So why do the New York Knicks need Glen Grunwald again? Oh right, formalities.
To hell with those shackles. They should just go ahead and give Carmelo Anthony the official title of star cornerstone and acting general manager.
According to Hoopworld’s Steve Kyler, the Knicks have let ‘Melo know their financial books will be clear in 2015, at which point he can convince whoever the hell he wants to join him if he stays beyond next season:
On the Anthony front, there is a chance he looks at greener pastures in 2014, but sources close to the process say the Knicks have already let Anthony know that their books will be basically clear in 2015 and he can pick his teammates much as Wade did in Miami.
With the New York market behind him and the almost unlimited checkbook of the Knicks, Anthony will have a lot of options in 2015 and while teams like the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers might be tempting in 2014, Anthony has a lot of influence in New York and they are willing to let him build his own team in NYC in 2015.
Raise your hand if this is actually news to you.
If you put your hand in the air, I want you take grab it using your other one, then proceed to slap yourself silly for being so naive.
Of course the Knicks are willing to let ‘Melo build his own team in 2015. Why wouldn’t they promise him that? They’d be stupid not to. He’s the only superstar they have.
Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith aren’t the stars Anthony was supposed to play with. Iman Shumpert may one day be a star, but he’s not now. There is only Anthony. Hence, the fear that he’s going to leave this summer.
Which he won’t.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYf6hWiCcWU
Let’s be clear: There is no place like New York. None. The Big Apple is the basketball mecca of the universe and Anthony is the “it” guy. He’s not going to give all that up to play with a Kobe Bryant who will be pushing 36 on the Los Angeles Lakers. Get real.
Instead, he’s going to stay. He’ll be just 30 years old next summer, with four-to-five more years of competitive ball still in his future. Come 2015, he’ll be 31, and in need of some legitimate star partners, which the Knicks will be able to get him.
To be even more clear, the Knicks’ books aren’t completely clear. As it stands, New York has more than $18 million in salary on its plate leading into the 2015-16 season, not including the $20 million-ish a year Anthony would command. Add that in and the Knicks will have upwards of $22 million annually to play around with, more than enough to sign one superstar.
In the interest of thinking bigger, the Knicks could actually have more. Smith and Felton both have player options that summer, which they could decline. Or the Knicks could simply move their expiring deals. That would account for more than $10 million off their bottom line, opening up even more doors (two superstars?).
Either way, the Knicks would have options in a class that comprises LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker and Marc Gasol, among others.
Those others to which I speak of could also include LeBron James. Everyone expects him to enter free agency this summer, but he could just opt in for another year with the Miami Heat. He would then have the option of exercising another opt-out clause next summer.
Melo and LeBron? Together? Think of possibilities. You know Anthony is going to. Among them will be the thought of the Knicks blowing it up early next summer by moving the expiring deals of Chandler, Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani. If the Knicks can move their contracts without taking anything of value back in return, they could become players in next year’s free-agent market.
Moving Chandler and Bargs (and Felton and potentially Smith) would be easy. Stoudemire is a different story. There will be teams ready and willing to foot the $23.4 million he’s owed, since it comes off the books at the end of the year, but finding a team with the ability and willingness to absorb his contract without receiving anything in return borders on impossible.
Anyway, the point is the Knicks are trying to sell Anthony on their future financial flexibility.
Now all they have to do is sell LeBron on the same and they’re all set.
Kidding. I think.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
