You hear people say that ‘Melo has “potential,” but what does that really mean? “Potential” is essentially an excuse for a great player who has underperformed throughout his career. I am sick of ‘Melo’s potential to win a championship, and his potential to be one of the best players in this league. I am ready for him to complete those challenges.

He has all the skills already in place to lead a team to the holy land: he is a dynamite scorer who can score from anywhere on the court, he can rebound, he can pass (when he feels like it), and he can play defense when he applies himself. The thing is that he does not do all of these things for an entire season consistently.

In the past 1 and a half seasons with the Knicks, Carmelo has been a less than stellar defender, who rarely could have multiple great offensive nights in a row. He has been shooting well from beyond the arc, and I am one of the few people who thinks he has also been a decent passer. His rebounding has been average. His golden moments occurred while playing in the post, and using his lethal combination of speed and strength to draw the foul. 

He is always being called on to be a better passer, but that is not his biggest problem as far as I can see. He needs to be able to score more consistently within a game, and be able to replicate this efficiency for an entire season. Shooting below 44% from the field is no longer an option for him. His defense is not as bad as labeled, but definitely can use improvement, specifically in defending around the perimeter.

Carmelo demanded a trade to the team of his dreams. His front office has surrounded him with offensive and defensive weapons to help him. However, it is up to him. Carmelo Anthony is the one who needs to make a difference in his game, he needs to see what Lebron did and try to replicate his season every way he can, and on top of all of that he needs to do what he does best: score.

He is already on the right track. Mike Woodson called on Carmelo to be in better shape next season, and according to ‘Melo he is already down 12 pounds from his end of season weight. He has also said that his offseason knee surgery from last season is beginning to pay off, and he is feeling quicker.

The pressure cooker that is New York City is on, and there is only one person who can turn it off and answer all of the questions about if the Knicks are championship contenders: Carmelo Anthony.

According to Adrian Wojnaowski of Yahoo!Sports The Knicks will sign former San Antonio Spur forward Steve Novak for the remainder of the season.

Novak was waived by the Spurs on Monday night after the Spurs made the final cuts to their roster for the upcoming season. The Knicks will reportedly sign Novak to a one year deal, providing that he clears wavers.

Novak is a 6-foot-11 forward that should add some depth to the Knicks bench that is in desperate need of just that. Noak is a career 41% three-point shooter, which will be welcomed as the team looks to surround Anthony and Stoudemire with shooters.

Novak had a solid four year career at Marquette before joining the NBA where he has bounced around, playing for Houston, the Clippers, Dallas and San Antonio.

Who do the Knicks go after?

It is no secret that the New York Knicks have one huge issue right now, and that is the lack of depth the team has been left with after tying up the remainder of their available cap space in Tyson Chandler.

At this moment in time, the Knicks have about $2.5 million worth of exceptions with which to pursue free agents. The initial hope was that this was enough to convince a more notable free agent—like Jamaal Crawford—to take a pay cut in order to have a shot to play for a contending team in the Knicks; However, Crawford turned down the offer and chose to sign with the Blazers today, leaving the Knicks to search elsewhere for some bench help. (more…)

Well, its official: Tyson Chandler is a member of the New York Knicks. Ronny Turiaf and Any Rautins no longer are.

The Knicks acquired Tyson Chandler in a 3 team trade that sent Andy Rautins to the Mavericks as well as Ronny Turiaf and cash to Washington.  This move had been rumored for days, but was officially completed yesterday afternoon.

Landing the 7’1 Center is a big score for a team that has lacked the defensive presence necessary to compete for a championship. Chandler was the anchor of the Dallas Mavericks defense that was a key part of their championship run.Putting Chandler next to Stoudemire should shore of the interior defense, and hide some of Amar’e’s deficiencies on that end of the floor. (more…)

Since Free agency talk began about a week ago, there have been a few teams that have been talked about as having interest in Tyson Chandler, and the Knicks were not one of them. Not until today.

According to multiple outlets, the Knicks are now chasing Chandler, presumably under the premise that landing Chandler will give them a better chance at getting Chris Paul.  The Knicks could make some moves in order to free the space to land Chandler; this would probably mean either amnestying Chauncey Billups or including him in a sign and trade with the Mavs. (more…)

The abbreviated pres season schedule will take place in time to prepare the Knicks for their season and home opener against the Boston Celtics on Christmas day. The Christmas day matchup was preserved from the original schedule and will be a rematch of last year’s first round playoff series between the two teams. (more…)

It is no secret that the Knicks are looking to add some more depth to their team, while still maintaining enough cap flexibility to be a player in the Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Dwight Howard sweepstakes.  Adding either Caron Butler, or resigning Shawne Williams would effectively fill the hole at backup small forward which they would likely be able to do on a short term contract. (more…)

The Knicks stumbled a bit out of the gate to begin last season, however once that group of largely new players learned to play with each other, they started to gel together and win games. Then, when Donnie Walsh pulled the trigger on the Carmelo deal the Knicks pretty much hit the reset button and had to begin this process all over again. This was clearly represented in their win-loss record. (more…)

• Every week Knicks.com will be profiling some of the greatest rivalries in Knick history, this week they take you back to 90’s to relive some of the all time great Knicks-Bulls matchups.
• The New York Daily News caught up with Roger Mason Jr. in Harlem, handing out turkeys for the holidays. Unfortunately he didn’t have much to say about the lockout; Surprise, surprise
• Yahoo sports debates the legitimacy of Amar’e’s injury that  kept him out of Drew Gooden’s charity all-star game.
• Over at ESPN.com Jared Zwerling wrote a great piece about Tony Douglas and his brother, a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.

I wonder what Latrell Sprewell is doing right about now? let’s hope he is watching this video and smiling. Also, hopefully he can feed his family

• Happy Birthday Earl Monroe! Today the Knick legend turns 67. Wonder if he will play bingo online for money? Hopefully, he’ll win some B-day dough.
• Carmelo Anthony has agreed to take part in four game exhibition tour. The tour is being described as a “homecoming tour” as games will be played in the home cities of each of the four main participants. Other participants include Lebron James, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade.
• Cuttino Mobley is suing the Knicks for discrimination. Mobley didn’t technically play for the Knicks, however he believes that he was mistreated by the medical staff during his brief time there, causing him to retire prematurely. (more…)