Knicks: New York Building The Right Way With Amar'e and Company

The first great move in years came for the New York Knicks in the 2007 NBA draft.

With the 23rd pick, the Knicks selected the relatively unknown Wilson Chandler from Depaul. This marked the end of the overspending, non-sensible era of the Knicks and began the process of rebuilding this once storied franchise.

Before the 2008-2009 season, the Knicks hired coach Mike D'Antoni from the Phoenix Suns, ending the Isaiah Thomas era and putting in its place a system that had proven effective in several years of success for D'Antoni in Phoenix.

In the 2008 draft, after Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love had already been selected, the Knicks picked up Danilo Gallinari with the sixth overall pick. With the exception of maybe Eric Gordon and Brook Lopez, Gallinari has proven to be the best player left at that point that they could have chosen.

From 2008 to 2010, the Knicks played it smart signing large expiring contracts (i.e. Tracy McGrady) and held off on any major signings to keep enough room for the massive summer of free agency that was 2010. Their target was Lebron and they had enough room to bring in James and another player.

The Knicks then made another smart decision by signing Amar'e before the others made their decisions. This was a smart move because they could legitimately say to Wade and/or Lebron, "Look, you'll be teaming up with another first-team NBA type of talent, we're committed to winning. And you'll be a king of New York." 

What needs to be realized is the Knicks would not be where they are today if they had chosen Chris Bosh or Carlos Boozer over Amar'e. Bosh would not have been that much of an upgrade over David Lee, and Boozer would not have instilled the same type of spark that Stoudemire has provided. Even though injury risks will always loom over Amar'e, the same can be said about Blake Griffin and I don't see the Clippers owner shying away from his commitment to his young superstar. When a player has as much talent as an Amar'e or Griffin, the risk is more than worth it.

With James and Wade choosing Miami, New York obviously could not create a championship team overnight anymore, but they still maintained their focus on smart deals and brought in solid point guard Raymond Felton. Also, their NBA draft pick of Landry Fields that seemed obscure at the time was about to make Knicks management appear brilliant.

In three years it will seem crazy that 38 players were chosen before Fields. Besides the Wizards picking John Wall and the Kings picking DeMarcus Cousins, no other team landed a player as ready to play now as Landry Fields. The Knicks made the most of their second round pick and will see Fields continue to get better and better.

Other subtle moves made in the off-season were signing Russian center Timofey Moszgov and Shawne Williams who is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc and has demonstrated great defense, especially on Lebron James. They also have Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry's large expiring contract that they can use as trade bait in the upcoming weeks. 

Last season the Knicks went 29-53 and this year they already have 25 wins weeks before the All-Star break. Even though they are four wins away from reaching last year's total, a case can be made the Knicks have underachieved at times during this season. When the Knicks went on their winning streak earlier in the year expectations raised higher and higher for this team and people forgot how far away they were from being any good just a year before.

The Knicks do not need a title this year, they began rebuilding four years ago and are starting to see the fruits of their labor.

If you look at the Knicks salary situation for next year, they have 42 million on the books of guaranteed contracts. With all of the restructuring that is almost assuredly to take place this off-season resulting in a possible 45-60 million dollar hard cap, the Knicks are in good position. They have enough room to go after Carmelo, but if that falls through they will have enough to re-sign Shawne Williams and Wilson Chandler along with going after a back-up point guard or a big man like Marc Gasol.

The Knicks are building the right way and will continue to rise in the East if they keep this steady approach to building their roster. They have their MVP candidate, they have their near All-Star point guard, and they have the young players like Gallinari and Fields whose ceilings are continuing to rise. Throw in role players like Chandler, Williams, and Toney Douglas and it's easy to see why games at Madison Square Garden are selling out once again.