Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tony Parker: New Gang of New York?

The New York Knicks might have a chance to complement their new star Amare Stoudemire with two more stars this offseason.  The rumors circulating a possible Big Three in the Big Apple have been around since Chris Paul bluntly said so himself during Carmelo Anthony’s wedding.

The truth is, Chris Paul will not be a free agent until 2012 and New Orleans management is doing everything they can to keep him.  Everything they can included shipping back-up point guard and emerging star Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers in exchange of Trevor Ariza from the Houston Rockets in a 4 team trade.  If anything else, this points to Paul being a Hornet for at least a little longer.

Recently, Eva Longoria stated that her husband, Tony Paker, wanted to play for the New York Knicks.  Whether this is truth from Parker or just a wish that is more Eva’s than Tony’s, it has opened plenty of channels for rumors to run around.

In similar fashion, Carmelo Anthony has been linked to rumors regarding wife Lala Vazquez preferring a move to the Big Apple as well as the Denver Nuggets star wanting to return to his home crowd and into a bigger market.

The question is: Can New York make this happen?  If so, how can they?  Here is a look at two trades that would benefit all teams involved and net the Knicks both Carmelo Anthony and Tony Parker.

Denver Nuggets Deal

Knicks receive: Carmelo Anthony, Renaldo Balkman

Nuggets receive: Eddie Curry, Ronny Turiaf, and Danilo Gallinari

In this scenario, salaries match almost perfectly with Denver giving a little less than $19 million to New York and receiving slightly less than $18.6 million from New York in return.  Eddy Curry is nothing more than a $11.28 million expiring contract for Denver to do some rebuilding in the future.  Ronny Turiaf could be the back-up center Denver has been looking for, and comes at only $4 million.  Danilo Gallinary is owed 3.3 million and has a team option for the last year.  He can fill right into the small forward spot left vacant by Carmelo Anthony.  Carmelo Anthony’s salary of $17.15 million and Renaldo Balkman’s salary is $1.675 million make the deal work.

In this scenario, Denver is able to get a quality big man in Turiaf, a big expiring contract to shed or trade at the end of the year, as well as an up and coming player fresh of his best season in the NBA.  If New York adds a draft pick to sweeten the deal, this would be a nice trade for both teams.

The Knicks are able to get hometown hero Carmelo Anthony as well as fan favorite Renaldo Balkman back into a New York uniform.

San Antonio Spurs Deal

Spurs receive: Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and Kelenna Azubuike

Knicks receive: Tony Parker

In this scenario, salaries match within trade requirements with the Spurs giving away $13.5 million in Tony’s contract and receiving a total of $12.5 million.  Kelenna Azubuike and Wilson Chandler are both expiring contracts of $3.4 million and $2.1 million, respectively. 

The addition of Felton provides a backcourt player capable of playing the point guard position next to George Hill.  It would allow Manu Ginobili to come off the bench once again, where he has made a living.  The addition of Chandler adds a much needed back-up small forward to Richard Jefferson.  Chandler provides shooting as well as defense in the perimeter.   Kelenna Azubuike can fill the three-point shooting specialist slot left by Roger Mason.

Again, in this scenario New York could add in a draft pick to sweeten the deal for the all-star Frenchman.

Concluding Remarks

Even with these additions, the Knicks would still have work to do to complete a roster worthy of competing against other assemblies put together across the league, but it would be one heck of a start.  Although it might take another year to complete, the roster would have a nice start to the season. 

If these trade scenarios were to happen, the line-up of the New York Knicks would look like this:

PG – Tony Parker / Tony Douglas

SG – Roger Mason / Andy Rautins

SF – Carmelo Anthony / Bill Walker

PF – Anthony Randolph / Renaldo Balkman

C – Amare Stoudemire / Timofey Mozgov