No division in the NBA has improved as much as the Atlantic Division has, and with good reason as the teams in the Atlantic made it a point this offseason to spend a ton of money. For an example of how much money every team in the Atlantic spent, all five teams in the division spent more than any team in the Southeast Division.

Where do the Knicks stack up in money spend on free agency? Let’s take a look. (Note: The Salary figures reflect free agent spending only and not contracts brought on via trade)

Brooklyn Nets: $243.053MM (Keith Bogans, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez, Jerry Stackhouse, Mirza Teletovic, Gerald Wallace, C.J. Watson, Deron Williams)

No team in the NBA went on a spending spree like the Nets did, throwing money around as if it were Monopoly money.

The $98 million they gave to Williams was way more than any contract any team handed out to any player during the offseason.  Besides spending about $200 million on Williams, Wallace, and Lopez alone, the Nets signed Evans, Humphries, and Teletovic worth more than the minimum, AND took on Joe Johnson’s remaining $89 million via trade.

All in all the Nets added about $350 million to their payroll in the matter of a couple of weeks.

Boston Celtics: $133.606MM (Brandon Bass, Dionte Christmas, Jason Collins, Keyon Dooling, Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, Jamar Smith, Jason Terry, Chris Wilcox)

Boston has committed almost $100MM to new deals, including $15MM+ each to Bass, Garnett, Lee, and Terry and they had the cap room to do so, but after all of the spending, are the Celtics any closer to winning a title. However that’s a fair question to ask any team in this division?

Feb 12, 2011; Newark, NJ, USA; New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton (2) brings the ball up court during the first half against the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

New York Knicks: $61.976MM (Ronnie Brewer, Marcus Camby, Chris Copeland, Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Steve Novak, Pablo Prigioni, Chris Smith, J.R. Smith, James White)

The Knicks had no cap space and didn’t bring Jeremy Lin back, but still managed to spend over $60 million, thanks to a handful of sign-and-trade deals and having the Bird rights of other free agents. the deals for Felton, Kidd, and Novak are all fully guaranteed, which is odd for a team that balked at Lin’s price tag.

Philadelphia 76ers: $32.797MM (Lavoy Allen, Kwame Brown, Spencer Hawes, Royal Ivey, Maalik Wayns, Nick Young)

Most of the Sixers free agent money was thrown at Brown and Young, after spending most of the offseason shedding salary. Andrew Bynum’s dollar figure isn’t included in that number so even after shedding the contract of Elton Brand, the Sixers still found a way to spend about $50 million. Yet shedding as much money as they did, and spending as much as they did, the Sixers really didn’t make an impact signing on the free agent market.

Toronto Raptors: $26.837MM (Landry Fields, Aaron Gray, John Lucas III)
The Raptors cleared cap room in the hopes of signing Steve Nash, but had to throw cash at other players instead. They overpaid for Fields, but I like the rest of the Raptors’ moves, which included using their cap space to take on Kyle Lowry’s salary in a trade with Houston.

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With that being said, let’s take a look at all of the movement in the NBA’s Central Division.

Chicago Bulls

Players Added

NBA Draft: G Marquis Teague
Free Agents: G Kirk Hinrich, F Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed

Players Lost

Free Agents: C Omer Asik, G Ronnie Brewer, G C.J. Watson
Trades: F Kyle Korver

The Bulls wisely didn’t match the offer sheet to Asik, but overall it has been a lousy offseason for the Bulls. Adding Hinrich, Radmanovic and Mohammed does nothing to make them better and the losses of Korver, Brewer and Watson will be felt from a depth perspective.

It was nice that Teague fell in their laps on draft night but he’s not ready for major NBA minutes yet. Grade: D-

July 17, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters (3) during the game against the Phoenix Suns at the Thomas and Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Cleveland Cavaliers

Players Added

NBA Draft: G Dion Waiters, C Tyler Zeller
Free Agents: F Luke Harangody (re-signed), F Jon Leuer
Trades: G Kelenna Azubuike

Players Lost

Free Agents: C Semih Erden, F Antawn Jamison
Waived: G Manny Harris
Retired: G Anthony Parker

