Similarly the Miami Heat foolishly gave up on Beasley, after improperly developing him, so their talent assessment of Varnado is suspect as well.

Landry Fields would not have bee drafted by anyone except New York, no one else was reported to have him on their draft board. He probably wouldn’t be in the NBA today without New York. Why? Because the Knicks scouts properly evaluated his talent and potential and lucked out on a quality guard. Given the fact that New York had so many wing players already, especially after drafting Fields, they should have spent that pick on a big and not some SG that Mike felt resembled Steve Nash in college.

As for Whiteside, the Knicks could have easily bought one of the late first round picks that were made available, just like they did for the purposes of drafting Tony Douglas. Brushing aside players just because they were drafted late in the first or in the second round is a mistake. Everyone passed on Dennis Rodman in the first, as well as Manu, and they proved everyone wrong.

It’s much easier to take a chance on players that are drafted, since it only takes a pick, then it is to trade for someone without altering team chemistry. As it stands the Knicks have very few players they can move without altering the dynamic they have at present.

I dunno, I’m just not a big believer in hoping to improve through second rounders. To me you gotta assume they won’t amount to anything, and if they eventually manage to get even just 10 minutes/game, then you should consider it a huge, unexpected success.

And if you do get a quality center, even if you get ‘em through the draft, eventually you gotta overpay. Memphis may be getting Marc Gasol on the cheap right now, but you can bet that this summer he’ll get at least $10+ million from the Grizz or someone else.

What kinds of defensive centers are we looking at entering the first round of this upcoming NBA draft? The draft is probably the only way we’ll get a quality defensive center, without having to overpay for one.

And Marc Gasol will be a restricted free agent, and after Memphis just dished out all this $ to Rudy Gay and Mike Conley, plus Zach Randolph will need an extension, it’s possible that if we offer a big ol’ contract that the Grizz would let him walk.

Also, Carl Landry is a nice player, but he’s an undersized power forward, and what we need is a man in the middle, so I’m not sure he really fits a need of ours. If we’re looking at Sac, I think it’s better to go after Samuel Dalembert who also becomes a free agent this summer. We need someone next to Amar’e to do the dirty work, not to also be able to score in the post like Landry can.

Denver knows it’s going to lose Melo so trading away what will be their best player (hands down) once Melo goes is unlikely.

There simply are no quality Centers available for trades or free agency, the only options the Knicks have to upgrade the front court is Carl Landry (free agent at end of season) or the rookie Hassan Whiteside, because the Kings have two many bigs to handle. Trading for the rights to Jarvis Varnado (another rookie shot blocker like Whiteside) from Miami are really the only options the Knicks currently have for front court help. All are gambles on potential returns and no sure things. Maybe New York can push a trade for Marcus Camby, because Portland is spiraling out of playoff contention, but Portland brass seems delusional enough to cling to this belief that they’re still a title contender. The best chance the Knicks have to upgrade the roster is adding another elite scorer or elite defender in the wing because that’s what’s out there in the forms of Iguodala and Melo.

Likewise, Carl Landry has such a small salary that Sacramento has no incentive to get rid of him unless they believe in Randolph or can get a first round pick (which we don’t have).

Cap-wise, you make a great point as to why the Knicks should pursue Melo now versus the off-season. However, I seriously doubt that the owners will get a hard cap. The cap likely will get lowered, maybe salary-length and max salaries get lessened, but I think the players will fight tooth and nail to avoid a hard cap. And deep-pocketed owners who are willing to spend to win (like say the owners of the Lakers, Mavs, Celts and the Knicks), they won’t necessarily be too keen to lose that advantage and thus won’t push too strongly for it (and they may even resist it).

