Bonn1997 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:But again, what do you mean by second option? It makes it sound like you care only about scoring - I assume you mean "second scoring option" because that's the only way I've heard the term used before. There are many important aspects of the game outside of scoring though.

I'm well aware of the importance of defense. I myself was a defensive player and I love defense. I'm not saying that defense isn't important!!! It's why I said they may keep Shump to help cover for Jose defensively. This is about the cap structure of the team and how you build it. Tyson was not a 2nd option on the Mavs but was paid that way. It's entirely possible we could get a defensive anchor for less money and also add a 2nd option behind Melo. Now it could be a guy who could do both but I don't think a guy like Marc Gasol is gonna come to the Knicks. He would be worth being paid the 2nd highest salary since he would be not only a defensive anchor but a major scoring option as well.

I've made statements that make it clear this team is gonna need a defensive anchor but if that is the 2nd highest paid player I think the teams structure is off unless you already have someone to help carry the scoring load. The Mavs decided to let Tyson walk when he was due for more money and if he was not being paid the 2nd highest already I doubt they let Tyson go. At a certain point you have to have a number for each position you have on your roster. I think Tyson was important to what the Mavs did but clearly he was not worth paying as much as he was going to get from NY with their cap situation at the time.

My guess is you're also highly devaluing efficient scoring and offensive rebounding. You might find a defensive anchor for less but you won't find one who will average double digit scoring on 70% shooting and will be a league leader in offensive rebounding. You're not merely neglecting defense when you say second option. You're neglecting all aspects of the offense other than volume scoring (efficiency, passing, offensive rebounding) too. You notice that Dallas replaced Calderon with Tyson and their offense is actually a lot better? They're first in PPG. Every year, Tyson's team's offense is always better with him on than off the court. Imagine you have one guy who usually shoots around 6 for 9. That can fully compensate for another player going around 6 for 16 or 8 for 21, and you have almost 50% combined shooting. That's not to say scoring volume is irrelevant but it's just one of many factors, and it's arbitrary to pick that as the one measuring stick on offense. Dallas' biggest improvement is actually on the offensive end. You could say some of that has to do with Parsons but I doubt it. His #s are actually poor.

Tyson's effectiveness is enhanced because he has other players able to create and produce in Dirk, Ellis and Parsons. It works both ways. If u gave Tyson more responsibility his efficiency would go down as would his effectiveness or his efficiency and effectiveness would stay the same but it wouldnt have the impact that it is having now. When the Knicks had Kidd, Melo, Jr, Felton producing and creating Tysons effectiveness was enhanced which is why we won 54 games and he was able to win DOP.

Just like Marion the ultimate efficient stat fill and defender. If Marion was your franchise player who u had to lean on. U probably don't make the playoffs. But pair Marion with a star who can create and produce and they make playoffs. Pair him with 2 allowing him to get his off the ball. They are a contender.

nixluva wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:

nixluva wrote:Dirk was 32 when he won his title and he's still making a run at 36. Melo is still a viable player given his game isn't predicated on pure athletic ability. Phil has to make it happen over the next year or 2 in terms of surrounding Melo with the needed talent.

The Dallas team in question was created several CBAs ago. Meaning that type of team construction (where Cuban kept paying into the luxury tax, but without the current penalties) is virtually impossible in today's NBA. When you factor in the type of exceptions possible that don't exist the same way today, I just can't see it happening.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2011.html#all_salaries

To build the viable "Ideal For Melo" team was Simmons posits would mean doing so needing draft assets developed. Which lies the basic problem here. Draft picks take time to develop, by the time they are ready to flourish, Melo will be at the end of his contract and likely not the same level of player he is now. Think about it. Reggie Jackson and Jimmy Butler are starting to emerge now. Even if you factor in they had a harder time getting minutes on stacked rosters, consider that even at a 2-3 year developmental window, instead of a 4-5 year one, is still dealing with a different kind of Melo at that point.

Melo and Jose are pretty much part of the core so far. Jose is basically the Kidd role and is being paid about the same. We need to see how they feel about Iman starting at SG. My guess is that they will bring him back. He's a 2 way player and helps to make it possible to run Jose out there defensively. Iman would have to come in at a reasonable price for a guy that will be in the Shawn Marion role. It's possible they can get it done but if not that's another task for Phil to replace a defender the team will need.

