FanPost

Knicks 2012 FA Forecast: No, Seriously

Chirs Paul is all the rage these days. ESPN says he wants to be a Knick and be the Thelma to our Louis, the ying to our yang, the lamb to our tuna fish. (No? Perhaps you prefer spaghetti and meatball?). Whatever cuisine combo you choose, it's pretty damn arousing to look think about Chris Paul as a Knick. Hell, I mean just feel these nipples! Yet, I can't get my head around how we actually acquire the guy. We have zero chance of trading for him unless Shumpert explodes out of the gate and maintains it, and even then the earliest first rounder we could offer is for 2016. In other words, chances aren't good.

It's likely that we'll put all our eggs into Paul's basket until he signs on with another team. That's no shock, we want him like Anne Frank wanted nobody to read her diary (cause a diary is a collection of secret things that no one's suppose to read. That's the whole point of a diary. Millions of people have breached this little girls privacy after she was chased by Nazis... way to kick her while she's down). But what do we do when Paul can't be had and Howard can't be had and Deron Williams stays in NJ (just roll w/ me) ? I sure as hell don't know, but just for the sake of chat chiting lets try and figure out this whirling dervish, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

By now you might be thinking to yourself 'what is a whirling dervish?' 'Have I ever seen this guy on Posting and Toasting before?' 'Is lamb and tuna fish really a good combination?' Well let me allow my extensive insight on all of these mind bottling issues:

I don't know

Yes

I'm guessing it's not so good, but try it and let me know.

We're an empty cupboard as far as contracts go after this season, and if we don't sign anyone for more than a year (extremely likely), then we're left with only Melo, Amare', Shumpert, Landry, and possibly Toney Douglas if he shows us his shoulder can do what Toney Douglas' shoulder do. That leaves us with two major holes: PG and C. Sound familiar?

Our first priority, imo, is to get a high quality center. Unfortunately, the only top center that becomes a FA is Howard, and unless the Magic accept a trade that NO declines, or we add Amare' to a package, Superman won't be coming to the big apple either. So who exactly does that leave us with?

Marcus Camby

I've got a soft spot for Camby. If he were younger, he'd be a great fit next to Amare', possibly becoming a dynamic duo of shot blockers. Alas, Camby is getting up there in age (37) and he seems content on ending his career in Portland, where he's played for the last 2 years. So while I think he may be a great fit on this team, how likely will it be that he leaves and his skills stay relatively the same (plus he's got beef with Dolan). Kylero thinks no.

Jermaine O'neal

Yeah, Jermaine O'neal. I'm already talking about Jermaine O'neal. You getting a picture how great the free agent centers are?

Chris Kaman

Ok, he's better than O'neal, I'll give him that, but is he really worth giving away 'half a cp3 (money wise)? Dude's played over 70 games only once over the last 4 years (56, 31, 76, 32), and while his numbers weren't awful (about a 14 ppg, 8 rpg rate), his defense is known for being soft at best. Do we really want another softie? Isn't that the opposite of what we want, of what we need in a center? Kylero thinks so.

Roy Hibbert (R)

Oh great, restrictive FA's, this is a good sign. I've decided to ignore the centers like Nazr Mohammad because it's too depressing thinking about him as our starting center so we've traveled to the fat chance land of restrictive free agents. It's a moot (point) place, where dreams are created. Case in point: Mr. Hibbert.

In his first 3 seasons, Mr. H has averaged 11 and 5. respectable, but not great numbers considering he's over 7ft tall. But last year was good for him, upping his average to 12 and 7.5, while displaying great defensive presence and positioning - exactly what we are looking for. The rub? He may want to stay with the Pacers where they too are looking to get better and are still young. Plus Granger looks dirty and I don't mean he needs a shower.

Javale McGee (R)

So, this guy isn't that great. He's an absolute athletic freak, but as our starting C? Meh. I mean, I love the 10 ppg, 8 rpg, and 2.5 blocks a game, but he's not a thick guy and will get pushed around too easily in my opinion. Plus we'd have to trade for him because he's an RFA. Lame.

Kevin Love (R)

Ok, why not. This guy is ridiculously good on the boards, plays average D, and can nail it from outside. Seems kinda perfect for D'antoni. We'd have to give up a package similar to what we'd need to deliver to NO or ORL (obviously not as much though), but he might be worth it because of his unique skill talent and the crazy amount of shooters we would have on this team at every position. But again, this is a looooong shot. So long i'm considering deleting this paragraph. Eh, whatever.

So, yeah. Pretty much the best class of FA centers ever. Sweet. Well, there's still a chance we trade a few expiring contracts we pick up for a Center during the year, but it looks like we might have to suffer through a few years of Kaman or at best Camby. Let's hope we have better luck with the PG's

Deron Williams

He's here because everyone knows he is going to not sign his extension and why should he? He would make more money on a new contract with the Nets then he would anywhere else. Yet, he could easily switch over to a team that has not only a superstar big, but the best scorer in the league. Pretty enticing to me. Lets hope he and I share the same feelings on this and pray to God Dwight doesn't go to NJ.

Steve Nash

Nash will never be our long term answer - never - but for two years he could make this offense sing. Sure, his defense would give up a ton of points, but we're used to that. What we're not used to is seeing a hall of fame point guard play in this system, the same system that he perfected and made him into a hall of famer. The biggest question is will he be worth it in the second or third year in his contract? Do we really want to give away the prime years of Melo and Amare' on a PG who will inevitably wear down and can't play defense?

Raymond Felton

Assuming he wins his weight battle (dude put on a bunch of pounds last year), I'm kind of pulling for this guy if we don't get either CP3 or DWill. He knows the system, plays great D, and has the ability to push the tempo this system thrives on. Sure he chucks a ton sometimes, but with Melo around, he might be more apt to just look for his shooters more often. If we didn't have to send him in the Melo deal, I have no doubt we would have won at least two games in the postseason, as the system could have revolved around his decisions instead of winging it with Melo or Amare' going on iso's.

Goran Dragic, DJ Augustin, and Baron Davis' are the top three names I have after these guys and neither of them warm the cockles of my heart so if you care about them, go search 'em yourself.

So it's pretty slim pickings for both groups basically and I can see why the Knicks brass are pulling so hard for one of the three top FA's. It looks like a combo of Kaman and Felton may be the best we can do with the pieces we have to offer in trades, but that's my opinion.

What's your opinion?