Lastly, Wilson Chandler is a restricted free agent, so if the Knicks want to keep him, they can. They have the right to match any offer that another team gives him. Even if it means going over the salary cap. However, unless they renounce his rights, even if they don’t have an agreement in place, his salary will count against our cap as I believe a max salary, so as you mention Josh, that’d make it even harder (if not impossible) to sign Melo straight up as a free agent. Which is another reason why you’re right that it’d be better to acquire Melo now rather than wait until the off-season. Then again, I’m not certain that what we need to get by Boston is another 20 ppg player, since our problem doesn’t seem to be scoring enough points, but rather stopping other teams. Like I almost feel that instead of Mayo or Melo, we might become a stronger team if we traded for their respective less-heralded teammates of Marc Gasol or Nene.

People don’t seem to understand that New York’s cap situation isn’t as simple as just leaving things as is and waiting for the off season to break the piggy bank open for Melo. First off, the labor disputes make it possible that New York may have ZERO cap room this coming off-season, regardless of what they do or do not do this season, because of a strict hard cap. Without knowing what the cap will be next season, the Knicks can’t just assume that they’ll be able to sign Melo as a free agent. Secondly, Wilson Chandler is a free agent this off season and New York can ill afford to let walk when he’s their most versatile defender (SG, SF, PF) and it won’t be cheap to resign him what with his stats thus far being at career highs.

Right now the Knicks simply are not good enough to contend during the playoffs, they’ll make it there, just don’t expect them to be in the finals. In order to get past Boston, New York will need to upgrade their roster, by adding another 20 ppg player. Ideally that player would be a Center, since that’s a position of need for NYK, but there are no such players available for trades at that position this year.

Given the uncertainty of the cap, the only venue to acquire upgrades is the trade market, and the best options out there are Carl Landry (to strengthen the bench), Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iquodala (great defense, no jump shot) or O.J. Mayo. Out of all of those options, Mayo and Landry will cost the Knicks the least in terms of players and dollars. Two smaller moves (Mayo + Landry) may just add up to more for New York then the one big splash.

Carmelo might have made it clear that his only option (in his heart) is the Knicks, but Denver still holds some leverage with the uncertain labor situation. Their current asking price of Chandler, Fields, Gallinari, Randolph (traded for a first rounder) and Curry’s expiring contract is way too high, and while I don’t believe they’ll end up getting that, they will push for either Chandler or Fields to be included with the pick and expiring deal. Denver knows it’s too risky for New York and Melo to wait for the off season so in the end it will cost New York a lot to land Melo and if they want him in the fold, they will have to trade for him.

Also as much as I write about Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, etc., potentially leaving their teams and joining the Knicks (because it’s news), unless the labor disputes lead to no salary cap (like in Baseball) hell will freeze over before the Knicks can pair any two players from that list alongside Amar’e, unless they rip their roster apart (Miami style) in order to do it.

A low figure hard cap, will most likely make a star trio in New York (or anywhere else for that matter) impossible.

OJ Mayo could easily get frustrated with the Knicks offense because Stoudemire, Gallo and Felton have been getting most of the looks, Mayo needs to shoot 10-15 shots a night and not sure if giving him that many attempts would really help out New York.

Crazy to be typing about the Knicks NOT needing to make a trade. Good times.

And I’m with you 100%, we need Landry. Even more so if we get Melo, ‘cuz you need someone who’s willing to do the dirty work alongside him. While Fields isn’t some certified stud, people underestimate how important a piece like him is towards solving the championship puzzle. Honestly, it’s easier to get a scoring swingman like Mayo than it is to get a do-everything guy like Fields. Often teams have a defensive stopper like Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell, Shane Battier, DeShawn Stevenson, Tony Allen, Ron Artest, etc., but unlike all those guys, Fields also has a pretty athletic game and is a great rebounder. The latter of which makes him even more valuable for a team like us, considering that our bigs aren’t great rebounders (in fact, before the season began everyone was sure the Knicks would get hammered on the boards, and Fields is the surprise unexpected reason that hasn’t been the case).

OJ Mayo should be a starter in this league and Chicago or Orlando could really, really use him and they would be smart to beat any offer the Knicks can make.

If the Knicks do make a move, I think it should be for a big man that can help Amar’e Stoudemire protect the rim and grab some rebounds.