The dunk contest has lost much of its flare recently as it is no longer the marquee event among all sports All-Star festivities, but there is still something about NBA athletes flying through the air with the greatest of ease that brings out excitement.

While this contest should feature the NBA’s greatest superstars, instead featuring guys who barely get off the bench, it should be an entertaining contest nonetheless.

With that being said, let’s look at the odds for each participant to win the contest (odds via Bovada Sports Book).

Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz (8-to-1)

Evans won last year’s dunk contest. The event has changed from a real dunk contest to a who can use more props contest.  Evans has experience at doing that, so he can’t be counted out. But with the fans voting, the guys who see the floor and the guys in the bigger markets likely have more of a chance than the little used Evans. But despite his lack of playing time he is a tremendous athlete who can leap. My gut feeling is that there is no repeat title for Evans.

Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (8-to-1)

Faried is simply a beast. He will bring power and energy to the dunk contest. However as I mentioned before, things like power are being overlooked for things like props. Ultimately that could hurt Faried’s chances. But he is a guy that is fun and a player the fans like, so the “Manimal” is a definite sleeper.

Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles Clippers (5-to-1)

At only 6’1″, Bledsoe could be the best pure athlete in this contest, which gives him a chance. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan get all of the attention in Los Angeles as great dunkers, but Bledsoe is as good if not better. Fans like the little guy so Bledsoe will have a chance to win. I’m sure a former dunk contest winner like Griffin is in his ear helping him come up with something spectacular.

Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors (4-to-1)

The rookie has developed a reputation as a great dunker already. He brings athleticism and power to the table, as Ross dunks with more power than most guards typically do. Ross is an exciting player, but does he have enough fanfare so early in his career to win this thing?

Gerald Green, Indiana Pacers (7-to-2)

I agree with the odds here, as judging by the people involved, a final two that include Green and James White should produce some pretty exciting stuff. Green hasn’t lived up to the hype of being a former first round pick, but the guy can flat out soar through the air and is one of the better  pure dunkers in the game today. Few can match White’s ability to fly, but Green is certainly one of them.

James White, New York Knicks (5-to-4)

White is the overall favorite and New York City has his back. He can soar and adds a lot of flair to his dunks, which should make him the favorite. If this were an old school dunk contest, White would win, but because it is a prop-fest, he may not stand a chance, especially since he has already said he won’t be using any.

White and Green are the two best pure dunkers in this group and it should come down to them dunking against each other, but that likely won’t be the case.

In today’s day and age of dunking, all that matters is who can use the most props.

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There’s a pretty good reason we’ve lost Fields in the shuffle: nobody around the Knicks believe he’s a $20 million player at this point in his career.

In his brief two-year career, Fields has played in 148 games, starting in all of them except five. He’s averaged exactly 30 minutes a night. He’s put up 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists each night while playing the shooting guard position. After a surprising and stellar rookie season, Fields’ production dropped to 8.8 points, 4.2 reboudns and saw his shooting percentage drop from 49.7% to 46.0%. Not to mention, from the free throw line, he tumbled from a 76.9% in his rookie year all the way to 56.2% as a sophomore.

Every Knicks fan loved the intangibles Fields brought to the floor each night. He hustled, he grabbed important rebounds and he even had energetic sideline dunks that got fans out of their seats. However, of all the numbers I’ve listed above, do any signal to you that he’s worth $20 million over the next three seasons?

The reason the Raptors gave Fields this large of a contract was in part to keep the Knicks further out of the Steve Nash sweepstakes. Toronto believed that the Knicks best shot at snagging Nash, a player the Raptors front office circled at the top of their off-season agenda, was including Fields in a sign-and-trade offer to Phoenix. So, the Raptors brass offered Fields a “poison pill” contract that, if the Knicks matched, would be almost undesirable. That plan backfired in three crucial steps for Toronto.

The first, the Knicks came out almost immediately and said they wouldn’t match that offer. Second, the Knicks surprised a lot of people by showing their willingness to include promising guard Iman Shumpert in a sign-and-trade deal if it meant acquiring Nash. And, most importantly, the Suns eventually agreed to trade Nash to Los Angeles, making all of these efforts null and void. Yikes.

As for the Knicks, there has been a lot of talk recently that losing Fields hurts the Knicks depth off the bench. I don’t agree with that sentiment. Yes, obviously losing Fields doesn’t immediately make the Knicks bench any better than last season, that much is true. But, its important to remember that swingmen in the NBA are a dime a dozen. Every year, it seems at least one team finds a hybrid two-guard off the scrap heep that not only makes the team out of training camp, but then plays a strong role either off the bench or in the starting line-up. We’ve seen it with Willie Green in Atlanta, Gerald Green in New Jersey Brooklyn, or looking even further back to players like Shannon Brown, Jared Dudley, Lou Williams, or, you know, Landry Fields.

