Five Questions Plaguing the New York Knicks

It's no secret the New York Knicks are a few pieces away from being a serious contender. Nevertheless, they remain one of the most interesting teams in the NBA because they have a) thrown away last season and this one to prepare for the summer of 2010 and b) finally put the catastrophic Isiah era behind them.

With the summer of 2009 still ahead, the direction of the team is clear, but the make-up is far from it. Will they make more cap-clearing moves? Will the team contend for a playoff spot the way they did until February of last year? Here are five things that the franchise needs to address to keep the team afloat before the LeBron Sweepstakes:

1) With David Lee likely gone, who's getting the rebounds?

Even though he is a restricted free agent on the team with a bloated payroll, Lee's league-leading 65 double-doubles will fetch him offers big enough to sink New York's LeBron-and-Bosh dreams.

Therefore, Lee's days in a Knicks uniform are likely over. This especially hurts New York because Lee, who was third in rebounds per game last year, was the only effective glass-eater on the roster last year.

After him, the team has Al Harrington at 6.3 rpg last year, Wilson Chandler at 5.4 rpg, and Quentin Richardson at 4.4 rpg. Harrington is hardly a tough-as-nails interior rebounder, Chandler is a Small Forward and Richardson's biggest contribution in his four years as a Knick was baiting Paul Pierce into an ejection in a game the Knicks almost won.

The easiest solution would be to draft Jordan Hill (if he's even there), but is it reasonable to expect a rookie to put the numbers Lee did with no help? Unfortunately, I think New York's rebounding margin of -4 from a year ago will plummet even more.

2) Will Chris Duhon become a consistent Point Guard?

Look, I love Duhon. He was ninth in assists per game last year. His franchise-record 22 assists last November were more than Mark Jackson (2nd all-time in career assists), Stephon Marbury (20th all-time), Walt Frazier (48th all-time) or Earl Monroe ever mustered in their combined 27 full seasons in New York.

They even led me to start calling him "Deuce Deuce". The concern I have with Deuce Deuce is that he was 21st in the NBA in assist-turnover ratio. Even in a system where his job is to push the offense, get extremely eager shooters the ball and play minimal defense, he ranked as a pretty sub-par Point Guard.

If Duhon can limit the turnovers and stay inside his role, he can become a truly effective point guard. If not, get ready for another year of 42 percent shooting and two-game stretches of 35 assists-4 turnovers followed by two-game stretches of 12 assists-13 turnovers. 

3) Will a potential bad start doom this team?

If Al Harrington picks up his player option, he will join Larry Hughes and Quentin Richardson as Knicks entering their contract year. My biggest fear is that the Knicks start something like 7-15 and these three decide to treat Knicks games as showcases for a big contract.

Honestly, I could easily see any of these three shoot 15 threes a game in an attempt to pad their scoring stats. Considering the Knicks have all but told the trio they won't be back next season to clear cap room, the loyalty card doesn't really work here. I'm praying the team gets off to a good start, or it might be a problem that there is only one ball.

4) Will Eddy Curry play more than FOUR MINUTES??

Curry is scheduled to earn $9.7 million this year. If Curry plays exactly four minutes all year, like last year, he will earn $2,430,995.70 for every minute played! For those readers who get paid by the hour, that's $145.9 million per hour!

Before I slam Eddy's contract any more, remember that he went through an absolutely heart-wrenching tragedy during the season. Also, there's still plenty of hope. The center, who turns 27 in December, averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 58 percent from the field in 2006-07.

Donnie Walsh visited Curry and gave him high marks earlier this summer. Curry is currently on a rigorous weight-loss program and with his career on the line, might resurface as a legitimate low-post presence.

5) Will the Knicks view anybody as more than a salary figure?

Apparently, the Knicks have considered a trade with Houston to acquire Tracy McGrady. Five years ago, this would have been better than any Christmas or Birthday present I've ever received. Now, it is simply a way to free more cap space.

Whether T-Mac dethrones Kobe or LeBron as the league's best player or sits on the sidelines for the entire season would almost be irrelevant. There's a reason the team traded away Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford last year even though the Knicks seemed bound for a six-through-eight seed.

That same reason is why fan-favorite and extremely productive David Lee is on his way out. The team wants LeBron, another second-tier star, and perhaps another quality free agent when the summer of 2010 rolls around, and there's nothing that will stop them.

Follow-up Question: How sick is this lineup?? PG Steve Nash, SG Stephen Curry, SF LeBron James, PF Chris Bosh, C a revitilized Eddy Curry.

In November 2008, ESPN's Marc Stein wrote an article explaining that it is mathematically possible for the Knicks to acquire LeBron, Bosh, and Nash.

This seems outlandish, but consider four things: 1) At this point, the only Knicks under contract in the summer of 2010 are Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Galinari. With the very possible drafting of Stephen Curry, that's five contracts that don't add up to anything huge for basketball's biggest market.

2) The NBA put a cap on how much a player can sign for, so even if Jay-Z wanted to pay LeBron a billion dollars a year, he couldn't. If LeBron really does want to expand his marketability, he should play at Madison Square Garden and make 10 documentaries a year with Spike Lee.

3) Chris Bosh is fed up with having mediocre teammates on a mediocre team. Solution: join forces with the best player in the league! Would Bosh rather play alongside Shawn Marion or LeBron James? Case closed.

4) Nash is 35 years old. Not only does Nash adore Mike D'Antoni (and vise-versa), he won't be able to fetch top dollar. Nash is the absolute perfect fit for D'Antoni's system. Why did I trot this tired old rumor out once again?

Because I'm a Knicks fan and this is literally the only thing I have to hope for. So for the Knicks fans out there, just remember that Marc Stein actually proposed this as a possibility. Can't wait for July 2010...