The one thing about that Mavs team is that some of those guys are OVERPAID for what they brought to the table IMO. Jason Terry had to become the #2 option after Caron Butler went down. Terry avg'd 15.8 ppg and was at $10.6 mil. That was 3rd highest behind Tyson at $12.3 mil. Tyson getting paid that much but not being the 2nd option is a poor structure IMO. Phil could do better than that. He's gonna have to really make sure to give the team a defensive anchor who comes in at a MUCH cheaper cost than Tyson or he can go big on a guy like Mark Gasol. Thing is I actually don't see Gasol coming to NY. That leads me to think Phil is going to be looking at trades to remake the Knicks. Just surveying the Free Agent landscape and what the Team needs I think Phil is gonna have to look to make deals.

What does 2nd option mean? Tyson is playing better than he did when he was an all-star.

This isn't a diss on Tyson. Don't like the idea of team cap structure where Tyson was the 2nd highest paid player. I think put them in bad spot when he wanted more money. Your 2nd option should be 2nd highest paid and team defensive anchor behind them. Unless you get a Marc Gasol or Aldridge can't see paying as much as Dallas did for Tyson relative to Melo.

The idea is to find a way to fit what we need under the cap. I have doubt we can convince Gasol or Aldridge to come. I could see Phil going after Monroe.
In terms of Free Agents perhaps he makes some smaller moves to round out support. Even with Jose They will still need a PG and Dragic or Reggie Jackson seem like targets.

So my guess is Phil goes Hard for Monroe and Dragic.

Phil is not getting both

Nor will those guys make a difference somewhat offensively selfish

Greg turned down $60mil he'll want this at a minimum

The Pacers have been hot after Dragic kind of setting a precursor price tag on him

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:Nix you don't have to be a salary guy

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

I honestly have no idea what they're likely to get. Either way the Knicks should have money to go after them or make some kind of deal for them. You could've made your point more convincingly if you had posted what you anticipate they will get in Free Agency.

Some things are well known Monroe turned down a 60 mil deal from detroit and reggie jackson has his eyes on a deal similar to Parsons and hayward. i doubt they come here for the pennies you're suggesting.

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:Nix you don't have to be a salary guy

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

I honestly have no idea what they're likely to get. Either way the Knicks should have money to go after them or make some kind of deal for them. You could've made your point more convincingly if you had posted what you anticipate they will get in Free Agency.

Some things are well known Monroe turned down a 60 mil deal from detroit and reggie jackson has his eyes on a deal similar to Parsons and hayward. i doubt they come here for the pennies you're suggesting.

From what I could find this is what they wrote about Greg Monroe's contract situation in Detroit.

The big man also went to Twitter to quiet a report that he turned down a five-year, $60 million offer and a four-year, $58 million offer. The free agent said such offers were never put on the table.

My point is more about targeting those specific players. Let's say Monroe is signed for 4 years 58 mil. That would be an average of about $14.5 mil per.

Chandler Parsons signed a 3 year $46.08 million contract with an annual average salary of $15,361,500.

The current salary cap for the 2014-2015 NBA season is set at $63.1 million, with the luxury tax line set at $76.8 million. The cap is projected to jump to about $66.3 million in 2015-2016, and with this news, explode to near $80 million in 2016-2017.

Depending on what Phil does and whether JR opts out, there could very well be enough money to sign Monroe and Jackson to the kind of contracts that you suggest. Even more as the new CBA comes in Phil will likely still have options to further enhance the roster. He has trade options as well. It's not a grim outlook for Phil to remake the roster.

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:Nix you don't have to be a salary guy

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

I honestly have no idea what they're likely to get. Either way the Knicks should have money to go after them or make some kind of deal for them. You could've made your point more convincingly if you had posted what you anticipate they will get in Free Agency.

Some things are well known Monroe turned down a 60 mil deal from detroit and reggie jackson has his eyes on a deal similar to Parsons and hayward. i doubt they come here for the pennies you're suggesting.

From what I could find this is what they wrote about Greg Monroe's contract situation in Detroit.

