New York Knicks Rumors: Are Knicks interested in Raja Bell and Delonte West?

Now that Rasheed Wallace had foot surgery and will miss at least eight weeks, it will be interesting to see if the New York Knicks attempt to fill his spot on the roster.

At this point in the season, the pickings are slim as there isn’t much out there to choose from, but the Knicks do have a couple of options.

Oct 22, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Delonte West (13) brings the ball up the court during the game against the New Orleans Hornets at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Hornets 87-74. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

One of those would be to keep an eye on players waived today as any player waived or bought out must be signed by another team by March 1 in order to be eligible for postseason play. That’s probably not going to happen.

But there other options that the Knicks could be targeting, which includes Raja Bell and Delonte West.

Bell would have to be bought out by the Utah Jazz and then would be free to sign with any team he wishes. He has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers all season, but that is unlikely because the Lakers will not likely be willing to take on any more money this season.

With that being said, do the Knicks really want to bring yet another aging veteran aboard? Bell is 36 and hasn’t played a minute this season. I just don’t know how much he helps.

West could be a different story altogether.

The Knicks second unit has had major problems defending all season and West could help in that department.

He hasn’t played in the NBA this season, but at age 29 West is still in the prime of his career. He has had attitude problems, which is the reason he is not in the NBA at the moment, but the Knicks are no strangers to adding players who have had attitude problems in the past as their roster is littered with them.

ESPN’s Jared Zwerling also seems a bit intrigued by possibly adding West.

What West would give the Knicks is a good athlete who can penetrate well on offense and can defend very well on the perimeter, which is a big weakness on this team. He is also versatile and can play both guard positions and more importantly defend both.

He’s also a guy that likely knows that if he has another locker room problem then he will likely be out of the league permanently.

It’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward move, so I don’t have much of a problem with that if that is what Knicks’ general manager Glen Grunwald was thinking.

But don’t get too excited.

The Knicks still have 15 contracts so they would have to release someone if they were to make a move.

Kenyon Martin is on a 10-day contract so he could be an option, but the feeling is that he will be signed for the rest of the season.

Then there is a decision to be made with Wallace. Will the Knicks keep him on the roster even though he is out for the remainder of the regular season?

The New York Post’s Marc Berman reported that Wallace intends to be back for the postseason, as he elected to have surgery now instead of letting his foot heal. But remember how long it took ‘Sheed to get into playing shape during training camp. It’s very unlikely that he will be able to contribute much, if anything at all come playoff time.

Either way, the Knicks have a decision to make on whether or not they want to add to the current roster or just stick with what they have now.

My gut feeling is that you won’t see anything done.

Mike Woodson has shrunk his rotation down to nine as it is and Martin and Marcus Camby could be worked in as well. It would be nice to see them add a perimeter defender, but I just don’t see them making the necessary roster move to do so.

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