The NY Knicks have some major moves to make this summer and with Carmelo Anthony at risk of leaving, the team may trade names like Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton or Iman Shumpert to help clear enough space to sign Anthony and other players to get Melo to stay and as all this is decided, the team is looking for a head coach and Mike Dunleavy could get the job after interviewing.
The Knicks are coming into the season with Anthony as the priority and reports say that the Houston Rocket and the Chicago Bulls will be making real runs at him in free agency. The Rockets feel that Anthony can be the missing piece of the puzzle with Dwight Howard and James Harden, while the Bulls see him as a piece alongside Derrick Rose that cans actually score, something the Bulls have been lacking over the past few years. The Knicks have the ability to offer the most money and the highest amount of years to Anthony, but that doesn't guarantee he will stay and re-sign.
Anthony missed the playoffs last season for the first time in his career and that won't help matters and on top of that, the whole situation with the Knicks is unsettled. The team fired Mike Woodson and now has no coach and the Steve Kerr situation did not play out well either and now Anthony has a major decision to make. The Knicks are projected to be over the $62 million salary cap line even if Anthony leaves and even with the number expected to rise, the team will have to make some sort of move to clear salary cap space.
Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Andrea Bargnani are names that could get moved at some point and that could free up money for the Knicks to pursue other free agents. If Anthony leaves the team is basically back at square one and it also would make the trade of Anthony from the Nuggets look even worse when looking back at it. The Knicks were terrible last season and missed the playoffs after winning the division the previous season and now if Melo leaves, they will be at square one and hoping for Kevin Love as a free agent.
While many NY fans are disappointed that Melo has basically decided to opt out and be a free agent, he has every right to do so and this could be the first and last time in his career that he gets to do it. Anthony was drafted by the Nuggets, signed an extension, got traded and then signed another extension, meaning he has never actually been in control of his career as a free agent. Yes, he had some sway to get to the Knicks in the trade, but he still was not a free agent and he has the right to hit the market when his talent is still at its peak or near it.
Either Chandler or Stoudemire will be moves, as Tyson is making over $14 million and Amar'e is making over $20 million and to get Melo back in the fold the team will have to deal with those contracts and the cap.