The big man also went to Twitter to quiet a report that he turned down a five-year, $60 million offer and a four-year, $58 million offer. The free agent said such offers were never put on the table.

My point is more about targeting those specific players. Let's say Monroe is signed for 4 years 58 mil. That would be an average of about $14.5 mil per.

Chandler Parsons signed a 3 year $46.08 million contract with an annual average salary of $15,361,500.

The current salary cap for the 2014-2015 NBA season is set at $63.1 million, with the luxury tax line set at $76.8 million. The cap is projected to jump to about $66.3 million in 2015-2016, and with this news, explode to near $80 million in 2016-2017.

Depending on what Phil does and whether JR opts out, there could very well be enough money to sign Monroe and Jackson to the kind of contracts that you suggest. Even more as the new CBA comes in Phil will likely still have options to further enhance the roster. He has trade options as well. It's not a grim outlook for Phil to remake the roster.

Bonn1997 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:But again, what do you mean by second option? It makes it sound like you care only about scoring - I assume you mean "second scoring option" because that's the only way I've heard the term used before. There are many important aspects of the game outside of scoring though.

I'm well aware of the importance of defense. I myself was a defensive player and I love defense. I'm not saying that defense isn't important!!! It's why I said they may keep Shump to help cover for Jose defensively. This is about the cap structure of the team and how you build it. Tyson was not a 2nd option on the Mavs but was paid that way. It's entirely possible we could get a defensive anchor for less money and also add a 2nd option behind Melo. Now it could be a guy who could do both but I don't think a guy like Marc Gasol is gonna come to the Knicks. He would be worth being paid the 2nd highest salary since he would be not only a defensive anchor but a major scoring option as well.

I've made statements that make it clear this team is gonna need a defensive anchor but if that is the 2nd highest paid player I think the teams structure is off unless you already have someone to help carry the scoring load. The Mavs decided to let Tyson walk when he was due for more money and if he was not being paid the 2nd highest already I doubt they let Tyson go. At a certain point you have to have a number for each position you have on your roster. I think Tyson was important to what the Mavs did but clearly he was not worth paying as much as he was going to get from NY with their cap situation at the time.

My guess is you're also highly devaluing efficient scoring and offensive rebounding. You might find a defensive anchor for less but you won't find one who will average double digit scoring on 70% shooting and will be a league leader in offensive rebounding. You're not merely neglecting defense when you say second option. You're neglecting all aspects of the offense other than volume scoring (efficiency, passing, offensive rebounding) too. You notice that Dallas replaced Calderon with Tyson and their offense is actually a lot better? They're first in PPG. Every year, Tyson's team's offense is always better with him on than off the court. Imagine you have one guy who usually shoots around 6 for 9. That can fully compensate for another player going around 6 for 16 or 8 for 21, and you have almost 50% combined shooting. That's not to say scoring volume is irrelevant but it's just one of many factors, and it's arbitrary to pick that as the one measuring stick on offense. Dallas' biggest improvement is actually on the offensive end. You could say some of that has to do with Parsons but I doubt it. His #s are actually poor.

Brandan Wright is a free agent. He is putting up similar numbers and some better per 36. He is the lesser rebounder defensively but is the better rim protector. He is also scoring in double digits while shooting 79% from the field.

I suspect that both Chandler and Brandan numbers will come down as the season continues.

newyorknewyork wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:But again, what do you mean by second option? It makes it sound like you care only about scoring - I assume you mean "second scoring option" because that's the only way I've heard the term used before. There are many important aspects of the game outside of scoring though.

I'm well aware of the importance of defense. I myself was a defensive player and I love defense. I'm not saying that defense isn't important!!! It's why I said they may keep Shump to help cover for Jose defensively. This is about the cap structure of the team and how you build it. Tyson was not a 2nd option on the Mavs but was paid that way. It's entirely possible we could get a defensive anchor for less money and also add a 2nd option behind Melo. Now it could be a guy who could do both but I don't think a guy like Marc Gasol is gonna come to the Knicks. He would be worth being paid the 2nd highest salary since he would be not only a defensive anchor but a major scoring option as well.

