There’s a good bit of debate right now concerning who will lock down the New York Knicks final roster spot heading into the 2012-13 season.

If the Knicks decide to keep Rasheed Wallace, which is all but certain, that leaves one sport up for grabs with Chris Copeland, John Shurna and Mychel Thompson currently the leading candidates.

July 17, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; New York Knicks player Chris Copeland (14) in the first half of the game against the Denver Nuggets at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

With that being said, right now Copeland could have that spot locked up.

While preseason numbers don’t normally mean a whole heck of a lot, Copeland’s performance Saturday night against Boston, in which he scored 21 points in 19 minutes might have been enough to earn the training camp invitee a spot on the regular season roster.

Copeland impressed the coaching staff during Vegas summer league with his inside-out game and toughness and showed some skill on pick-and-rolls with Pablo Prigioni and Jason Kidd. He also showed the knack to absorb contact and drawing fouls.

He can play and defend multiple positions, which gives Copeland some added value, especially since both the Knicks’ frontcourt and backcourt are currently stretched thin because of injuries.

However the Knicks will get healthy, which means they will likely keep the one of the three that can offer up the most throughout the course of a season, although whoever they keep won’t see a ton of minutes.

That means despite  Copeland’s heroics on Saturday, Thompson could still have the edge, especially since J.R. Smith and James White are the only capable healthy shooting guards at the moment. He has the ability to shoot the three, create some offense and defend, which are needs from the perimeter and he has some NBA experience under his belt from last season in Cleveland. Thompson showed some offensive ability against Boston and also grabbed six rebounds and stayed defensively with the Celtics quicker guards.

You can also make the case for Shurna, who can stroke it from downtown even though he has struggled through two preseason games. Shurna is athletic, can rebound and fill the lane in transition.

That’s what makes this battle for the final roster spot a very interesting one.

All three guys add something positive to this team.

Despite Copeland’s heroics Saturday night, he hasn’t locked anything up just yet, although he may have taken a big step in coming close to doing so.

Follow Matt Shetler on Twitter for news, reaction and analysis from around the NBA.

Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and on Facebook

Mar 29, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Northwestern Wildcats player John Shurna shoots during the three point shot championship at Fogelman Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Given the Knicks lack of youth, it seemed at the time that the sharpshooter Shurna was a lock to head to the D-League.

But that might not be the case.

Shurna has impressed many during the first week of training camp and could force Mike Woodson into a very difficult decision.

Shurna went undrafted mostly because scouts viewed him as a liability defensively, but so far through camp he has shown the ability to compete defensively, often being assigned to Carmelo Anthony during 5-on-5 scrimmages and he hasn’t backed down, getting right up in his grill and even forcing a couple of turnovers which have led to transition scores.

In addition, Shurna has shown the athleticism to run the floor with the likes of Raymond Felton and has been able to finish on the wing by getting to the rim.

But while all of that has been a surprise, Shurna is known for his ability to shoot the rock and he does it very well, knocking down 44 percent of his attempts from behind the arc during his senior season.

So far Shurna has opened up plenty of eyes, but most notably those of Steve Novak, who gave a ringing endorsement of the youngster to ESPN’s Jared Zwerling.

“He’s done a great job at camp,” Novak said after practice on Friday. “He’s approached it the right way. He’s got a motor on him. He just moves, moves, moves, always trying to get open, always trying to wear the defense down and he shoots the ball so well. I’m obviously biased, but I feel like there’s a place for him somewhere. I hope this year with us. He’s going to be able to play for a long time.”

What makes Shurna an attractive option is his shooting ability. While the Knicks have experience and are deep on paper, the one area they are lacking is good perimeter shooting.

Other than Novak, who led the NBA a season ago by knocking down 47.2 percent of his attempts from behind the arc, the current Knicks roster doesn’t have a group of consistent long-range shooters and without a true post presence, this team will need to be able to consistently knock down open looks from the perimeter.

