The team has added depth behind their point guard, shooting guard, power forward, and center, but there is not much behind Carmelo Anthony. Matt Barnes could be the perfect player to finish out the bench.

Barnes has yet to sign with a team this offseason, after finishing his second season with the Lakers. Barnes is a defensive minded forward who can shoot threes and rebound well. His career averages include 7.8 ppg, 4.5rpg, and 33 percent  3-point shooting. Barnes would come off the bench, and help the Knicks only average rebounding.

The Knicks already have a bench including James White, Ronnie Brewer, Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Kurt Thomas, Jason Kidd, and J.R. Smith. Adding Matt Barnes takes an already skilled bench and adds shooting and veteran skills.

Last year, injuries hurt the team and they could never stay healthy throughout the season. In the postseason this was even more evident as Mike Bibby became the starting point guard when Baron Davis went down.

It is unclear if Barnes has had meetings with any NBA teams, but the Knicks would only be able to sign him for a veteran minimum contract. Barnes may want to be paid more than that, similar to Mickael Pietrus, who’s agent has said that he will not accept a minimum contract.

There are some other potential forwards still available in free agency: Carlos Delfino, Josh Childress, and Kenyon Martin (who most likely will not accept a minimum contract).

The Knicks already have 13 roster spots filled, so it is unclear if they are even interested in adding more depth. However, if Barnes would take the minimum contract, then signing him would not be a bad move to end an already busy offseason.

ESPNnewYork.com’s Jared Zwerling got the party started this week when he suggested Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes would be a good fit in the Big Apple.

Zwerling said via Twitter:

Ex-Knick Matt Barnes could be intriguing FA for #Knicks. An asset off the bench, does a bit of everything. Not a given LA will re-sign him.

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) June 6, 2012

Barnes was an asset coming off the bench in Lakerland the past two seasons, averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 116 games, starting 16 of those.

There are some positives to pursuing Barnes, who played six games for the Knicks during the 2005-06 season.

April 17, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers small forward Matt Barnes (9) scores a basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

He’s a guy that would know his role. He’s an energy guy that comes off the bench to play defense and make hustle plays. The Knicks need guys to do that and Barnes could be a good fit in Mike Woodson’s system. Barnes runs the floor well and adds an element of toughness to the team, which all would be assets if he were in a Knicks uniform.

But there are some cons as well, including being an erractic shooter.

His numbers aren’t terrible. Barnes is a career 45 percent shooter from the floor and a career 33 percent shooter from behind the arc, however he’s very streaky and the Knicks have enough shooters who fit that description.

He’s also a bit demonstrative and is a magnet for whistles, but the pros outweigh the cons, especially the intangibles he brings at the defense end.

Barnes is an outstanding rebounder for a small forward — he finished fourth at his position in rebound rate in 2011 — because he’s quick to the ball and pursues every shot. Defensively he’s active, ranking in the top third of his position in both blocks and steals, but he’s also a bit wild and fouls like mad. He’s solid in one-on-one defense, and while he’s certainly not a stopper because he’s fairly slow for a small forward, he competes and is fairly long.

Truth be told, I don’t like Barnes much as a player at all, but I do like what he could bring to the Knicks bench. That unit needs some energy and toughness and he’s a guy that can guard either forward spot, which is a plus.

While I’m sure he would like to return to Los Angeles, if the Knicks could get the 32-year old close to the veteran’s minimum (very doubtful), he’s someone I feel Glen Grunwald should consider rolling the dice on.

The facts are that the Knicks should have enough scoring. What they need is for guys to do the little things and guys that don’t mind doing the dirty work.

That’s been Barnes throughout his career.

This is also assuming (knock on wood) that the arbitration ruling in June goes in their favor and New York won’t be forced to use their MLE to keep Jeremy Lin in the Big Apple.

If that’s the case, everyone expects a portion of that MLE to be thrown the way of Steve Nash, but if that doesn’t work out, here’s a look at a few other potential targets general manager Glen Grunwald could look at rather cheaply.

Marcus Camby

April 22, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Houston Rockets center Marcus Camby (29) against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Camby would like to return to Houston as his first choice, but if that doesn’t work out the Knicks should take a look at bringing Camby back to New York.

He’s 38 and entering his 17^th NBA season, but can still be an effective rebounder and shot blocker, even at his age.

We saw how much of a struggle it was with Tyson Chandler not on the floor a season ago and a guy like Camby can help sure up the second unit defensively.

Antawn Jamison

Jamison is coming off a good year in which he averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds and has always been an efficient scorer and rebounder.

But In his 14-year career, Jamison has made the playoffs six times, but has never made it past the second round so signing with a contender could be priority No. 1.

Not only that, but Jamison would provide insurance for Amar’e Stoudemire and would be an upgrade at the defensive end of the floor.

Ray Allen

The Knicks missed a lot of open shots in the playoffs and bringing in the all-time leader in three-point shooting makes some sense.

Allen’s career is trending downward, but in a role when his job is to come off the bench and knock down shots from the perimeter, he could be very effective still.

I doubt Allen would settle for the veteran’s minimum, but it’s certainly worth a look.

John Lucas III

The Knicks are going to likely sign a pair of free-agent point guards and Lucas is a guy who could add quality depth.

Lucas proved valuable for the Bulls in the frequent absences of Derrick Rose and while his overall numbers aren’t impressive, in games where Lucas played at least 20 minutes, his scoring average jumped up to 14.6 points per game.

Omer Asik

Again, bringing in a quality backup for Tyson Chandler needs to be a priority this offseason.

He won’t provide much offensively, but Asik is a mobile big man with great defensive awareness and shot-blocking skill.

Matt Barnes

Barnes will likely want to stay in Los Angeles, but he’s also a guy who won’t cost a lot of money and brings energy and a little bit of production off the bench.

He’s tough, rebounds well and runs the floor very well. That’s all he would be asked to do in a Knicks uniform.

"What more can I do?" wonders Stan Van Gundy. Glad you asked... (source: Yardbarker.com)

After the Orlando Magic’s loss last night to the Boston Celtics, they’re down a seemingly insurmountable 0-2 and going into enemy territory to play the next two games. The good news? Both losses were close down the stretch. Stan Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the game, and already he tweaked his line-up a bit after the first game. Seeing how well J.J. Redick performed in the opening stanza, Stan gave him even more run in the second verse, playing him 34 minutes. Yeah, yeah, JJ made the double bone-headed move at the end of the game where he didn’t call timeout as soon as he caught it, and then when he started dribbling he stopped before he crossed mid-court. That said, Redick was again outstanding, and one could equally fault Vince Carter’s free-throw misses or say that the Magic shouldn’t have let themselves get to the point where they needed a last-second save anyway.

Anyway, moving on, what other tweaks can the Magic make? Here are three:

For the rest of my post on the main FanSided page, check out the page here.