Carmelo Anthony’s Contract Could Doom the Knicks to Mediocrity

He's going to be like, 35 once his contract ends, right?

Well, NY had to do something to stay relevant. Knicks have that big city lure, but if Melo left and NY didn't get a good FA signing this season, I think they'd be stuck as the worst big market team in the league. Which is undesirable.

 

I'm honestly surprised that they've won that many games since his arrival. It's felt like the teams to which the Knicks have traded their first round picks have been in the lottery every year that he's been there. I was expecting a sub-.500 winning percentage.

 

I don't think his contract is that bad.

After the next lockout, you will probably see the cap shoot up to over $80M and max salaries shoot up to around $30M/yr. Anthony might end up looking like a bargain at that point.

Not only that, the Knicks will have space for another max contract in the offseason and can probably clear space for a third if need be (given the fact that his contract declines a little bit next season before going up again the following season). His contract is far from crippling the franchise.

 

They were only in the lottery one year (last season).

The year before, they won 55 games.

 

Carmelo is not the problem. He's worth the money. But they have to be smart and not waste cap space on another set of bench caliber players.

Pair Carmelo with another all star, add some passable role players, and you have an East conference contender. You'll win 50 games, maybe get to the finals. And then who knows, maybe you have a great matchup in the finals or someone gets injured. Anything can happen.

25 mil for Carmelo when the cap next year is like 66-68 mil, and in a couple years 80 mil +? It's a good deal. They have enough money to add a couple all stars, or one all star and a number of good role players.

It's just a question of being a good organization and making smart moves to build around Melo.

 

i half expect rondo and marc gasol to end up in ny next year.

 

The Knicks need to look at what Dallas did. Surrond Melo with 3 and D guys and a rim protector. He wouldnt have to go against the Western PFs until the finals (if he made it that far).

 

The problem with the NBA is the way the cap is structured. There should be no max salaries and a hard cap. They keep saying that they want parity and that is the way you get it. The best players would spread out because they could make more money and mediocre players wouldn't get max contracts or make 8 mil a year.

 

They'll be fine. Next summer: Stoudemire (23.5 million), Bargnani (12 million), and Dalembert (3.8 million) come off the books.

Thats over 39 million dollars worth of building a team. They can very easily become competitive within the next couple years.

 

Stoudemire's contract was definitely the biggest headache the Knicks had. It's on the Knicks to do well this year though. If it's another year of losing to the Cavs / Bulls / Heat and not reaching the ECF, it might be a tough draw for a max level FA to go to the Knicks.

As competitive as the West is, one player on a particular team could make a difference from losing in the first round to going all the way to the Finals. But the East is so top heavy that the Cavs and Bulls might be the ECF teams for the near future, barring injuries.

Let's say the Cavs get Love, and that Dougie McBuckets develops fast as a well-rounded Kyle Korver and that Rose stays healthy while Noah continues to be a top 2 center for the Bulls. It's really hard not to see the Cavs and Bulls in the ECF for the next 2-4 years. By then, Melo will be old and might demand a trade if he doesn't see success in NY.

Lots of factors to consider. But going back to the original point, Stoudemire's contract coming off the books opens up SO many possibilities for the Knicks. It's just up to them to make some noise.

 

Amare's expiring contract can only help, but honestly...

What marquee free agent will be available throughout the duration of Melo's contract?

 

I think the Knicks have to take the Spurs route...

Draft well, have consistently good coaching, and just have a deep team that knows how to play well within the system.

They might not be able to get marquee free agents, but they should be able to surround Melo with a few very good players.

 

I agree you. However NY (Dolan) doesn't have the patience to build a program like that. It'll be interesting to see if PJ can change that attitude.

 

Seriously? When the cap increases in 2016, Melo will be 32 and the final 3 years of his salary will be $24.6MM, $26.2MM, $27.9MM. At no point will that be a bargain for the Knicks.

Melo has peaked as a player and by 2016 he will be edging downhill.

Knicks are doomed to mediocrity. When the salary cap goes up in 2 years, other teams will also be able to pay free agents more money and James Dolan will still own the Knicks. Maybe Derek Fisher is still the coach, maybe not. Bottom line: I doubt they become a free agent magnet.

 

I hope they never even make the playoffs during his contract. He obviously doesn't care about winning so he doesn't even deserve to sniff it.

 

They were less than mediocre last season already...

 

Doomed to mediocrity implies that they were better than that before Melo signed his deal.....

 

They'll be generally fine because, as we discovered this offseason, money and lifestyle trumps winning for virtually every superstar except Lebron James and to a lesser extent Dwight Howard. That doesn't mean they'll win it, but they will be good enough to deflect criticism.

Their main problem will be that signing a MAX FA next offseason dooms them to little or no depth. This coming season, they are simply not good enough to get out of the East. So they go into the following season with no depth to face the Cavs - who by year 2 of this project will be dominating everyone. By year 3, since Melo is not as good as Lebron, the Knicks will need to pair Melo with two guys both better than Irving and Love/Wiggins circa 2016. By year 4, Melo will be 34 or 35 years old and getting paid roughly $25m on a team that needs upgrades. Even worse in year 5.

So really, this is not going to end in a championship unless the Knicks sign someone like Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, etc. This is not a situation that can be fixed by signing a LaMarcus Aldridge or a Paul George.