With Draft Over, Knicks Now Explore Options

The Knicks went into Thursday evening’s draft with a ton of question marks. Their selection of Italian forward Danilo Gallinari only adds to them.Gallinari was selected sixth overall after the guards that Knicks team president Donnie Walsh coveted — Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, and Russell Westbrook — were taken during the first five picks.The choice of Gallinari is one of those “best available athlete” choices rather than a selection to fill a void on the team. Gallinari does fill a need for basketball IQ, even though he was booed by Knicks’ faithful upon his selection.The hardest part about Gallinari is figuring out where the 6-foot- 10-inch forward fits into the Knicks’ scheme. He joins an increasing logjam in the frontcourt, but which forward slot is best for him? Due to his height, many observers have penciled him in at the power forward position and assumed that David Lee, the Knicks’ best player during the past two forgettable seasons, is on his way out of town.I’m not so sure. Gallinari weighs only 220 pounds, and most power forwards would overpower him in the low post. Gallinari’s game so far is that of a perimeter player.He has a good outside shot and he is a decent ball handler. Although you don’t ordinarily think of 6-foot-10-inch players as small forwards, his game seems to be a closer match to Orlando small forward Hedo Turkoglu, rather than Dallas power forward Dirk Nowitzki.If Gallinari projects to be a three rather than a four, it still could mean a fan favorite will be on the move. Renaldo Balkman, the always- hustling third-year forward hasn’t developed an offensive game, nor has he curtailed his fouls, so he may not fit into new coach Mike D’Antoni’s plans. Also, Wilson Chandler, the rookie forward who played so well in the final quarter of the season, may be deemed expendable.One thing is clear. Sometime this summer the Knicks are going to have to move one of their assets, Lee, Balkman, or Chandler, to make them a point guard.The only true point guard on the roster is Stephon Marbury, and he seems like a very poor fit for D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.When the two were together in Phoenix during the 2003–04 season, Marbury was traded a mere 13 games after D’Antoni took over the coaching reins, and in return Phoenix received only draft picks and a trio of players with expiring contracts. In other words, the odds of the two men working well together are pretty remote. So, if they cannot do so through the draft, the Knicks will have to either sign a new point guard from the pool of available free agents or trade for one.The free agent signing period begins tomorrow. Although Walsh has said he will shop aggressively, he is strongly opposed to making any signings that compromise his goal of having cap room in the summer of 2010, when superstars LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade will be available on the free agent market.In the summer of 2010, the Knicks will have $37 million tied up in forward Zach Randolph, guard Jamal Crawford, and center Eddy Curry, which means they will have very little cap room unless Walsh works miracles and trades two of them.A secondary impact of the Knicks cap situation is that Walsh will be offering two-year deals to free agents. There are some quality point guards on the market, such as Carlos Arroyo, Beno Udrih, Brevin Knight, and Chris Duhon, but all other teams have far greater cap flexibility than the Knicks and will be able to outbid Walsh on contract longevity.This means that the Knicks’ best hope for acquiring a point guard is via a trade. Several intriguing point guards figure to be on the trading block this summer. For instance, on draft night a rumor spread of the Knicks sending Lee to Charlotte for Raymond Felton, but Walsh is an old-school front office man, and one of the cardinal rules of NBA personnel management is never to trade a big for a small. So it’s unlikely that Walsh will part with Lee for a point guard unless he’s able to unload one of the millstone contracts that are holding the Knicks back from the goal of cap flexibility in 24 months.Memphis and Chicago both have backcourt surpluses and could be good trading partners with the Knicks. Chicago selected Derrick Rose with the first overall pick in the draft; Rose will eventually make incumbent point guard Kirk Hinrich expendable. In addition, Captain Kirk has an unusual contract that declines in value over the next few years. However, it’s hard to imagine Chicago GM wanting much of what the Knicks have to offer. Curry and Crawford began their careers in Chicago, and Bulls’ GM John Paxson dumped them on the Knicks rather than re-sign them to lucrative contracts.Memphis has the kind of backcourt logjam any team would envy. Draft night acquisition O.J.Mayo joins a guard lineup that includes Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, and Javaris Crittenton. There simply aren’t enough minutes for each of them, and even better, Memphis is one of the mostly poorly managed teams in the league. It would be a stark contrast to the recently ended Isiah Thomas era if the Knicks made a trade and actually didn’t get hosed.The Knicks’ first-round pick figured to be the start of a very long march back to respectability. With all the questions that surround how Gallinari fits into the mix, it’s clear that Donnie Walsh era will begin with a long summer of roster reconstruction work.mjohnson@nysun.com

With Draft Over, Knicks Now Explore Options

With Draft Over, Knicks Now Explore Options

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