I've made statements that make it clear this team is gonna need a defensive anchor but if that is the 2nd highest paid player I think the teams structure is off unless you already have someone to help carry the scoring load. The Mavs decided to let Tyson walk when he was due for more money and if he was not being paid the 2nd highest already I doubt they let Tyson go. At a certain point you have to have a number for each position you have on your roster. I think Tyson was important to what the Mavs did but clearly he was not worth paying as much as he was going to get from NY with their cap situation at the time.

My guess is you're also highly devaluing efficient scoring and offensive rebounding. You might find a defensive anchor for less but you won't find one who will average double digit scoring on 70% shooting and will be a league leader in offensive rebounding. You're not merely neglecting defense when you say second option. You're neglecting all aspects of the offense other than volume scoring (efficiency, passing, offensive rebounding) too. You notice that Dallas replaced Calderon with Tyson and their offense is actually a lot better? They're first in PPG. Every year, Tyson's team's offense is always better with him on than off the court. Imagine you have one guy who usually shoots around 6 for 9. That can fully compensate for another player going around 6 for 16 or 8 for 21, and you have almost 50% combined shooting. That's not to say scoring volume is irrelevant but it's just one of many factors, and it's arbitrary to pick that as the one measuring stick on offense. Dallas' biggest improvement is actually on the offensive end. You could say some of that has to do with Parsons but I doubt it. His #s are actually poor.

Tyson's effectiveness is enhanced because he has other players able to create and produce in Dirk, Ellis and Parsons. It works both ways. If u gave Tyson more responsibility his efficiency would go down as would his effectiveness or his efficiency and effectiveness would stay the same but it wouldnt have the impact that it is having now. When the Knicks had Kidd, Melo, Jr, Felton producing and creating Tysons effectiveness was enhanced which is why we won 54 games and he was able to win DOP.

Just like Marion the ultimate efficient stat fill and defender. If Marion was your franchise player who u had to lean on. U probably don't make the playoffs. But pair Marion with a star who can create and produce and they make playoffs. Pair him with 2 allowing him to get his off the ball. They are a contender.

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:Nix you don't have to be a salary guy

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

I honestly have no idea what they're likely to get. Either way the Knicks should have money to go after them or make some kind of deal for them. You could've made your point more convincingly if you had posted what you anticipate they will get in Free Agency.

Some things are well known Monroe turned down a 60 mil deal from detroit and reggie jackson has his eyes on a deal similar to Parsons and hayward. i doubt they come here for the pennies you're suggesting.

From what I could find this is what they wrote about Greg Monroe's contract situation in Detroit.

The big man also went to Twitter to quiet a report that he turned down a five-year, $60 million offer and a four-year, $58 million offer. The free agent said such offers were never put on the table.

My point is more about targeting those specific players. Let's say Monroe is signed for 4 years 58 mil. That would be an average of about $14.5 mil per.

Chandler Parsons signed a 3 year $46.08 million contract with an annual average salary of $15,361,500.

The current salary cap for the 2014-2015 NBA season is set at $63.1 million, with the luxury tax line set at $76.8 million. The cap is projected to jump to about $66.3 million in 2015-2016, and with this news, explode to near $80 million in 2016-2017.

Depending on what Phil does and whether JR opts out, there could very well be enough money to sign Monroe and Jackson to the kind of contracts that you suggest. Even more as the new CBA comes in Phil will likely still have options to further enhance the roster. He has trade options as well. It's not a grim outlook for Phil to remake the roster.

We wont have cap sapce to sign both guys to max deals, which is what they are looking for. But even if we did have that kind of money this team needs more help than those two. A complete overhaul is needed and we dont have the mnoney for that, nor assets to trade.

It doesn't have to come all at once either. In terms of max deals tho I would love for someone to get specific as to exactly what they think a max contract for Monroe and Jackson would be? Even if the Knicks only got Monroe and found another option to round out the roster it's still doable. You guys are talking like the Knicks won't even be in the running for free agents. They clearly will have options and i've only mentioned 2 I think are most likely but who knows what other deals could be made by Phil.

This is how the Knicks will stack up against other team with cap space. The Knicks are going to be in the top tier of teams with space and I don't thin this is the best Phil can do in terms of max space. Also remember that we'll already have a top player in the fold to pair with any incoming Free Agent. Some of these other teams are trying not to lose their top tier player.

