BRIGGS wrote:I'm not sure what the exact plan is? The way Melo was talking he wants to get better right now. We have the ending contracts but are we really going to give up a high lottery pick and cap space to do something?

I thought it was a reference to next season. Figured he had accepted that this season is a 1 way ticket to the lottery.

jrodmc wrote:What can Phil possibly do with Stat and Barg's contracts still on the books? Miles Plumlee? Nyets castoffs? Nuggets castoffs?
No matter what you think of the Melo contract, Phil's gotten rid (or is in the process of getting rid of) rotten contracts. Why take on more now?

If anything, with Calderone's stock on the rise, we're probably more of a cellar seller.

good stuff

For a starter, We need to shed Amare and Bargnani off of this roster; we further need more draft picks then what we currently have. We will have a lot of money to spend; thus, phill needs to do his due diligence to bring in all around talents to surround Anthony. We need smart players who are: shooters, defenders, rebounders.

If Amare was healthy, he might have some value for a playoff bound team needing some offense, but you know Phil would not take back any contracts that would be on the books for next year. He might look at younger vets with expiring contracts who could compete for a spot on next year's team, but who could be let go if they were found wanting.

Bargnani has a contract that is easier to deal with if you want to trade him, but he has no value to any team at this point because he can't be on the floor. Best thing to do is to waive him and pick up some DL players in an attempt to find one who sticks.

Calderon is building up some value, and Prigs might be desirable to certain teams, but I would rather get some 2nds for them, if possible, and not look to pick up players unless they are younger guys with expiring contracts.

So I would say that we are sellers at this point.

Best case dream scenario for me-

A playoff bound team is desperate for a PG because of an injury, and they give us a late round #1 for Calderon. (Yeah, I know this is extremely doubtful)

Prigs is traded for a 2nd

Don't see Amare getting us anything from another team, and the same goes double for Bargnani.

By the way- how do our trade exceptions fit into any of this ... always have trouble understaning what you can do with them.

BRIGGS wrote:

jrodmc wrote:What can Phil possibly do with Stat and Barg's contracts still on the books? Miles Plumlee? MCW? Nyets castoffs? Nuggets castoffs?
No matter what you think of the Melo contract, Phil's gotten rid (or is in the process of getting rid of) rotten contracts. Why take on more now?

If anything, with Calderone's stock on the rise, we're probably more of a cellar seller.

I agree Im quietly happy that Calderon has been playing well. There has to be a team noticing and with 20 teams in play only 1 needs to be a buyer. The best case scenario for Knicks

A-We trade Calderon
B Melo fixes his knee
C We lose more games while our younger players play well

Bingo! Great initial post by jrodmc and excellent followup, Briggs. I agree with you both. I'm sorry but if we decide to go the Isiah Thomas route again and turn STAT and/or Bargs into marginal players with longer-running contracts to try to win now (huh?), it's a flat out mistake. No one's giving us all-star talent in their prime for either guy. And we're so far behind this year, I'm not interested in any pointless attempts to get back in the race for the 8th seed. Here's hoping we resist any such temptation. Draft as well as possible, bring back the highest impact FAs possible, then we can talk about finishing it off by adding a questionable contract or two at a later time.

Makes you wonder if the Knicks ate thinking about moving some guys to pick up a piece and free up a roster spot.

martin wrote:

EnySpree wrote:We sent Cleanthony Early to the d league....why? To showcase him or gauge his value?

Makes you wonder if the Knicks ate thinking about moving some guys to pick up a piece and free up a roster spot.

So that he could get the burn he needed after missing time with injury. It's hard to practice with the rest of the team as they need rest. It's what younger guys and the team should be doing. Travis Wear should be next.

Yep, not everything a conspiracy.

I read Wear has a hip injury, which is why he hasn't played in a while.

smackeddog wrote:I'm not sure why people are making a big issue of this- we have no pick next year, so we can't build through the draft. No big stars are signing with us. Really our only option is to sign 2 or 3 second year players who fit our profile.

As for big stars signing, who the F cares about that? It's not like Phil is solely focused on big names. This team needs quality players but we're not stuck with our only option being 2nd or 3rd yr players. Yes there are young vets who should be targeted in free agency along with guys like Dragic and Matthews who are more mature.