Dwight Howard, Chris Paul to NY: Big Three or Bust for Melo, Stat and NY Knicks

The Knicks' season may be over, but that hasn't stopped the team from continuing to dominate headlines as of late.

Most recently, the Knicks have been making news with the recent departure of Donnie Walsh, the man who restored New York back to relevancy in the basketball world.

However, while Walsh's sudden departure has been the main topic of conversation, the rumors surrounding the current direction of this Knicks team are still in full-swing.

Before this past season, the general consensus was that the Knicks were going to try and put together their own version of a "big three."  New York's first piece to the puzzle was Amar'e Stoudemire, and their second piece would eventually become Carmelo Anthony.

Just after the Anthony trade, most believed it was only a matter of time before Chris Paul joined the Knicks and the big three formation was complete.  

But then things started to change.

Rumors involving the Knicks going after Dwight Howard started to surface, as well as rumors that the Knicks would be amenable to trading Stoudemire in any deal for Howard.

And then things started to change some more.

When it was announced that Walsh would be returning as president and GM for the Knicks, it seemed as if the Knicks would be deviating from the original plan of forming a "big three."  Reports started to surface about the Knicks going after Wilson Chandler, Samuel Dalembert and even using Billups' contract as a way of bringing Raymond Felton back to New York.

The aforementioned rumors received a lot of positive feedback.  A lot of people believed that the Knicks needed not another superstar, but a solid core of role players to compliment their two current stars.

This was not illogical, but slightly puzzling.  The plan all along had been to form a "big three" to compete with the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.  And after the Knicks gave the Nuggets the world, why would they deviate from the plan?

The answer to that is Walsh.  He was on board with the "big three" concept when it involved one-upping the Heat.  Walsh put the Knicks in place to sign Anthony and another star via free agency, while maintaining their core of young players, thus giving New York the kind of depth Miami's star-power lacked.  

After Walsh saw all of his young talent disappear in the Anthony trade though, his vision changed.  He did not want New York to be a team to lack depth.  Sure, the Heat are good, but they are susceptible to experiencing rough times should one of their stars go down.

And Walsh did not want the Knicks in that same situation.

However, Knicks owner James Dolan did not agree with Walsh's perspective, hence Walsh's resignation.

And now with Walsh gone, a certain amount of urgency and panic has washed over Knicks fans and the entire organization.  Oddly enough though, while their still remains a demand among fans and personnel to go after another superstar, many are still calling for the Knicks to get some role players to compliment Anthony and Stoudemire.

But this is simply cannot happen.  Not right now anyway.

Why?

Solid role players really would help the Knicks reach the next level, but at this point, they are too highly invested in forming their own "big three" to turn back now.

If New York wanted role players to compliment their stars, it would have not made so many of its young prospects so readily available to Denver to obtain Anthony.  If the Knicks preferred depth over star power, the Walsh situation would not have reached the breaking point it did.

At this point, focusing on any other significant potential roster moves, besides the addition of another star, is a dead end.  We can discuss the possibility of going after Dalembert or Tyson Chandler until we are blue in the face, but the Knicks are not making any center acquisitions without knowing the outcome of the Howard situation.

We can expect to see roughly the same Knicks team on the floor as last season, with only a few minor additions.  New York is not going to do anything that might take them out of contention to obtain Howard or Paul.

Yes, bringing back Chandler would be great, but it's not going to happen, unless of course New Orleans or Orlando makes it known to the Knicks they would be interested in Chandler as part of a deal for one of their stars.  

Even if that is the case, Chandler already would have to accept less money to return to New York, and would he really do this if he knows there's a chance he could be shipped out yet again?

No.

Every move New York makes from hereon out will be to keep them in play for Paul or Howard.  The Knicks' main goal is not to contend for a title next season, but rather contend for a third superstar.

Does this come as disappointing to Knicks fans?

Of course, but we must remember we asked for this.  Fan and media were all aflutter after Paul made the infamous toast at Anthony's wedding, and ever since then, the "big three" concept has all but consumed New York.

The Knicks and their fans may be desperate to contend for an NBA title now, but even with both Stoudemire and Anthony, they are not quite there yet.

There is no set path to becoming a title contender; to each team their own.  But the Knicks have already chosen a path, and this is no time to deviate from said path.

New York's aspiration at forming a "big three" has already cost them Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond and now Donnie Walsh.  

All were collateral damage to achieve an end-goal, an end-goal that will be even more challenging to bring to fruition now that the brains behind the operation has stepped down from his role.

So while it may be worth it to sit through another season of mediocrity to have the opportunity to add Howard or Paul, we must remember that nothing is set in stone.  There is still a very real possibility that the Knicks miss out on both Paul and Howard.

The Knicks are restricted in their pursuit of a "big three" in terms of both assets and cap space, given the expected nature of the new CBA.  

And given this risk, many will call for the Knicks to change directions and go after some solid role players, but New York has already sacrificed so much in their pursuit to put together a superstar powerhouse.

At this point, given all the Knicks have sacrificed, anything less than forming a "big three" is a failure.

The recent Walsh saga has proved, above all else, that the Knicks are placing all their eggs in the "big three" basket.

We can question what moves the Knicks should make next, but in reality there is no question.  The obstacles standing between New York and a third superstar are many, but at this point it is a necessary risk.

The Knicks have come too far in this process and now, obtaining Howard or Paul has become the standard.

And it's too late to turn back.