2016 New York Knicks

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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New York Knicks (Last Year: 30-52)

2016-17 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Robin Lopez/Kyle O’Quinn

PF: Kristaps Porzingis/Derrick Williams

SF: Carmelo Anthony/Cleanthony Early

SG: Arron Afflalo/Langston Galloway

PG: Jose Calderon/Jerian Grant/Tony Wroten

NBA Free Agents:

SG-Arron Afflalo (PO)

PF-Derrick Williams (PO)

PF-Lou Amundson (UFA)

PF-Kevin Seraphin (UFA)

SG-Sasha Vujacic (UFA)

PF-Lance Thomas (UFA)

SG-Langston Galloway (RFA)

SF-Cleanthony Early (RFA)

2016-17 Team Salary: Approximately $56.4 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Shooting Guard: With Arron Afflalo likely to opt of his contract next season and Langston Galloway a restricted free agent, the Knicks have to be ready to find a starting shooting guard for 2016. Afflalo was a decent fill-in for a year, but for the Knicks to take a step forward as a franchise, they need to find an upgrade at the two.

2. Point Guard: New York has three point guards under contract for next season, but nobody in that group should be a starter in the NBA. Calderon is entering the final year of his contract and turns 35 before the season starts, while Jerian Grant struggled in his rookie season. Since new head coach Jeff Hornacek likes to push the tempo offensively, finding a new point guard is a must.

3. Star Power: It is beyond clear at this point of his career that Carmelo Anthony cannot carry the Knicks to the promised land. New York apparently hit the jackpot last summer in drafting Kristaps Porzingis who should be a major building block for the franchise for years to come. However, Phil Jackson needs to find another star player if the Knicks are going to become a playoff contender and make any noise in the postseason. They should have a decent amount of cap space to play with in free agency and could also shop the aforementioned expiring contract of Calderon in hopes of finding Anthony and Porzingis another high-level player.