2015-16 Cap Minimum -- 59,185,000	                                        Est. Total Cap  Est. Total Cap
Rank	Team	                 Guard Cap	Forward Cap	Center Cap      w/o Holds       w/ Holds                                                              
15	Sacramento Kings	14,157,340	26,179,410	15,851,950	57,112,480	57,112,480
16	New Orleans Pelicans	38,189,183	17,397,137	0	        55,586,320	55,586,320
17	Utah Jazz	        32,407,454	21,525,000	1,175,880	55,108,334	55,108,334
18	Milwaukee Bucks	        16,197,276	19,649,680	16,200,000	52,046,956	52,046,956
19	Toronto Raptors	        32,253,917	10,292,675	6,502,482	49,049,074	50,950,974
20	Orlando Magic	        17,236,444	19,431,696	11,250,000	47,918,140	47,918,140
21	Los Angeles Lakers	31,064,228	5,957,092	9,981,348	47,002,668	47,002,668
22	Boston Celtics	        13,858,493	25,845,684	6,962,135	46,666,312	53,886,312
23	Dallas Mavericks	20,525,975	24,795,436	0	        46,268,687	46,268,687
24	Detroit Pistons	        21,351,316	20,218,240	3,272,090	46,197,792	46,197,792
25	Memphis Grizzlies	27,895,049	14,900,637	0	        43,396,062	43,396,062
26	New York Knicks	        18,516,974	23,720,059	0	        42,237,033	42,237,033
27	Atlanta Hawks	        18,196,733	11,965,928	12,000,000	42,162,661	42,162,661
28	San Antonio Spurs	17,016,447	1,142,880	16,000,000	34,159,327	34,159,327
29	Portland Trail Blazers	9,879,187	12,235,750	8,091,879	30,206,816	30,206,816
30	Philadelphia 76ers	4,578,394	3,584,670	8,084,760	16,247,824	16,247,824

http://www.spotrac.com/cap-tracker/nba/2015/

I actually stating the Knicks need more than two, and I've already stated what those two guys will be looking for...their max deals.

This is my thing, if the team is using max space to sign a guy or maybe two those two will have to help carry the team to winning at a high level....and neither player has done that. This team also need quality depth which it has none of right now.

The Knicks "cap sapce" wont be enough to fullfill those needs and thats assuming guys will want to play here in an archaic system, with melo and on a big stage. No guarantees there.

Perhaps Phil could do something like this:

Melo     $22,875,000
Monroe   $13,500,000 to start with max raises each year
Jackson  $12,500,000 to start with max raises each year
Jose     $7,402,812
THJ      $1,304,520
Pablo    $1,734,572
Early    $845,059
Acy      $1,181,348 Team Option
Wear     $1,045,059 Team Option
         $62,388,370 - Projected 2015-16 Cap $66,500,000

MS wrote:

If you're going to make a trade and add salary why no pick up Larkin's option? You knew Chandler would play well in a contract year and would have been a very attractive piece to a team looking to get over the hump. Hell you could have traded him to the cave for a future pick.

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knickscity wrote:

nixluva wrote:

F500ONE wrote:Nix you don't have to be a salary guy

But realistic might be something you want to try

No way Monroe get's only $10-10.5mil first yr starting salary

And Reggie Jackson $7-$7.5mil first yr starting salary

I honestly have no idea what they're likely to get. Either way the Knicks should have money to go after them or make some kind of deal for them. You could've made your point more convincingly if you had posted what you anticipate they will get in Free Agency.

Some things are well known Monroe turned down a 60 mil deal from detroit and reggie jackson has his eyes on a deal similar to Parsons and hayward. i doubt they come here for the pennies you're suggesting.

From what I could find this is what they wrote about Greg Monroe's contract situation in Detroit.

The big man also went to Twitter to quiet a report that he turned down a five-year, $60 million offer and a four-year, $58 million offer. The free agent said such offers were never put on the table.

My point is more about targeting those specific players. Let's say Monroe is signed for 4 years 58 mil. That would be an average of about $14.5 mil per.

Chandler Parsons signed a 3 year $46.08 million contract with an annual average salary of $15,361,500.

