The New York Knicks have been in disarray all season and if they want to target Josh Smith now that he has been waived, along with Marc Gasol or Greg Monroe in free agency next year, they will have to do a hell of a selling job, as Carmelo Anthony and NY look to be heading towards the draft lottery, which means Jahlil Okafor of Duke could be a potential draft target for the team moving forward.
Anthony has been mentioned in trade rumors already this season, with the New York Post writing that Anthony would be willing to waive his no trade clause. Anthony came out to refute those claims and now it is looking likely that he will be staying for the long haul. But that doesn't mean the Knicks will not be making moves, as they have been terrible and they have to find some way to put in building blocks moving forward. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Amar'e Stoudemire and anyone not named Carmelo could be targets for teams at the deadline.
Anthony shot down reports about the trade clause being waived and now he is getting some counsel saying that he should rest and shut things down with his knee issues. The Knicks are terrible and they would be even worse without Melo, who said that he is not planning on shutting things down yet. Surgery has been mentioned as a last option and he comes in after sitting out the game against the Bulls this week.
The Knicks have simply been terrible this season and they have five wins and 23 losses and are heading into the lottery. The team was in on Rajon Rondo, but they did not come close to trading for him, while Marc Gasol and Greg Monroe remain potential options in free agency. Rondo is also an option in free agency, but many think that he will sign an extension with the Mavs eventually now that he has been traded. The Knicks may look at dealing Stoudemire and Smith this season, but they have more issues than they can fix with just a couple trades.
Monroe is not looking for a trade and with how bad the Knicks have been, it's unclear if he will consider signing with the team in the offseason. The Knicks reportedly will target Gasol, but with the season he is having along with the Grizzlies overall as a team, Memphis remains the favorites to keep him. With Rondo getting traded and Gasol potentially staying along with LaMarcus Aldridge staying in Portland, the free agent class of 2015 is looking less and less exciting.
The Knicks and Lakers have been preparing for 2015 and now names like Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and Marc Gasol all could be off the table by the time free agency hits. Love and Rondo were expected to be on the market before getting traded and now Gasol is expected to stay in Memphis. The Knicks have a ton of building they need to do and either way they likely will sign someone in 2015, or they will really kick it and wait until 2016 when....wait for it... Kevin Durant is set to be a free agent.
