks cap situation for 2015. Of course Phil could change things depending on what he does with Jose and if he decides to renounce the rights to the players.
Carmelo Anthony SF Bird $22,875,000 ($101,606,280)
Jose Calderon PG Cap Space $7,402,812 ($15,111,239)
Tim Hardaway Jr. SG Rookie $1,304,520
Cleanthony Early SF Minimum $845,059
Langston Galloway PG Minimum $845,059 2015 Cap Holds
Alexey Shved PG $4,102,570
Quincy Acy SF $1,181,348
Travis Wear PF $1,045,059
2015 NBA Salary Cap Max $66,500,000
Active Contracts $33,272,450
Cap Holds $6,328,977
$39,601,427
Cap Max Space $26,898,573
http://www.spotrac.com/nba/new-york-knicks/cap/2015/