NBA Trade Rumors: Landing Jamal Crawford Will Legitimize Knicks as Contenders

The New York Knicks continue to make moves contrary to what many believed they would be making.

When Chris Paul said he wanted to be traded to the Knicks, everyone believed New York would do all it could to make it happen. But they gave up nearly every tradeable asset to land Carmelo Anthony last year and don't have the ammo to pull off another deal of that magnitude. Instead, if the Knicks want CP3, they'll have to try and land him in free agency in the summer time.

If they want to be competitive right now, with guards more experienced than Toney Douglas, Landry Fields or rookie Iman Shumpert, they need to go out and get one. The Knickerbockers signed Mike Bibby to a one-year, veteran's minimum, but that won't get the job done all alone.

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks are closing in on former Knick Jamal Crawford as the guard for them.

A potential deal would likely include Toney Douglas, Renaldo Balkman and Billy Walker.

The Knicks' potential starting five could look like Jamal Crawford, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler.

New York has been down this road before with Crawford and know he's a proven scorer. The Knicks might now need any more scoring, but it appears that Mike D'Antoni feels more comfortable with a veteran presence in at the point over that of Douglas or Shumpert.

The release of Chauncey Billups was necessary to land Tyson Chandler, and the Knicks now have one of the best front courts in all of basketball. If they add Crawford to the mix, they'll have a solid veteran core of players to make a legitimate push in the Eastern Conference.

With Chandler, they might actually be to defend for parts of a game. With Crawford, they have the potential to outscore nearly every team in the league. Together, with the pieces the Knicks already have, they are legitimate contenders in the East.