Why Knicks Are Never Getting Dwight Howard, Chris Paul or Deron Williams.

Knick fans need to wake up and smell the coffee.

The Knicks have very limited flexibility and need to forget about the Three Superstar scenario and start building a team.

They have a solid foundation in Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, but the fact is that beyond them, they have very limited talent and equally limited salary cap room.

Let's do the math.

The Superstars: Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: (L-R) Amar'e Stoudemire #1 and Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks stand on court against the Boston Celtics in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2011 at Madison Squ

These two superstars have a combined $36.7 million salary in 2011/12 and this number escalates to $47 million in 2014/15.  Currently Carmelo and Amare are the 13th and 15th highest paid players in the NBA, respectively.

The salary cap this past year was $58 million.  Therefore, with their two top players the Knicks have 63 percent of their salary cap committed.  This percentage will grow as the two superstars’ combined salary grows faster than the salary cap. 

The salary cap would have to grow to $68 million over next three years for Knicks to have more than their current aggregate $20 million for players other than Anthony and Stoudemire. 

While this only a implies an 8 percent annual increase, this growth is certainly in doubt given economic climate and more restrictive collective bargaining agreement as of this offseason.

The Other Commitments

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: (L-R) Amar'e Stoudemire #1, Carmelo Anthony #7, Ronny Turiaf #14 and Landry Fields #6 of the New York Knicks look on against the Boston Celtics in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on

The superstar salaries leave approximately $20 million to fill the other 10 to 13 spots on the roster and fill their team needs.

Other Commitments:

Chauncey Billups  $14.2 million

Ronny Turiaf $4.4 million

Renaldo Balkman $1.7 million

Toney Douglas $1.2 million

Bill Walker $0.9 million

Andy Rautins $0.8 million

Landry Fields $0.8 million

TOTAL                         $24.0 million

So the Knicks have another $24 million committed to seven players of which only one is a definitive starter (Billups—a 35-year-old pg) and the next best player is an unproven second year player with many question marks (Fields).

Of these seven players, only three are expected rotation players.

• Editorial Assistant intern for Mobile Bay Monthly magazine

So What Do They Have in Current Roster?

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BOSTON, MA - APRIL 17: Chauncey Billups #4 of the New York Knicks drives to the net as Rajon Rondo #9 of the Boston Celtics defends in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 17, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston,

So in sum the Knicks are over the cap and have exactly the following to show for it:

1. Two superstars who play questionable defense and need strong supporting players.

2. One 35-year-old aging point guard who can't keep up with the younger point guards in the league

3. A complete unknown in Landry Fields who could still end up a bust or could just as easily become the starting shooting guard for the next 10 years.

4. Three role players off the bench in Turiaf, Douglas and Walker.

After all this, they still need a serious center, a future PG and outside shooting and depth.

Reality

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 28: Guard Chris Paul #3 of the New Orleans Hornets takes a shot against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 28, 2011 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Lou

So let's face reality: 

They don’t have the cap room to get Wilson Chandler back this offseason (something that has been widely reported in blogs and newspapers).

They do not have cap space, even without the Billups contract, to sign any of the 2012 superstar free agents: Howard, Williams and Paul.

They don’t have the trade assets (look at current roster) to trade for any of the 2012 superstar free agents.

All they have is the draft and the Mid Level Exception for next few years to build a team around Carmelo and Amare.

What Can They Do?

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: Shawne Williams #3 of the New York Knicks attempts a shot agaist the Boston Celtics in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Th

Re-signing Shawn Williams will probably cost around $2 million, but he is a shooter with size and perhaps their most important bench player. 

Sign Samuel Dalembert or DeAndre Jordan to the mid-level exception (in Jordan’s case they hope Clippers don’t match) to get a defensive oriented rugged center to start alongside Amare and Carmelo on front line.

Draft at 17 another big man with potential (Markeif Morris or Kenneth Faried) or a future point guard (Reggie Jackson).

Buy as many draft picks as they can in late first and second round to get further help (Tyler Honeycutt, Josh Selby, Charles Jenkins and Jordan Williams would be good choices).

Change coaches next season if the team doesn't improve both in wins and defensively.

Conclusion

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NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: New York Knicks fans Allen Covert (L) and Adam Sandler watch the game with the Denver Nuggets on December 12 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The Knicks won 107-96. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledge

NY fans have most enthusiasm in NBA, but this needs to be grounded in reality. 

The only way this NY team wins a championship is if they build the team through draft and acquire strong role players and even then they have to get lucky.

The Knicks probably only have about four years left of Carmelo and Amare both being in the elite category.

This just may not be enough time to get them the complementary pieces the team needs to go all the way.