Chris Paul to Knicks Is Only Thing New York Knicks Should Be Thinking About

The New York Knicks have been fortunate enough to check off two of their three biggest wish list names in the last year.

Now they want to add a third, and there is a good bit of noise on the receiving end of their interest.

Chris Paul, the superstar point guard headed for free agency this summer, wants out of New Orleans.

ESPN's Chris Broussard believes the Knicks have a "great chance" of landing CP3:

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"We all know that their wish list is Chris Paul and I think they’re going to get Chris Paul," Broussard told Cowherd (Colin, on ESPN 1050). "I think there’s a great chance he ends up in New York and now you’ve got a Big 3 in the Big Apple. And if they don’t get Chris Paul for some reason, Dwight Howard is a possibility,Deron Williams is a possibility. The Knicks should end up getting one of those three players; I think it will be Chris Paul." 

Broussard points out that the Knicks are expected to have significant room under the salary cap next season. (As currently constituted, the Knicks have Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Renaldo Balkman and (presumably) rookie Iman Shumpert under contract for 2012-2013.) 

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But ESPN's John Hollinger (Insider subscription needed) points out that it won't be that easy. He claims that a maximum contract from the Knicks will cost CP3 approximately $40 million in comparison to the Hornets' possible max offer.

Ian Begley of ESPN New York sums it all up writing:

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Of course, Paul can avoid the $40 million shortfall by forgoing free agency and trying to force a trade to the Knicks (see Anthony, Carmelo). Under the proposed CBA, teams can complete sign and trade deals and extend and trade deals. So the Knicks could swing a trade for Paul and sign him to a maximum extension. 

But the problem then becomes this: what do the Knicks have to offer in a trade? The answer? Outside of Anthony, Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups' expiring contract, not much. They can combine Billups with a package including Toney Douglas or Landry Fields, among others. 

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Is that enough? Unlikely. But the Hornets will the Hornets run the risk of getting absolutely nothing for CP3 in the summer? Unlikely also. Unless he makes it abundantly clear that he'll come back before the deadline, the Hornets are at a great risk of getting nothing in return for the best pure point guard in the league.

New York has a major need for defensive help. The Knicks hope that first-round pick Iman Shumpert can be an effective perimeter defender (don't hold your breath for him to do anything else) and they'll need to snap up a veteran big man on the cheap.

The rest of their front office time needs to spent working on a deal for Chris Paul pre-trade deadline. That is when they'll hold the most leverage and not have to fight off that $40 million decrease.

If you were tired of the Carmelo Anthony drama last year then you're going to hate this year.

CP3 certainly won't be as vocal about things as Anthony was, but he's already making his intentions known.

New York needs to do everything in their power to make a deal work.