Jose Calderon Trade Rumors: Latest Updates and Speculation on Knicks Guard
In an attempt to clear cap space heading into the 2015 offseason, the Knicks reportedly have begun shopping veteran point guard Jose Calderon as the trade deadline approaches in February.
Continue for updates.
Contract Making it Difficult to Move Calderon
Monday, Jan. 12
ESPN's Marc Stein and Ian Begley examined Calderon's contract and explained why it is difficult to trade him:
"The New York Knicks are actively trying to trade veterans Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnanias part of their ongoing roster clearout, according to league sources.
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Calderon, meanwhile, has no shortage of admirers around the league despite his struggles this season, averaging a mere 9.3 points per game on 40.8-percent shooting. But the two years left on his contract after this season -- worth $15.1 million -- could make it difficult to move the 33-year-old Spaniard, who arrived in New York in late June as the Knicks' foremost return in the Tyson Chandler deal with Dallas.
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While still an effective player and one of the best spot-up shooting point guards in the league, Calderon comes with quite a few snags. The one most concerning to the Knicks (and other teams) is the two years and $15.1 million remaining on his contract after this season. The deal lasts through Calderon's age-35 season, not exactly ideal for a player who was a defensive minus even in his prime.
Keeping Calderon on the books is understandably untenable for the Knicks, who appear ready for a full-scale rebuilding effort.
Knicks Begin Shopping Calderon
Tuesday, Jan. 6
Fresh off jettisoning J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Phil Jackson's teardown project in the Big Apple appears to have zeroed in on another backcourt piece. In a report rounding up trade buzz around the NBA, CBS Sports' Ken Berger revealed the Knicks have begun shopping veteran point guard Jose Calderon.
Calderon, 33, was brought in this summer by Jackson as part of the trade that sent center Tyson Chandler to Dallas. The veteran, like most of his teammates, has struggled amid a combination of fit and injury issues.
“Nobody can be happy or feel comfortable in this situation,” Calderon told reporters last month of the Knicks' struggles. "It is very frustrating.”
A steadying veteran presence who spent most of his career in Toronto, Calderon has bounced around the last few seasons. The Raptors traded him to Detroit midway through the 2012-13 NBA season, he signed with Dallas the following summer and then was sent to New York before the 2014-15 campaign.
Monday's three-team trade, which also saw Oklahoma City acquire Dion Waiters, was little more than a salary dump for New York. Shumpert was the cost of doing business for the more than $6 million remaining on the enigmatic Smith's salary for next season.
The Knicks acquired forwards Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas along with center Alex Kirk in the trade, but none is expected to have much of a future with the team. Their only net asset may prove to be a second-round draft pick from Cleveland. Leaving the $15 million left on Calderon's deal behind would open the books more this summer and continue with that plan.
Moreover, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck noted one of Calderon's biggest draws to the Knicks is falling by the wayside:
As it stands, Jackson seems to have the Knicks going full steam ahead into tank mode. Carmelo Anthony appears to be the only untouchable on the roster, and that stance may change if Jackson strikes out this summer in free agency. New York should have max-level money if the cap falls the way most around the league expect. The summer of 2016 will carry even more importance, when the league's new television contract kicks in and the likes of Kevin Durant hit the open market.
Calderon is on the books for both of those summers. He is, thus, an expendable asset anchoring down Jackson's long-term plans. If the Knicks can shed his cap number without taking back long-term salary or attaching more than, say, a second-round pick, they will and should pull the trigger.
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