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

Throw in the fact that Felton can’t defend the slowest of point guards and Pablo Prigioni is no threat offensively, and another guard could be a blessing right now for Knicks head coach Mike Woodson. Add in the struggles of second-year guard and you can understand why the Knicks would want to add another guard.

Unfortunately at this stage of the game, the pickings are very slim, which brings me to Delonte West, as it appears the often troubled guard is on the Knicks radar.

West is set to make his D-League debut tonight when the Texas Legends host the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Knicks will be one of the teams watching him very closely according to the New York Post’s Marc Berman.

West is a headache to deal with, but looking at the Knicks roster, he should fit right in.

He’s only 29 and has talent and had a pretty good year last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

Unfortunately West hasn’t played all season, so it could take some time until he is ready.

Woodson noted earlier in the week that the Knicks would explore a roster move, but also hinted at the fact that it would not involve releasing the injured Rasheed Wallace.

Currently they have the maximum of 15 guaranteed contracts and would have to release someone to pick up a player.

In eight seasons in the NBA, West has averaged 9.7 points and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and being a very reliable perimeter defender.

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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.

Regarding Delonte West, I like him; not a bad guy. He knows how to play & is a good defender. #Knicks tho at 15 guys. Key is Martin & Camby.

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) February 28, 2013

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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Who replaces Shumpert in the short-term?

On Draft Night 2011, there were very few New York Knicks fans overjoyed by the first round selection of Georgia Tech combo-guard Iman Shumpert. A lot of people, myself included, believed there was better talent still on the board in that situation.

Funny things tend to happen over time, and Iman Shumpert not only became a fan favorite for his style of play and bravado, but he began to grow into one of the league’s best shutdown defenders along the wing. Now, however, the team will likely be without Shumpert until the All-Star weekend, if not longer, after he blew out his ACL during Game 1 in Miami.

Needless to say, with the increased emphasis the Knicks have put on defensive pressure, his absence is going to be felt. It leaves the team with a massive crater not only on their bench, but possibily in their starting line-up, and drastically undermanned against high-powered teams like the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics.

So, how do the Knicks go about replacing Iman Shumpert?

First, we as Knicks fans need to consider the type of financial opportunities that are present for the Knicks on the open market. Right now, the Knicks have their full Mid-Level Exception in play, with the status of that being up in the air depending on the Bird Rights rulings in the cases of Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak. Second, one needs to consider who will already be on the Knicks roster moving forward. No doubt Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler will be here. Same can be said about Amar’e Stoudemire. Landry Fields is a restricted free agent who will likely be brought back. Lin and Novak are both likely to return (at least that’s what the team is saying publicly). Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan are both under contract and also likely to remain Knicks. Toney Douglas is under contract, but his stay is a little more tenuous. That’s nine players ranging from probable to most likely being Knicks, leaving space for three more active players and six roster spots total.

The Knicks would probably like to bring back Jared Jeffries, being able to provide strong defense from the bench, and he, like anyone else, will cost money. J.R. Smith holds a player option going into next season, but its anyone’s guess as to what he’s really thinking, and if he declines the option, he could probably command more money on the open market. All this being said, let’s forecast the Knicks having a full Mid-Level in play to sign either a starting two-guard or back-up (depending on your evaluation of Landry Fields, that’s what the Knicks will be looking for).

Unlike the point guard market, the names that flood the field for potential fillers at the two-guard are vast. If the Knicks wanted to bring in a veteran defensive force, both Delonte West and DeShawn Stevenson will be available this season. Randy Foye is another name to watch as well, having finished strong with the Clippers towards the end of last season. Atlanta Hawks unrestriced free agent Willie Green could provide the most offense in short spurts out of the bunch, but he is more or less a J.R. Smith-lite. If New York wanted to be really adventurous and take a risk, restricted free agent Courtney Lee could be a very intriguing option, especially at the Mid-Level price range. Names like Marco Belinelli, Carlos Delfino, Nick Young and Leandro Barbosa will be out there, too, but may fall out of the Knicks price range or future plans.

Personally, I’m a believer in Courtney Lee, but he might be just out of the Knicks reach in terms of dollars and cents. He’s a guy that can be deadly from long range and play an aggressive defense, averaging over a steal per game in his career. Next for me on the list would probably be either Barbosa or DeShawn Stevenson, depending on what need I’m trying to fill. This is just my opinion, but I think someone could talk Leandro Barbosa into a one or two-year contract at the Mid-Level price to play for a contender like the Knicks in a starting role. He could thrive playing third fiddle to Anthony and Stoudemire, and has the experience of playing with Amar’e before. As for Stevenson, he’d be my choice if the team wanted to move forward with Fields starting and waiting on Shumpert to get healthy. He won a ring with the Mavericks last year and has a history of being a thorn in LeBron’s side. He had a miserable year in New Jersey last year, but he won’t command much financially and would be a low-risk, high-reward type play.

Missing Shumpert is a blow to the Knicks next season, but it isn’t crippling. There will be options moving forward in the 2012-13 season, and I’m interested to see the direction the front office chooses to go in.

Was this the only time Mo Williams had to separate LeBron and Delonte? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

This rumor is too good not to pass on. A website reports that Delonte West has been sleeping with LeBron’s Momma:

My source explains the following.”My uncle is the general contractor at the Q and has been for the last 7 years. He’s good friends with a lot of guys at the Q, including some of the bigger boys in the organization and knows Dan Gilbert personally. My uncle has been told that Delonte has been banging Gloria James (Lebron’s Mom) for some time now. Somehow Lebron found out before game four and it destroyed their chemistry and divided the team. I am not making this up, I wish it wasn’t true but it happened.”

Definitely click here for the rest.

Bosh revealed that he’s not necessarily interested in playing anywhere that he’s not the clear-cut franchise player.

“That’s a good question,” Bosh said when asked by ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher if he’s bothered by the widespread perception that he’s determined to follow either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade by signing on with one of the teams they choose starting July 1.

“It’s funny you say that, because I was thinking about it. I was just looking at what people say and it’s like, ‘Chris is going to go here and play with him or this, this and that.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute.’ I feel like I should be built around. And maybe that’s just my ego talking, but I feel that I’m a very good player in this league and I’m only going to get better. So … maybe we should be getting somebody [in Toronto].”

Bosh would probably be outta Toronto in a sec if one of the three teams in home state Texas were in the running

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