The current salary cap for the 2014-2015 NBA season is set at $63.1 million, with the luxury tax line set at $76.8 million. The cap is projected to jump to about $66.3 million in 2015-2016, and with this news, explode to near $80 million in 2016-2017.

Depending on what Phil does and whether JR opts out, there could very well be enough money to sign Monroe and Jackson to the kind of contracts that you suggest. Even more as the new CBA comes in Phil will likely still have options to further enhance the roster. He has trade options as well. It's not a grim outlook for Phil to remake the roster.

We wont have cap sapce to sign both guys to max deals, which is what they are looking for. But even if we did have that kind of money this team needs more help than those two. A complete overhaul is needed and we dont have the mnoney for that, nor assets to trade.

It doesn't have to come all at once either. In terms of max deals tho I would love for someone to get specific as to exactly what they think a max contract for Monroe and Jackson would be? Even if the Knicks only got Monroe and found another option to round out the roster it's still doable. You guys are talking like the Knicks won't even be in the running for free agents. They clearly will have options and i've only mentioned 2 I think are most likely but who knows what other deals could be made by Phil.

This is how the Knicks will stack up against other team with cap space. The Knicks are going to be in the top tier of teams with space and I don't thin this is the best Phil can do in terms of max space. Also remember that we'll already have a top player in the fold to pair with any incoming Free Agent. Some of these other teams are trying not to lose their top tier player.

2015-16 Cap Minimum -- 59,185,000	                                        Est. Total Cap  Est. Total Cap
Rank	Team	                 Guard Cap	Forward Cap	Center Cap      w/o Holds       w/ Holds                                                              
15	Sacramento Kings	14,157,340	26,179,410	15,851,950	57,112,480	57,112,480
16	New Orleans Pelicans	38,189,183	17,397,137	0	        55,586,320	55,586,320
17	Utah Jazz	        32,407,454	21,525,000	1,175,880	55,108,334	55,108,334
18	Milwaukee Bucks	        16,197,276	19,649,680	16,200,000	52,046,956	52,046,956
19	Toronto Raptors	        32,253,917	10,292,675	6,502,482	49,049,074	50,950,974
20	Orlando Magic	        17,236,444	19,431,696	11,250,000	47,918,140	47,918,140
21	Los Angeles Lakers	31,064,228	5,957,092	9,981,348	47,002,668	47,002,668
22	Boston Celtics	        13,858,493	25,845,684	6,962,135	46,666,312	53,886,312
23	Dallas Mavericks	20,525,975	24,795,436	0	        46,268,687	46,268,687
24	Detroit Pistons	        21,351,316	20,218,240	3,272,090	46,197,792	46,197,792
25	Memphis Grizzlies	27,895,049	14,900,637	0	        43,396,062	43,396,062
26	New York Knicks	        18,516,974	23,720,059	0	        42,237,033	42,237,033
27	Atlanta Hawks	        18,196,733	11,965,928	12,000,000	42,162,661	42,162,661
28	San Antonio Spurs	17,016,447	1,142,880	16,000,000	34,159,327	34,159,327
29	Portland Trail Blazers	9,879,187	12,235,750	8,091,879	30,206,816	30,206,816
30	Philadelphia 76ers	4,578,394	3,584,670	8,084,760	16,247,824	16,247,824

http://www.spotrac.com/cap-tracker/nba/2015/

I actually stating the Knicks need more than two, and I've already stated what those two guys will be looking for...their max deals.

This is my thing, if the team is using max space to sign a guy or maybe two those two will have to help carry the team to winning at a high level....and neither player has done that. This team also need quality depth which it has none of right now.

The Knicks "cap sapce" wont be enough to fullfill those needs and thats assuming guys will want to play here in an archaic system, with melo and on a big stage. No guarantees there.

Perhaps Phil could do something like this:

Melo     $22,875,000
Monroe   $13,500,000 to start with max raises each year
Jackson  $12,500,000 to start with max raises each year
Jose     $7,402,812
THJ      $1,304,520
Pablo    $1,734,572
Early    $845,059
Acy      $1,181,348 Team Option
Wear     $1,045,059 Team Option
         $62,388,370 - Projected 2015-16 Cap $66,500,000

Thats not a core for contending, that's the main issue. Secondly I dont see Phil put that kind of money into 3rd tier players.