Matthew Falkenbury, theKnicksBlog.com

Now that the Knicks season has come to an end, the talk about where they are headed has to begin.

The first thing that we have to look at is what the Salary Cap situation will be for them next season. As you can see, the Cap is basically tied up with the big money contracts of Melo, Amar’e and Chandler.

It was for this reason, among many others, that the Knicks allowed Jeremy Lin to go to Houston instead of matching the offer sheet he got and accepted.

One of the biggest questions this off-season will be about the status of J.R. Smith. He has a player option that we all know he wont accept because he can make more money in Free Agency.

The Knicks have J.R’s Early Bird Rights and can offer him a four-year contract starting at around five million with “standard raises”.

The Early Bird rights (According to Wikipedia) means “A team can re-sign its own free agent for either 175% of his salary the previous season, or the NBA’s average salary, whichever is greater. Early Bird contracts must be for at least two seasons, but can last no longer than four seasons.”

This of course is a good thing considering the Knicks cap situation. The problem is that teams like the Hawks, Suns and Mavericks for example, could sign him to a much bigger deal.

Smith had a great season this year but followed it up with a very poor post-season. It will be interesting to see how his contract situation works out.

The other players that could get themselves substantial raises this summer are Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland.

The Knicks could make both Copeland and Prigioni restricted free agents by giving them qualifying offers before June 30. The qualifying offer for next season would be for $988,872, which is a combination of the second-year veteran’s amount of $788,872 along with a “non-Bird” exception of $200,000.

If they do not accept the offer, they remain RFA’s and the Knicks can match any offer they are given. I would be surprised if both, especially Copeland, accepted them. They have both been said to love New York, but Money talks and some team could offer more than what the Knicks want to pay.

The Knicks do have the “taxpayer mid-level exception” of $3.18 million to spend on a free agent. I would think that if/when Copeland declines the qualifying offer, he could be inline to receive that. It would put him on par with what Novak is making and we all know he is the better and more versatile player.

Kenyon Martin and James White will be unrestricted free agents and could come back on veteran’s minimum deals. Other than that and the 1st Round Pick the Knicks will bring in, any major changes for the team will come from trades.

One thing that would really work in the Knicks favor would be if Kidd and Camby walk away from the last two years of their deals and retire.  That would save the Knicks seven million and give them the chance to use the full midlevel exception ($5.15 million) and the biannual exception ($2.02 million) this year.

The front office will have to do a lot to improve the team substantially from the group we saw this year. They did a good job last year and it will be interesting to see what they do this time around.

If you were the Knicks GM, how would you handle the Cap and the players that will be Free Agents?

(A hat tip to ESPN-NY’s Jared Zwerling and Ian Begley for the Salary Cap information used in this article.)

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

Moke did a great, GREAT job of laying out in great detail how Chris Paul to the Knicks can possibly go down. I get the question a lot of “But how??”… Do yourself a favor and click on the link above.

Many people around the league, including those with knowledge have been quiet about the situation, a far cry from the Melo to NY and Dwight Howard situations. But to me there are some real glaring signs that make one wonder just how possibly the chances are that Paul tries to make  a power move and unite with Carmelo in The Big Apple.

1. The Toast- We all know things can change, but Paul was very open in a very open forum in talking about joining forces and matching Miami back in the summer of 2010. Paul is a veteran who is an incredible competitor and it’s not far fetched to think that he believes his only chance to win a title is to play with an established superstar. The idea that he’s reportedly complained about Blake Griffin’s late game prowess is certainly something of major note. The fact that he’s been extremely non-committal leads one to believe that staying in LA with the Clippers isn’t exactly Paul’s idea of Shangri-La. Again, from what other superstars have done, including his best friend Anthony, new CBA or not, is still a definite sign in my mind.

2. The Agency- Both Melo and Paul are represented by CAA who, as we all know, has solid roots at MSG.

3. Ignoring Phil Jackson- One of the most puzzling decisions for me, considering Jackson had serious interest in the position, was the decision to not entertain hiring the legendary head coach. Granted, he wanted some organizational control, but his hiring to me was absolutely nothing short of a no-brainer with Carmelo on the roster. He’s perfectly suited for the triangle. You know who isn’t? Paul.

The triangle has never been conducive for a point guard so it makes sense to completely ignore Jackson if they have plans to add a player who simply could not thrive in a system that’s been the backbone of double-digit titles. The fact that they didn’t even think about talking to Phil is a major sign for me.

4. The Knicks tried to trade for Paul December 2011- A little known footnote that we reported at the time , but one that I swear is accurate was that the Knicks took a shot in the dark (per source) and offered Amar’e Stoudemire for Paul on the same day they acquired Tyson Chandler. It was viewed as a desperation move to appease Mike D’Antoni as he headed into his last season as coach of the Kincks.

