The New York Knicks are preparing themselves for Carmelo Anthony to sign a max contract. Phil Jackson remains confident that the free agent guard will opt to return back to New York and continue on as the franchise star. While the Knicks have placed the max offer on the table, they still need to strike up a trade or two in order to make things work with the salary cap.
Assuming Anthony opts not to take a pay cut with the Knicks in order to help the team out financially, New York must trade another player to help get some relief. They already shed themselves of Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton's contract, but that might not be enough. As a result, Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert are finding themselves at risk of getting sent packing.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, The Knicks are shopping both Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert in a trade. There is a chance that New York will also make Andrea Bargnani available considering he, like Stoudemire, has just one year remaining on his contract. There has been a run on big men during free agency and the Knicks are hoping to capitalize off that.
Berman reports that the Philadelphia 76ers have emerged as a candidate for a deal regarding any of the three players. Jackson has already gotten in contact with the team since they currently have $30 million in cap space to work with. The Knicks team president is hoping they prefer to load up on one-year deals in order to have even more room to work with in the following season.
While the Knicks do not want to trade Shumpert, considering he is one of their only young assets, he might fall victim to being a pawn in a deal. Stoudemire is no longer the player he once was when he first signed a contract with the Knicks in free agency. Injuries have taken their toll and he simply is not putting up the numbers. Bargnani spent most of last season unhappy and requesting a trade from the Knicks while averaging 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The Knicks ideally want to clear enough space to sign Anthony and Pau Gasol to contracts of the player's liking. That is a tall task considering the team is cash strapped at the moment. The Knicks can offer Anthony the most money of any team and if he takes them up on that offer, other moves will have to be made.
