Top 5 Action Items If New York Knicks Trade Carmelo Anthony

While Phil Jackson twirls his invisible moustache and tries to pull off a dastardly scheme to trade Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks fans can only wait and hope Jackson brings home something fantastic in the swap.

Sometimes "addition by subtraction" succeeds, but without Melo, the Knicks would have to contend with this mathematical equation: a mid-ranked offense minus the 23 points per game of its top scorer. 

Like him or not, Anthony scores the most for New York in isolation, in the post, off screens and spotting up. He's a top-20 scorer in the league in all those categories, plus he's one of the finest catch-and-shoot scorers in the NBA, with an effective field-goal percentage of 59.6 percent.

He can sink twisting fadeaways over a double-team just as easily as he can drive to the hoop for a layup, get fouled three times by Paul Millsap on the way and not get the whistle.

Scorers like that don't grow on trees, folks.

So how could the Knicks squeeze another 23 points out of what would presumably be left of this squad?

Run More Pick-and-Pop for Kristaps Porzingis

Obviously, the big gun would need to be lanky wunderkind Kristaps Porzingis. Despite his wobbly January—when his Achilles has been sore and his shot too flat—Porzingis is still a remarkable talent who can sink a bucket from roughly anywhere between the rim and the Bronx.

Yet, if KP has any weakness, it's that he relies mostly on feeds from teammates instead of creating for himself: 74.9 percent of his made field goals are assisted. Plus, his post-up game is still a work in progress. 

So for the Knicks to get more out of Porzingis, they need to run a scheme that enables KP to help his teammates help him. The pick-and-pop is perfect for this.

At 7'3" and steadily getting stronger, Porzingis can already set solid picks, but he has the potential to be one of the best, particularly when he can easily get tips from his teammate Joakim Noah—one of the best screen-setters in the league. 

The Knicks have a stable of hard-driving guards with unpredictable layups who could not only run the pick-and-pop well, but benefit from it themselves by dishing to an open Porzingis instead of tossing up another ill-conceived attempt to draw a foul. 

Use More Courtney Lee Curl Cuts

Courtney Lee is nearly always in motion, even when the offense is stagnant. Though rarely a featured scorer, he steps up when the sharpshooters can't find their strokes.

After a rough stretch being subbed out of the starting lineup in favor of Ron Baker, Lee looks himself again.

In the past seven games, he's had five straight double-digit scoring performances. (Knicks fans should celebrate those, even though he didn't sink the three-ball that would have taken them to 5OT versus the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 29).

Where the Knicks can better use Lee though is not in clutch shots from downtown, but by capitalizing on his aggressive cutting. He's one of the team's most effective off-screen scorers (44.9 effective field-goal percentage) and is particularly tricky coming off the curl, getting open to nail quick mid-range jumpers or showcase powerful drives to the iron.

Get Joakim Noah to Look for the Hoop

Joakim Noah's offense started becoming a moderate threat in mid-December. He was spinning to the hoop for layups, cutting to the rim for reverse jams and even making drives in transition. 

Yet, since his 12-point, 16-board double-double during a win over the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 12, Noah has barely looked for his shot at all—only attempting 21 field goals total in the past nine games.

Even when wide open under the bucket, he'll dish instead of dunk.

This could be a temporary, purposeful act of preservation to protect Noah's shoulder, which had been showing signs of strain. If the Knicks must survive without Melo, however, they'll need Noah to be a threat.

New York wouldn't need 10 points per game from its starting center, but it at least would need him to consistently draw one defender, which for the past few weeks he's been unable to do.

Use More of Willy Hernangomez's Post-Up Game

A wimpier Noah, an absent Anthony and a Porzingis with a mediocre 35.3 field-goal percentage in the post adds up to a less-than-menacing Knicks team in the post and paint.

So to add fire to that region, New York would need to give more playing time to Willy Hernangomez. The rookie has a repertoire of sweet post moves that earn him a 53.4 field-goal percentage. He's also battling for 5.6 rebounds per game as his minutes increase, and he's coming off back-to-back double-doubles.

Hernangomez does have a few bad habits.

Maybe he just has a knack for finding the sweatiest spots on the floor, but his feet move when they shouldn't, making him prone to traveling violations and moving screens. Defensively, he also gets burned on the baseline by smaller players from time to time. Yet, his offensive prowess is an asset the Knicks need now and would need even more without Anthony battling down low. 

Re-Sign Derrick Rose or Brandon Jennings

I know, I know, "re-sign one of the point guards" sounds like a weak suggestion. The fact is, though, that Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose are free agents this offseason, and the Knicks may not be able to re-sign both.

The question of which guard is more necessary largely depends upon what New York would get in return for Melo.

If the Knicks receive a major scorer in the deal, then the team needs a point guard who excels at distribution and spoon-feeding Porzingis. The best caretaker for that job may be Jennings, who has served KP more assists than anyone else this season (45 off the bench, just a few more than Rose's 42).

Jennings is the assist leader on the team and one of the best creators off the bench in the league. He also pushes the pace on offense.

If the Knicks, however, do not get someone in the deal who can reliably produce 15 points every night, then they'll need to pick one up in free agency. In that case, re-signing Rose, who averages 17.9 points per game, might be the better call.  

One last little action item for the Knicks organization and the fans if Anthony is traded: Regardless of whether or not the team immediately goes on a 20-game winning streak as soon as he leaves and there are "Bye-Bye Melo" ticker-tape parades down Seventh Avenue, give the man his due for one thing...

Throughout all the scuttlebutt, trash talk and boos, he hasn't stopped playing, and he hasn't responded in kind with a litany of abuse for Phil Jackson, the fans or the media. Credit for class.

All stats are from NBA.com/Stats and accurate as of Feb. 2.