The NY Knicks have high expectations for this season with Carmelo Anthony coming back and head coach Derek Fisher taking over and after making trades this summer, Phil Jackson may have other moves to make with Iman Shumpert, Andrea Bargnani, Amar'e Stoudemire and Pablo Prigioni as potential targets for teams this season.
The Knicks have been installing the triangle offense this preseason and Anthony said he already is looking forward to playing in it with Jose Calderon, who was acquired in a trade with the Mavericks this summer. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Jackson said that Calderon and Samuel Dalembert, two players he got in the deal for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton deal, will likely be starting for the Knicks and that is positive news for Anthony heading into the season.
While Dalembert and Chandler could be a push at this point, having Calderon over Felton is a major upgrade and that could help with Anthony's transition into the triangle. Most players will be working on it for the first time and having Calderon in with Anthony could be big for the team as they adjust to the system. Fisher likely will use a lineup of Anthony, Calderon, Iman Shumpert and either Amar'e Stoudemire or Andrea Bargnani at power forward along with Dalembert at center.
The Knicks actually have a number of options for the starting lineup and that is one reason why those players have been mentioned as potential trade options this season. The Knicks have Calderon, Prigioni as well as Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.R. Smith at shooting guard and that bunch up could lead to someone getting traded. Shumpert is due for a contract extension and so far the Knicks and his reps have not talked about a new deal and this comes after he was mentioned in trade speculation last season.
The Knicks want to keep Shumpert most likely, but they also realize that locking him up means money on the cap over the next two seasons. Shumpert is a solid player, but he has not developed offensively and while he has been above average on defense, the team wants to wait and see how things go this season. The Knicks and Phil Jackson want to keep the cap open, as there will be some top notch players on the market next summer. The NY Post reports that the Knicks will go after Marc Gasol the hardest in free agency next year.
Everyone was preparing to go after Kevin Love, but now he is with the Cavaliers and that means players like Greg Monroe, Rajon Rondo and Gasol will get the most attention. The Lakers and the Celtics are also going to have money to spend and they could be the biggest competitors for the Knicks. The Celtics are also reportedly interested in Gasol and all this comes after the Knicks had gone after his brother Pau this offseason.
The Knicks won just 37 games last season and they are looking to get off to a much better start this year. Carmelo Anthony is back and the triangle is coming in and the Knicks have high expectations for this season and over the next few years with Jackson, Anthony and Fisher in for five.