Looking at the current Knicks shooting percentages: Carmelo Anthony (.335 from behind the arc in 2012), J.R. Smith (.347), Ronnie Brewer (.275), Raymond Felton (.305), Jason Kidd (.375),and Iman Shumpert (.306), what they don’t have is many consistent threats from downtown.

The Knicks finished 21st in the NBA a season ago in three-point shooting and that was with the top shooter in the league. Adding another guy who can shoot the rock is a good thing.

Of course there’s also the issue of a veteran team and the lack of quality minutes for Shurna. That alone may make the decision to send him to the D-League to get more consistent minute an easier one.

But one thing is for sure and that’s the fact that Shurna is making his case for the final guaranteed contract (the other is presumed to go to Rasheed Wallace). If he keeps opening eyes, Shurna is going to make Woodson’s decision an awfully difficult one.

Follow Matt Shetler on Twitter for news, reaction and analysis from around the NBA.

Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and on Facebook

Mar 29, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Northwestern Wildcats player John Shurna shoots during the three point shot championship at Fogelman Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Knicks’ general manager Glen Grunwald has found it difficult to get a veteran big man to sign for the veteran’s minimum, but Grunwald did come to terms with free agent forward John Shurna to a partially guaranteed, one-year contract.

The 6’9″ Northwestern product led the Big Ten Conference in scoring a season ago, averaging 20 points per game, knocking down 44 percent of his attempts from behind the arc.

Shurna’s deal is only partially guaranteed. If he’s on the Knicks roster on January 10, it becomes a fully guaranteed deal.

The Knicks have 16 players under contract heading into training camp, which starts Oct. 2. Thirteen of those 16 players have guaranteed deals. NBA rules say that teams can have 15 players on the opening-day roster. Shurna is the third player the team has signed to a partially guaranteed deal so far (Chris Smith, Chris Copeland).

Shurna is frequently compared to the Knicks’ Steve Novak because of his height and shooting ability. He went undrafted and struggled to get his shot off while playing for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA summer league but excelled in some workouts, draining 36 of 40 from 3-point range for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Here’s a look at the Draft Express scouting report on Shurna and he sounds exactly like Novak.

Shurna has a quick, effortless release with little wasted motion that helps compensate for his somewhat unorthodox mechanics and low release point. Showing range out to the NBA line with some regularity already, nearly 40% of Shurna’s shot attempts are catch and shoot jump shots according to Synergy Sports Technology, and his 43% shooting on such attempts are indicative of how he could help spread the floor at the next level.

Inside the arc, Shurna is as crafty a player as you’ll find in the NCAA. He is not a dynamic threat off the dribble, and is not nearly as reliable a shooter off the bounce as he is off the catch, but his work ethic, patience, and feel for cutting to the rim make him a great fit in Northwestern’s system and earn him plenty of easy looks around the basket and trips to the line. Though such looks will be far more difficult to come by in the NBA, Shurna’s willingness to make easy plays and do exactly what his coaches ask of him could be plusses for him in a smaller offensive role.

On the defensive end, we’ve covered Shurna’s attributes in detail in the past. He’s as crafty and hard working as one would expect a player with his basketball IQ to be, but his lateral quickness is a limitation in staying in front of small forwards and his lack of strength is equally as problematic keeping power forwards away from the rim even in the college game. Additionally, he continues to rank as one of the worst rebounding power forwards in our database, which is likely to be even more of an issue in the NBA.

You can never have too much shooting, so Shurna is an attractive prospect, but given the depth on this team, it’s highly unlikely for him to stick around all season. Watching Shurna in college, he’s a player with talent and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him find his niche in the NBA as a shooter.

He is a guy that the Knicks could stash in the D-League for a year and revisit later on, but considering the Knicks have only one player under the age of 25 on their roster (Iman Shumpert), stockpiling a few young bodies for the future may not be such a bad idea.

Follow Matt Shetler on Twitter for news, reaction and analysis from around the NBA.

Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and on Facebook