With the 2012 NBA Playoffs still going on though, I figured now would be a good time to actually look at the Knicks upcoming salary cap situation and how it will affect any potential moves general manager Glen Grunwald will attempt to make.

Mar 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Knicks defeated the Sixers 82-79. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Generally I’m pretty good deciphering the salary cap, so here’s my best attempt to explain the situation the Knicks are in as of today.

Right now the Knicks are currently $5.6 million under the league-mandated $58.044 million salary cap, however on July 1, if the cap stays the same they will be $5.65 million over. That’s due to the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire and others making more money next season than they did this year.

Players under contract for next season include:  Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas.

In addition, J.R. Smith has a player option of $2.443 million, Josh Harrellson has a team option of $762,195, Jerome Jordan has a non-guaranteed salary of $762,195 and while Renaldo Balkman cleared waivers this past season, he’s still owed some salary that counts against the cap.

When it comes to free agency, the franchise’s restricted free agents are Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields, and the unrestricted pool includes: Steve Novak, Baron Davis, Jared Jeffries, Mike Bibby, Bill Walker and Dan Gadzuric.

Ideally, here’s what Grunwald is dealing with internally, before he ever even thinks about the draft or signing free agents from other teams. He must deal with Smith’s opt in or out, potentially re-signing Fields, using their mid-level exception of about $3 million (taxpayer) or of about $5 million (non-taxpayer), potentially using their bi-annual exception of $1.98 million and then spending a couple of veteran’s minimums of $1.4 million each.

Grunwald’s biggest decision though will be how much of the MLE to give to Lin.

With that being said, here’s a look at how the situation could play out for each free agent.

J.R. Smith

The Knicks will know by July 1 if Smith will opt-out of his deal.  Even though Smith’s father is making a case for him to stay in the Big Apple, money will play a big part in the deal and I don’t expect him back next season.

The kicker is that money doesn’t come off the cap so the Knicks will still be a little over $3million over.

However he can opt-out and re-sign with New York for a 20 percent raise, which with the Non-Bird Exception, would put him at $3.097 million for the 2012-13 season.

Jeremy Lin

In the new CBA, there’s a provision called the Gilbert Arenas Provision which limits the amount of money teams can offer a player like Lin for the first year of his deal. basically, the Arenas Provision, which you can look at here in greater detail, a way to help teams to keep their young restricted free agents who aren’t coming off rookie scale contracts.

No team can offer Lin more than the full MLE for the first year of his contract and as a restricted free agent; the Knicks have the right to match. But because New York only has Lin’s first year Bird Rights, whatever Lin signs for will count against the cap after his MLE of next. Nothing is stopping the Knicks from matching any offer but there’s also nothing stopping any team from heavily back loading a contract, which will put the Knicks in real financial trouble if they match.

However the MLE is tricky now. There is a non-taxpayer MLE of $3 million or less or the taxpayer MLE of $5 million. The trick is that if a team spends more than $3 million of its mid-level exception, then the apron ($70-$74 million) becomes a hard cap for the remainder of the season. It becomes very hard to put a winner on the floor when dealing with a hard cap.

So it would be ideal for Lin to sign for $3 million or less, but that’s doubtful, especially since other teams will offer more simply based on what he can do for attendance.

Also keep in mind that if the Knicks let Lin walk and pursue a Steve Nash or Goran Dragic, the same rules apply for the MLE. If they spend more than $3 million of it then they are going to be faced with a hard cap, which ultimately means they won’t have any flexibility to make any offseason or in-season moves that would result in them being a penny above the $74 million threshold.

My gut feeling is that they will sign Lin based on his popularity and when they are financially crippled a couple seasons from now they will try and move one of their big contracts.

Landry Fields

The Knicks also have the Early Bird Rights on Fields and but he differs from Lin in one way- the Knicks drafted him.

Basically with Fields there will be a $5 million ceiling with him this year, but unlike Lin they won’t have to use the MLE to sign him. With Lin they have his Non-Bird Right’s so they will be forced to use the MLE.

This makes signing Lin for $3 million even more important to the Knicks.

The perfect situation would be to sign Fields for $5 mil and Lin for $3 mil. In that case they won’t be constrained by the hard cap (based on the lower mid-level exception). They can re-sign Fields, sign veteran free agents and make trades to bring in someone who’s more expensive. In other words, they can go above the apron.

But that begs the question of if Fields is worth the $5 mil investment?

However the Knicks can’t turn around and use that $5 mil for Nash, Dragic or anyone else due to the Early Bird Rights provision. So, again, only the MLE can be used for Lin, Nash or Dragic, which makes Grunwald’s decision very tough.

