Made a few crazy trade idea posts earlier but those were crazy. Going to take a look at the Knicks current roster, the rumors, and see what we can do.
Going to assume a few things just for the sake of this post.
1) We resign JR Smith
2) We resign Novak
3) We resign Jeffries
Players I'd like to deal simply because I don't think they can help us at all: Jerome Jordan, Dan Gadzuric, Toney Douglas
With that in mind, here's the squad as it stands
Point Guard: Lin, Kidd
Shooting Guard: JR, Shumpert
Small Forward: Anthony, Novak, James White
Power Forward: Stoudemire, Jeffries Harrelson
Center: Chandler
Here's what we have to play with:
1) Sign/Trade with JJ, TD, and Gadz.
2) MLE
First move: Sign/Trade TD to Houston for Camby. This gives Marcus a deal worth approx. 3 mil.
Second Move: Sign/Trade Gadz to Philadelphia for Jodie Meeks. This gives Meeks a deal worth appox. 2 mil.
Third Move: Sign/Trade JJ to Atlanta for Tracy Mcgrady. This gives T-Mac a deal worth appox. 1.1 mil
Fourth Move: Sign Anthony Carter to the vet minimum
1st: Camby is awesome. Defense and Rebounds machine. No need to explain.
2nd: Jodie Meeks fits the offense as well as anyone you will find. Averages 38% from 3point. Plays very good Defense (97 defensive rating last year!) Spot up shooter who would work wonders with Kidd or kick outs from Melo/Stat in the post.
3rd: At low cost, T-Mac is essentially for when Melo is on the bench. It's a cheap scoring option. He's 6-7, plays good defense. Can flex between the Guard/Forward slot, and shoots very efficiently from the field. I'll take him over Rashard Lewis.
4th: Carter just plays awesome D, even at his age. He's a 3rd point guard. He can't score, but then again, neither could Bibby. At least Carter can defend whereas Bibby could not.
If you split it into 2 squads:
Starters:
PG: Lin
SG: Smith
SF: Anthony
PF: Stoudemire
C: Chandler
Bench:
PG: Kidd
SG: Meeks
SF: Mcgrady
PF: Jeffries
C: Camby
with Carter, Jorts and White cleaning up the rest. That's pretty solid if you ask me.
Overall Depth:
PG: Lin, Kidd, Carter
SG: Smith, Meeks, T-Mac, Shumpert
SF: Anthony, Novak, White
PF: Stoudemire, Jeffries, Harrelson
C: Chandler, Camby
I don't have the greatest grasp on how NBA free agency payroll works so let me know if I screw anything up.
Overall: I don't like Foye or Mayo in practicality, especially with the possibility of Shump coming back. Our needs are should be addressed with efficiently shooting players that play good defense. I think my plan does that at a good cost. Is it likely? No. But I'd do it this way.