2017 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: 31-51)

2017-18 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Joakim Noah/Willy Hernangomez/Kyle O’Quinn/*Marshall Plumlee

PF: Kristaps Porzingis

SF: Carmelo Anthony/Lance Thomas/Mindaugas Kuzminskas

SG: Courtney Lee/*Ron Baker

PG: *Chasson Randle

NBA Free Agents:

PG-Derrick Rose (UFA)

SG-Sasha Vujacic (UFA)

SG-Justin Holiday (UFA)

*SG-Ron Baker (TO)

*C-Marshall Plumlee (TO)

*PG-Chasson Randle (TO)

2017-18 Team Salary: Approximately $77.3 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Point Guard: With Derrick Rose a free agent and no other capable point guard on the roster, finding a lead guard is priority No. 1 for the Knicks. They could address this need with the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

2. Guard Depth: In addition to finding a starting point guard, the Knicks need depth in the backcourt. Courtney Lee is not the long-term solution at shooting guar,d so the Knicks might scour the market for an upgrade there.

3. Melo’s Future: Carmelo Anthony is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, and there has been plenty of speculation regarding his future in the Big Apple. With limited cap flexibility to bring in the types of free agents the Knicks need to become a contender, they may be left dealing Anthony and starting a re-build of sorts. Anthony does have a no-trade clause that he would have to waive and pretty much agree to whatever destination he would end up at, which makes moving him even more challengning.