In two stunning moves, Donnie Walsh made it clear that the Knicks intend to sacrifice this season and next for a superstar run in 20 months. Lebron James is the marquee name on a free agent list that include Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire. By shipping out leading scorers Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph for Al Harrington, Tim Thomas & Cuttino Mobley, Walsh squashed the budding optimism that was building for Mike D'Antoni's team and replaced it with a vision of King James saving a basketball- starved city.

It's estimated that 20 teams will be able to make Lebron James a max-offer when the bidding war begins on July 1st, 2010. Prior to trading Crawford & Randolph, the Knicks were projected to have $11MM in cap room for the summer of 2010. Walsh's deals give the Knicks $27.5MM in flexibility to use when they approach James' agent. Walsh has now positioned himself to offer James a package he will be hard-pressed to turn down: big money, the bright lights of Broadway and a renovated Madison Square Garden. Nike will certainly advocate a move that brings their spokesman to Madison Avenue. Considering James is a diehard Yankees fan, a few recruiting calls from Derek Jeter may be in order.
The Knicks haven't made a major free agent signing since stealing Allan Houston away from Detroit in 1996 for $50MM. Prior to landing Houston, there was talk of Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller coming to The Garden. Years later, Kobe Bryant's name was on the lips of New Yorkers desperate for a premier talent. Donnie Walsh may have a legitimate shot at landing James, but so do the Pistons ($35MM in cap space at the end of this season) and several other playoff contenders. Landing James is far from a slam dunk, so Walsh must have a solid Plan B.

Four current Knicks are on the books for the 2010-11 season, the best of which is Wilson Chandler. Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries & Danilo Gallinari are the remaining three. Curry figures to be next on Walsh's trade agenda. The oft-injured, one-dimensional center is due $31M over the remainder of his contract. Walsh may have to include Nate Robinson or David Lee in a deal to move Curry. Gallinari figures to become an impact player at some point, but that's not a given. Some Knicks insiders are quietly questioning his physical and mental makeup. Walsh continues to speak in glowing terms about the rookie, but must wonder if he would have been better served selecting center Brook Lopez. In the backcourt, Chris Duhon's performance (10.4 ppg, 6.9 apg) has been a pleasant surprise, but rookie D.J. Augustin - who Walsh flirted with - has posted more points (11.5) and half the assists (3.8) in 13 fewer minutes per contest.

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With the Utah Jazz due Walsh's 2010 first round draft choice, the decision to tank this season may have a silver lining. The 2009 lottery has a number of talented collegiate players including PF Blake Griffin, C Hasheem Thabeet & PG Ty Lawson.



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