I’m not saying James White is going to be the next Landry Fields. I am, however, saying one is out there that the Knicks can find either on the waiver wire or at a veteran minimum. They exist.

So, let me ask you one very important question. Would you pay $20 million to a player you can replace with 1/20th the amount of money?

Are the Knicks better off without J.R. Smith?

One of the more intriguing story lines for the New York Knicks this offseason outside of the Jeremy Lin front revolves around the looming decision for sixth man J.R. Smith.

Smith was a mid-season addition by the Knicks when he escaped his stay playing in the Chinese Basketball League. He holds a player option for the 2012-13 season worth just over $2 million and, while he has hinted towards testing the free agent market via Twitter, nobody knows for certain what his decision will inevitably be.

When he did arrive to New York, Smith played almost exclusively off the bench (in his 35 games with the Knicks, only once did he appear in the starting line-up). However, Smith played roughly 27 minutes a night and was often on the court during crunch time situations with Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire.

On the season, he averaged 12.5 points (4th on the team), 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals. However, his 40.7% from the field was his lowest shooting percentage since the 2005-06 season he spent in New Orleans, and his 34.7% from beyond the arc was the second-worst of his career.

Though the decision is out of the hands of the front office, one question is worth asking: are the Knicks better off without J.R. Smith next season?

When looking at the free agent market, are there better options than Smith that will cost the same or less? With the team looking to maximize production out of their dollars, this is an important question to ask.

With his performance down the stretch for the Los Angeles Clippers, it appears Nick Young is going to take up the majority of some team’s Mid-Level Exception, putting him probably out of the Knicks price range for the position their looking to fill. Neither DeShawn Stevenson or Delonte West would fill the scoring need off the bench the Knicks would be seeking, and, at this point in their careers, are more along the lines of a veteran role player/defensive stopper as opposed to sixth man.

The likely options within the Knicks price range fall along the lines of Randy Foye and Marco Belinelli. The most expensive I can see the Knicks going on the free agent market would be for a player like Leandro Barbosa, who has the ability to start for the Knicks and push Landry Fields into a sixth man role. If you wanted to get creative, Philadelphia restricted free agent Jodie Meeks could be an option, though anything inexpensive would likely be matched by the 76ers. And there’s the question of how much you believe in the strong play from New Jersey swing-man Gerald Green at the end of last season.

Of the players listed, I would probably rank Smith ahead of them all with the exception of Barbosa. But, again, in my opinion, I don’t see a scenario in which Barbosa takes less than the full Mid-Level Exception, which is something J.R. Smith is scheduled to do next season.

I also believe some team is going to be more willing to take a chance and overspend on both Gerald Green or Randy Foye, who both could start for second division teams and be seen as a slight improvement. The market is going to price them out of the Knicks comfort range.

Should the Knicks consider Marco Belinelli?

I am, however, intrigued by the possibilities of Marco Belinelli. Last season, the 26-year old Italian averaged 11.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He has experience both starting and playing off the bench, and can play the point in a pinch. Maybe more importantly, he made $3.37 million, a step above what Smith made ($2.23 million). The positives to Belinelli over J.R. Smith is he doesn’t command the attention offensively that Smith seemingly craves, all while having the ability to score at will and net 20+ points on any given night. He was a %37.7 shooter from 3, and 41.7% from the field, similar averages to Smith.

Should Smith decide against picking up his player option, Belinelli should be considered as a free agent option, even if he requires a bit of a raise in the process.

The second and third options needed to be considered if the Knicks are to move on without J.R. Smith revolve around who is currently on the roster and who the Knicks could possibly draft. Both of these scenarios we’ve covered extensively so far. As much as we all love Steve Novak, he isn’t a true sixth man, and his defensive liabilities can hurt the Knicks in crunch time situations (even if he’s 3-point shooting is beyond lethal). Iman Shumpert will miss the majority of next season, if not all of it, so he isn’t really an option. I covered Kim English and his draft potential last week, and while he has the potential to grow into a prototypical sixth man, he won’t be at that point in time for the Knicks next season.

So, are the Knicks better off without J.R. Smith? They could be, with the potential of someone fitting the Knicks’ style of play being available on the free agent market. Smith is a player who commands the ball on offense, even in games in which he may not have his shooting touch. Preferably, the Knicks need a scorer off the bench, but someone with the wherewithal to defer when needed.

Is that player Marco Belinelli? Or can J.R. Smith refine his game? These are important question the Knicks front office need to investigate in order to put a better product on the court.

Is J.R. Smith a better pure scorer than Belinelli? Yes.

But, is that what the New York Knicks need with the line-up they currently have? Not necessarily.