The Cavs added Waiters and Zeller to a good young core that features Kyrie Irving and Tristian Thompson already. However they are still a bunch of parts away from competing. The future looks bright though and now that they are in the middle of the Dwight Howard saga, they have the chance to add a huge part for the future in Andrew Bynum. If they do, then this grade is much better. Grade: C+

Detroit Pistons

Players Added

NBA Draft: C Andre Drummond, G Kim English, F Khris Middleton
Free Agents: F Kyle Singler, F Vyacheslav Kravtsov
Trades: F Corey Maggette

Players Lost

Trades: G Ben Gordon

The Pistons moves won’t have impact on the team this season, but instead planted the seeds for the future. They finally got their athletic big man they desperately needed when Drummond fell to them during the draft. Whether he becomes Dwight Howard or Kwame Brown though is yet to be determined.

They also found a sucker team in Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats to take on Ben Gordon’s contract, so they get a little bit of salary cap relief going forward. I love their second round picks of English and Middleton, so the Pistons are starting to rebuild nicely. Grade: B

Indiana Pacers

May 20, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers shooting guard George Hill (3) dribbles the ball along the baseline against the Miami Heat in game four of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Miami defeated Indiana 101-93. Mandatory credit: Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

Players Added

NBA Draft: G Orlando Johnson, F Miles Plumlee
Free Agents: G George Hill (re-signed), G/F Gerald Green, G D.J. Augustin, C Roy Hibbert (re-signed)
Trades: F Ian Mahinmi

Players Lost

Trades: G Darren Collison, G/F Dahntay Jones

The loss of Larry Bird was felt on draft night as I hated the Miles Plumlee pick. In addition, they overpaid for Hibbert and brought back Hill, so their starting five is intact, which is fine.

Then they traded Collison, their playoff PER leader for the right to pay Mahinmi $16 million? They could have likely signed him as an unrestricted free agent for half the price and wouldn’t have had to include Collison.

But they countered with Augustin, who’s more of a pure point guard than Collison, even though Collison was statistically better across the board and they added some bench scoring in Green. However looking back at the point guards, Augustin can’t guard anyone and they are paying him $1.3 million more than they would have paid Collison.

Overall I think Indiana got worse. Grade: C-

Milwaukee Bucks

Players Added

NBA Draft: F John Henson, G Doron Lamb
Free Agents: F Ersan Ilyasova (re-signed)
Trades: C Samuel Dalembert

Players Lost

Free Agents: C Kwame Brown
Trades: F Jon Brockman, F/C Jon Leuer, G Shaun Livingston

I like what the Bucks did. They re-signed Ilyasova and brought in a pair of big men in Dalembert and Henson who can make Milwaukee very tough to score on in the paint. Lamb gives them another shooter and when he’s feeling it, the kid is lethal from the perimeter.

They may have improved enough to sneak into the playoffs this season. Grade: B

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Yes, teams like the San Antonio Spurs, or Boston Celtics, or Dallas Mavericks in 2011 have relied on their veteran players to carry them home, but Woodson almost seemed to dismiss the importance of youth. For instance, the reigning champions, the Miami Heat, were carried by their Big 3 who, except for Dwyane Wade (30), are below 30-years old. Their Finals opponents, the Oklahoma City Thunder, hardly have rotation players sniffing 30 years of age.

In his Knicks Fix last week, Alan Hahn outlined the average ages of NBA championship teams since 2007, all of which were under 30-years old. With the additions of players like Marcus Camby, Jason Kidd, Kurt Thomas, and Pablo Prigioni, the average of the Knicks’ roster is 31-years old. That’s not to say that they are too old to contend, but their depth is reliant upon some players with a lot of miles on their legs.

The Knicks’ starting lineup is not particularly old – Raymond Felton is 28, J.R. Smith is 26, Carmelo Anthony, 27, Amar’e Stoudemire, 29, and Tyson Chandler, 29 – but their bench depth will rely on the health of some pretty old players. If a member of the Knicks’ starting lineup were to get hurt (especially at point guard or upfront), the Knicks could find themselves in a tight spot playing heavy minutes to some older veterans.

Furthermore, in an NBA that is evolving more and more into a position-less and a more open game, the Knicks’ veteran signings have made them slower and far less versatile with very players on their roster able to play outside of their given roles. Whereas the Miami Heat may very well run out a lineup this year featuring entirely wing players – Wade, LeBron James, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, and Rashard Lewis – the Knicks may not have the versatility to match-up with such a lineup.

