Walsh's successor will have to be creative

One longtime NBA executive considered the task that Donnie Walsh's successor with the Knicks immediately faces and said, "How do you improve a team without spending money?"

The first order of business will be to gain a thorough understanding of the new collective-bargaining agreement (once one is agreed upon) and then figure out how to use whatever tools are available to fill out a roster for the 2011-12 season.

Right now, the Knicks have seven players with guaranteed contracts, plus a first-round selection yet to be made. Three of those players -- Carmelo Anthony ($18.5 million), Amar'e Stoudemire ($18.2 million) and Chauncey Billups ($14.2 million) -- will make up most or all of the salary cap, depending on the various numbers being floated around.

Walsh deserves the praise he has received for the job he did as the cleaner. He got rid of several large contracts and by the important offseason of 2010, he had the Knicks well under the salary cap for the first time in 14 years. He then added three critical pieces to the rebuild, with perennial All-Stars in Anthony and Stoudemire. By picking up Billups' option, he kept one of the game's most respected veterans and gave the Knicks a valuable trade asset as an expiring contract.

Some might suggest that Walsh basically set the table for his successor, right? "That's overstating it," a former Western Conference general manager said. "To say the table is set."

The argument most front-office types presented to Newsday is that although Walsh did a lot of the grunt work in the demolition, the hard part still is ahead. The idea isn't to just be a playoff team but to challenge the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference title every season.

"These are hard miles," said one GM, who opted to use a golf analogy. "Going from being terrible to making the cut is a lot easier than making the cut to making the leaderboard."

Another said, "Going from 25 wins to 40 wins is infinitely easier than going from 42 to 50."

The other issue, of course, is the Isiah Thomas factor (how much influence does he have on longtime friend and Knicks owner James Dolan?) and the developing sense -- deserved or not -- that Dolan has become a hands-on owner akin to Mark Cuban in Dallas and Robert Sarver in Phoenix.

"It could be a major factor in a good executive saying, 'No, I don't want to deal with it,' " another NBA team executive said. "But some won't care because you have an owner that's willing to spend."

This isn't baseball, however, in which teams with money can spend as much of it as they want. There are limitations in the NBA; therefore, the next general manager will need to be creative. If the next CBA does not include a midlevel or biannual exception -- two tools that allowed capped-out teams to offer contracts to free agents -- the Knicks will be left trying to convince a free agent to sign for the veteran's minimum.

One potential move could be through amnesty, a clause that is expected to be included in a CBA deal. As in 2005, a team over the salary cap will be able to release one player from its roster and not have that contract count against the luxury tax. It could free up a talented veteran who would be open to taking a minimum salary because he'll still collect a paycheck from the team that released him.

Then there is 2012 and the mission to add a third star, such as Chris Paul. He is represented by Creative Artists Agency, which also represents Anthony and has quietly developed an alliance with Madison Square Garden. Some in the media might see that as a problem, but an incoming executive might see it as an advantage.

"You can moan and groan about CAA or whomever all you want, or moan and groan about [sports agent] Scott Boras. There's always moaning and groaning," the longtime NBA executive said. "You can ride the wave or you can fight the wave. Most guys get farther by riding the wave."

And that might be the exact attitude the next man needs.

The Dolan family owns

controlling interests in the

Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.