As for Fields, I think they bring him back as they can’t really use the money on anyone else.

BI-ANNUAL EXCEPTION

The Knicks can spend $1.98 mil on a player using this, which would be ideal for Novak, but after leading the league in three-point shooting he will likely be looking to cash in for more than that, leaving the Knicks without a weapon on the perimeter.

But again using the Bi-Annual comes down to how much they pay Lin. If it’s over that $3 mil number then they can’t go over $74 million so there’s a chance they may not be able to use it. Also this is a last resort thing as if they use their Bi-Annual first then they are automatically hard capped. That’s really the only part of the CBA I don’t understand, but that’s the way it is.

Again, how much they pay Lin will determine what type of offseason (if any) that the Knicks have.

Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com predicted how things will play out for the Knicks and it doesn’t sound promising.

Currently, the Knicks are about $6 million above the salary cap, which means they’re about $9 million under the apron. If Smith opts out and the Knicks don’t re-sign him, they’ll be about $11.5 million under the apron. If they re-sign Lin for about $5 million, they’ll be about $7.5 million under the apron, which would then create the hard cap.

Then, if Fields re-signs for about $5 million as well, the team will only have about $3 million under the apron to spend on three players. Think about that. About $3 million, three players. Veteran minimum’s deals could suck that right up.

That mid-level exception is more critical than you ever thought. From the season to the offseason, Lin still remains right at the top of the Knicks’ discussion. If you’re a fan of the team, you should be rooting for him to sign for $3 million or less.

The only thing I can add onto to that thought is that it’s a good thing Isaiah Thomas isn’t still around.

Mar 31, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) holds a press conference to announce that he will be out for the remainder of the season with a partially torn meniscus before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

After hearing the news about Jeremy Lin’s knee surgery, I immediately began to think about how the Knicks can make the playoff push now that two of their starters (Amar’e and Lin) are out for the majority of the season. Call me crazy, but I still feel the Knicks can continue to play well enough to not only stay in the playoff race, but also climb up in the playoff standings.

First of all, the teams that we have ahead of us (Sixers, Celtics, Pacers, Hawks and Magic) are not that tough. Secondly, we have one of the best players in the NBA in Carmelo Anthony, who is starting to play at a high level.  With the injuries to Amar’e and Lin, Melo has to put the team on his shoulders and he’s the type of player who lives for these types of opportunities. With all the criticism he’s been getting since the trade to the Knicks, he now has the opportunity to prove the critics wrong.

Finally, the Knicks have a deep and talented team. Carmelo is our leader and go-to guy, but we have other players (Chandler, Smith, Shumpert, Fields, Novak and Davis) who can step it up as well. Because of the injuries, Toney Douglas and Josh Harrelson will now have the opportunity to prove to the coach that they deserve to get quality minutes as well.

The injuries to Amar’e and Lin are a major downer, but we have guys who can step up and fill in for the time being. As for Melo, it’s his time to shine and put up MVP numbers. If you ask me, I feel Melo will live up to the hype.

Mar. 14, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks interim head coach Mike Woodson speaks at a press conference after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 121-79. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The Knicks are back, well at least for now. The team has been perfect in all cylinders. They have been playing solid defense and they also have good chemistry. Coach Woodson has brought this team back from their losing ways and I have to say, I enjoy his coaching style. He previously coached the Atlanta Hawks and was pretty successful there, leading the team twice to the semi-conference finals. A lot of his coaching style came under former coach, Larry Brown who I was a big fan of as well.

Mike Woodson has this team playing in a high level on both ends of the court. And who says the Knicks players cannot share the ball? During the three wins, the Knicks have been doing just that. The Knicks are now playing with a sense of urgency but at the same time, they are enjoying themselves.

Following D’Antoni’s resignation, there have been talks of the possibility of the Knicks acquiring Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan as the coach. But maybe we won’t need any of them. So far, the players have been responding to Woodson’s coaching ways. Also, his “no nonsense” way of coaching has been working. So far, he has gotten in JR Smith’s face for a foolish play the other day and also Landry Fields for messing up on a defensive assignment. I feel this is the type of coach we desperately needed here in NYC.

I also like how the coach has been utilizing all the players’ strengths in the offense and defense. I think the players, no matter how many shots attempts they take, appreciate it as well. I looked at the Knicks schedule and the next few games aren’t so bad. We will be facing off against the Raptors twice and we also have a rematch against the Sixers (I look forward to seeing how they will respond after the horrible loss against them a little while ago). Thanks to coach Woodson, NY Knicks basketball is back!