I think Josh Harrelson could develop into a more than serviceable talent. Fields is expendable with jr, Shump and Novak

BRIGGS wrote:We need younger high quality PF and PG back ups who are capable of also giving big minutes. JR Smith--if we take his option--needs to improve. The Knicks have to come up with a formula to get Ty Chandler 10 FGA's. I like how Portland grabbed Hickson--thats kind of what I wanted for us. Hes played well for them. We have to consider Amare a guy who will need a suitable effective back up and perhaps keep his minutes down around 25 anyway. Id conider trading Fields into the draft for a first rounder that made sense.

JR Smith has a player option, not a team option. Tyson can't create shots for himself and has no real offensive game which is why he won't, and has never averaged 10 FGA/game. I'd like to move Amare to the bench; he could come in, be the focal point of the offense, dominate the other teams' backups, all while reducing the wear and tear on his knees and back; but would he be willing to do that? I doubt it. I'm not ready to give up on Landry yet, but if we could trade him for a pick in the middle of the 1st, we probably should.

Knixkik wrote:The most perfect player to get would be Ilyasova, a tough, stretch-4, but it is probably unrealistic. I think Camby can come for cheap and serve a purpose. I would also look to deal Fields for more shooting.

Have always liked Ilyasova. Here's the list of remaining options:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/2012-nba-free-agents

also like Mahinmi but so does Dallas methinks

ChuckBuck wrote:Hate to say it, but in addition to PF, we have to search for a new PG. If Lin (23 yrs old)can't handle the rigors of starting point guard duties, might be wise to look for another PG instead.

One injury doesn't mean he can't handle it. Virtually every player who's ever played has suffered an injury and missed significant time during a season.

ChuckBuck wrote:Hate to say it, but in addition to PF, we have to search for a new PG. If Lin (23 yrs old)can't handle the rigors of starting point guard duties, might be wise to look for another PG instead.

Melo
STAT
Chandler
Balkman
Douglas
Jorts
Harrellson

It's about 60 million in salary, which means that New York is over the cap. We should also assume that Lin's going to get the MLE, which means it isn't going to be available.

So add Jeremy Lin to the roster...

JR Smith has a player option for 2.5 million, so hopefully he picks that up.

The important guys coming off the books are Fields, Novak, Jeffries and Baron Davis assuming that Lin stays.

Lin doesn't qualify for full Bird Rights but is a restricted free agent under the "Gilbert Arenas" provision in the rulebook. In short, here's what it means...

New York can only offer Lin 120% of his current salary without cap restrictions because they have one year Bird Rights. This likely isn't enough to keep Lin, meaning that Jeremy Lin will become a restricted free agent.

Restricted free agency means that New York will have an opportunity to match any offer made to Jeremy Lin. The Gilbert Arenas provision says that a team cannot offer a player with less than 3 years of experience a contract that exceeds what the Knicks could possibly match under the cap. Because the Knicks only have the mid-level exception, that's the maximum a team can offer under league rules. Basically, team X offers Lin the full MLE, and New York would have to match it and use the MLE to keep him.

Basically, Lin would have to take the One year Bird Rights contract to not interfere with the MLE. It's a possibility because Lin gets Full Bird Rights if he plays another year with the Knicks and could then get any contract he wants.