(And of course, it is fair to compare the Knicks with the Heat seeing as how these Knicks were built to take down those Miami foes).

So, have the Knicks gotten too old this offseason? We certainly can’t say definitively until the season gets underway, but they have taken an old-school approach to the game that may turn out to be out-of-date with the new-school NBA.

According to Evans and Weems agent, Roger Montgomery, says the Knicks are interested in his clients:

“I think both of them would fit really good in that situation,” Montgomery said. “Mo would fit for a number of reasons because what he does as a veteran, and he’s played for Woody. And I think Sonny would be an absolute steal if he was able to go play with them, just because of how athletic he is. I think that he could be a starter and he could be a rotation guy. I think he would be ideal.”

Apr 26, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards small forward Maurice Evans (6) dunks the ball against the Miami Heat during the first half at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

I agree with both of Montgomery’s assessments here. Evans played for the Wizards this past season and despite not being apart of the the regular rotation(only played 24 games) and not scoring much (averaged 4.9 points) can bring a ton to this Knicks’ team. The veteran shooting guard is a strong athlete that can score in the paint along with stretching the floor with his jump shot.  Evans can bring veteran leadership to the Knicks with the veteran minimum but if the Knicks can somehow nab Weems it will be one of the steals of the summer.

After playing three seasons in the league, Weems played overseas for a Lithuanian team where he was the go to scorer on the team–embracing and excelling in the role. Known mostly as a “high flyer” in his short NBA stint, Weems has expanded his game overseas:

“He needed to be the guy to learn the game more, and he had a tremendous year,” Montgomery said. “He was one of the best players in Europe. He was really good. He got better. He can put the ball on the floor now. He can put him in some pick-and-rolls now. He shoots the three-ball better. He’s not just a dunker athlete like he was in Toronto.”

It seems that Weems would be able to match Shumpert’s production and then some. Defensively with his size (6’6) and athleticism should be able to be great defender as well. Weems would thrive in the starting lineup because he would multiple scoring opportunities with the attention that Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire command. The real question is can the Knicks convince Weems to take less money and  come to New York when multiple teams will be pursuing his talents?

Knicks, Suns are in the critical stages of discussions on a sign-and-trade deal that would pay Nash $27M-$30M over 3 years,

Mar. 16, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash during game against the Detroit Pistons at the US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Pistons 109-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

sources tell Y!

Wojnarowski also mentioned that the trade will likely include Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas, and three other cheap players. Dan Gadzuric, Marc Berman noted, will be included in all trades because of his $1.4 million non-guaranteed salary, which was a tactic Glen Grunwald purposely played.

For Knicks fans, the trade is sure to bring about mixed feelings. Iman Shumpert represents the ’90s Knicks teams the fans so adored with his gritty defense and constant effort. Likewise, he’s got All-Star potential with nearly unparalleled athleticism, already-elite defense, and the ability to knock down shots off catch-and-shoot opportunities (though he still must become more consistent in the latter category). When the Knicks’ Big Three reaches the end of their respective primes (and contracts), Shumpert could be a useful building block going forward.

With Landry Fields likely going to Toronto, and J.R. Smith still a free agent, the Knicks two-guard rotation would be nearly decimated. However, if the Knicks did trade Shumpert, it’s possible that the Knicks would entertain matching Toronto’s offer sheet as to keep some depth at the shooting guard.

Not to mention Steve Nash has a chronic back issue that has been appeased by the leagues indisputable best training staff in Phoenix. I have my doubts about the Knicks’ training staff; see: Davis, Baron, 2011-12.

However, the idea of acquiring Steve Nash has to be appealing to everyone, regardless of their stance on Shumpert. Nash is an all-time great point guard, whose numbers last season paralleled the numbers he put up in his two MVP seasons in Phoenix. With great finishers in Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire (he and Nash were preeettty great together in Phoenix, in case you didn’t know), and a guy like Steve Novak to space the floor, the Knicks offense could be deadly with Nash at the helm. His guidance for the future of Jeremy Lin would be immensely helpful.

Undoubtedly, the trade would put the Knicks in official “win now” mode.

The details are still being hammered out, but this is a big story that’s currently in the process of being broken.