5. Letting Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields walk- We can go back in great detail on the Lin situation but here’s the rub for me. James Dolan was the ultimate villain in that whole situation for not agreeing to sign Lin after he young guard went back and loaded up his contract thanks to Daryl Morey. Melo also drew ire (mostly from season ticket holders who cashed in on Linsanity) because he couldn’t handle the idea of Lin “stealing his spotlight” as if he were prom queen jealous of a new transfer student. But the Knicks were applauded for “smart business” just days prior to letting Lin walk by letting him establish his market value. Is it possible they didn’t want to be in the situation where they’d have to trade Lin right now? If Paul were a possibility they’d have to shop Lin and get very little value in return because they’d have to bring back cap clogging salary or two making signing Paul a relative impossibility. Letting Lin walk for nothing made little sense at the time and was chalked up to more Dopey Dolan, but isn’t it a possible sign that they want Paul to run the point?

As far as Fields, it’s another example of how they could have something in return but allowed a player who took the league by storm to walk away for nothing. Granted, no one really cared but it was cause for some head scratching. I think the Knicks should have dealt Fields for picks at the 2012 deadline but that’s neither here nor there.

6. Isiah Thomas- Yes, we hate to say it, but there is this whole thing. A small sign, but a sign nonetheless.

7. Not even thinking of adding salary at the trade deadline- Phil Jackson aside, the other incredibly baffling and head scratching move was not even entertaining trades at this deadline. In fact, they were downright STEADFAST that they weren’t making any moves. One can conclude that Melo really, really loved his team and his teammates and felt that this was the team to make a title run, but in my mind they needed help on the perimeter. They disagreed and stood pat. That’s odd except when I consider the fact that many of the players who were on the block like J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley are due money past this season. Not adding salary adds credence to the idea that they want to remain flexible as it relates to the salary apron in case there is a chance they can make a move in adding Paul.

8. Kenyon Martin- Martin was very active after joining the Knicks. Sort of puzzling isn’t it that no other team scooped him up and that he had zero interest in any other offers? Miami offered him in February. Why would he pass on the opportunity to collect that elusive first championship? Sure, Martin played with Melo and JR and has that level of comfortability, but couldn’t it be possible that he sat out most of the year because he plans on playing a few more? He’ll be a Knick next year in my mind for sure. Oh, and he played with CP3 in Los Angeles last season. 

9. Paul’s future is still up in the air- Goes without saying.

Feel free to tell me that I’m speculating or reaching with any of these as long as you’re fair about it. That’s a lot of coincidences. I’m not saying it’s definitely going to happen or what the deal will be to make it happen, but if you’ve read all the way to this point it’s obvious I won’t be shocked if or when it happens.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

Based off of what we witnessed, not only in the playoffs, but in the regular season as a whole, the Knicks need help inside and there appears to be several good, young prospects that could fall to them at 24.

The more I study Adams the more I hope he’s in play for the Knicks.His combination of hands, frame and footwork really separate him from other players at his position. A legitimate space eater would go a long ways in helping the Knicks, who finished near the bottom of the league this season and were dominated this past series. It’s a weakness, especially if they plan on continuing to use Carmelo Anthony at the power forward position.

Adams is raw, but perhaps his best quality is the ability to set strong and solid screens which will help free up guards going to the rim. His biggest weakness, it would seem, is his shooting ability in pick and pop.

I look forward to studying more about Adams and putting together the rankings of bigs over the next few weeks but it’s clear that the Knicks should be looking to fill a void up front and may use their 1st round pick to make that happen.

If they do, look for Adams to be talked about a lot in the weeks to come.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

While rebounding and coaching told the story of the series, easy baskets in the paint told the story last night. Shocking how many easy looks the Knicks gave up at the worst possible time.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

Fair or unfair Melo’s 4th quarter numbers speak for themselves. And for the third consecutive post season as a Knick his teammates folded around him forcing him to have to be extra special and take all the heat upon defeat.

Part of the gig.

I think Melo just ran out of gas and for a long time during the 4th quarter, after he beautifully found JR for an open 3, a pass that no one thought he ever made and a pass no one in the media will ever remember, he was playing 1 on 8. I compare his game yesterday to a 3 or 4 hitter in baseball going 3 for 5 with a HR and 4 RBIs in a playoff game but popping up with the tying runs on base in the 8th. Melo had to be perfect last night and expect help and instead he was only perfect for 3 quarters. His moment could have been a dunk on Hibbert that was arm-wrestled away by the series biggest x-factor.

Some media “experts” crack me up with their shallowness. Blame Melo for choking and for not rising to the occasion. No one mentioned Frank Vogel the tactician and not one that I’ve studied predicted Hibbert’s dominance and the emergence of Lance Stephenson.

The Pacers played their best basketball at the right time, to a man. The Knicks to a man were dreadful with some bright spots from Iman Shumpert and Chris Copeland.

But if you read ink papers you’d think that Melo had nothing to do with almost taking this series the distance.

Yes, Melo needs to get better and he has to strengthen some weaknesses. But let’s be fair they were never getting past Miami. It’s a process and I think they made a major step forward this year.

Gotta love New York media.