Jose Calderon was sent to the New York Knicks as the franchise hoped he would offer stability at the point guard position. Instead, Calderon got injured, spent plenty of time off the court and then struggled to pick up the triangle offense when he became healthy. As a result, New York found a rising star in Langston Galloway while acquiring Jerian Grant in the NBA Draft. The has put Calderon on the trade market and interest could begin to grow as other players get signed to deals.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, Matthew Dellavedova was signed to a one-year deal by the Cleveland Cavaliers after interest from the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Shabazz Napier was traded to the Orlando Magic. Zoran Dragic was sent to the Boston Celtics. Ty Lawson was traded earlier to the Houston Rockets. The point guard market is dwindling with teams still looking for help with depth. As trade deals for Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Jennings might be hard to come by, is Calderon the best option?
According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, Calderon is seeking to return to the Knicks in 2015 and have a much better season with the team moving forward. Calderon is aware of the rumors surrounding his name, but he stated his case to remain in New York as the veteran voice to Grant and Galloway.
"In the NBA you are pretty confident but you are one phone call away from being somewhere else you've just got to be ready for everything," said Calderon, via ESPN.com. "I really want to be part of things because when you go through a bad season like we had last year you don't want to be out when the good things arrive."
Begley reports that the Knicks could save $3.9 million in cap space by waiving Calderon under the stretch provision by Aug. 31. That might be the best option if they want to add other talent given his contract has him being owed $15 million over the next two years. That will be hard for any team to take on at this point in time.
The Knicks still have other roster needs, mainly size as Robin Lopez remains the only true center. There are plenty of players available that could be acquired for cheap. Mike Miller and Brendan Haywood are options following a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Carlos Boozer, Glen Davis and JaVale McGee remain options on the market. All of those players would come for cheap, but getting rid of Calderon would certainly help the contract burden.
