Knicks Acquire Harrington for Crawford; and the winner is. . .

The New York Knicks have officially traded Jamal Crawford in a straight-up deal for Golden State’s Al Harrington.

According to the New York Post, the move is in effort to clear salary space for 2010 (the chic GM move of the season).

"Donnie (Walsh's) plan is pretty clear that in a couple of years we'll be under the cap," Mike D'Antoni said. "Everything we do will lead us to the possibility of being under the cap in two years. Then I'll deal with making sure the team is competitive. We're not going to compromise our future because we might take a half-step."

IMPLICATIONS

New York: The deal creates cap space, obviously, but how will Al Harrington fit into D’Antoni’s system. Harrington is the prototypical D’Antoni big man with his ability to run, dribble, and shoot 3’s. So what becomes of Wilson Chandler?

D’Antoni has raved all year long about the development of his second year player, even comparing Chandler to Shawn Marion. Since Chandler insertion as the starting power forward, he has averaged 15 points on 52 percent shooting to along with five rebounds, one steal, and a three.

The likely scenario is for the star in bloom to shift down to the three for a starting lineup of Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson, Chandler, Harrington, and Zack Randolph.

Perhaps, Harrington comes off the bench for the Knicks. In that case, who starts at the two-guard: Nate Robinson or, could it be, Stephon Marbury. Has the whole Starbury saga been a ploy to showcase Crawford in hopes of moving him so that the Knicks can make room for Marbury and acquire a needed piece to their roster, all while saving cap space. Donnie Walsh is a genius, reign in the new Marbury-D’Antoni era..I don’t think so.

Golden State: This is a great move for the Warriors. They get rid of Harrington–a malcontent and a player out of rotation for Jamal Crawford–for someone who will flourish as the point guard they desperately need while Monta Ellis is out. When Ellis returns, this trade gives Don Nelson the flexibility to insert him back to his natural position, two guard, while Crawford continues to manage the point.

True, Crawford is far from a true point guard, but as Stephen Jackson has proven, you don’t need to be a true point in order to run Nellie ball. One simply must be an adequate passer (check) while still being a scoring/shooting threat (double check). Furthermore, at 6-foot-5, Crawford has the ability to defend opposing shooting guards, allowing Ellis the luxury to defend smaller point guards.

Winner: Push

Golden State vastly improves their roster while the Knicks make an initial step towards clearing cap space while adding a player who should fit nicely into D’Antoni’s new system.

MORE TRADES

There are also rumors about the New York Knicks dumping Zach Randolph’s salary on the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas’ expiring contracts.

If Donnie Walsh is successful in trading Randolph, the Knicks could potentially be around $57 million dollars under the cap in 2010–assuming they decline to resign David Lee and Nate Robinson.

LeBron James dawning "New York" across his chest in 2010–the Knicks (and seemingly ever other franchise) keep the dream alive.