Knicks close to signing Felton, announce Lee sign-and-trade
LeBron James is gone, so a city turns its lonely eyes to you, Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets star is in New York Saturday for his wedding with TV personality LaLa Vazquez, and the Knicks already are thinking about courting the New York City-born couple.
It may be a while, however. Anthony has a three-year, $65- million contract extension on the table from the Nuggets and could opt to take the security. But those close to him say he is strongly considering testing free agency next summer. And the Knicks are trying to do everything they can to maintain the flexibility in their payroll to make a run at yet another star player - perhaps one who actually might want to play here.
With that in mind, the Knicks on Friday were close to finalizing a contract of two or three years with point guard Raymond Felton, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Once that deal is complete, the Knicks will be at or slightly under the $58.044-million salary cap.
On Friday the team officially announced the sign-and-trade deal that sent David Lee to the Warriors for Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf. With that trade and the signings of Felton and Amar'e Stoudemire, they will have 13 players on the roster, the minimum allowed by the NBA.
It certainly isn't a lineup that compares to what they're putting together in Miami, with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as centerpieces, but it's an upgrade over last season's 29- win team. Whether it's a playoff team remains to be seen.
Donnie Walsh seemed the most thrilled with the acquisition of Randolph, a 6-11 forward with terrific skills and athleticism. The Knicks were very high on him during the pre-draft process in 2008 but chose Danilo Gallinari with the sixth overall pick. Walsh, who called Randolph "a superior talent," has kept tabs on him during the last two seasons and jumped at the chance to land him in the Lee sign-and-trade.
The addition of Felton is most important because it fills a critical need at point guard. The 6-1, 200-pound Felton, who has averaged 13.3 points, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals in five seasons with the Bobcats, provides a lightning-quick playmaker who should work well with Stoudemire in the pick-and-roll. What the Knicks like most about him is his strength and ability to defend one of the toughest positions in the game. He also has history with assistant coach Dan D'Antoni, who coached him on an AAU team in South Carolina.
"Point guard is always important," Mike D'Antoni said Thursday. "Probably the most important position on the floor."
It's so important that the Knicks want to maintain enough flexibility to further upgrade it should an All-Star talent such as Chris Paul or Deron Williams - who have opt-outs in 2012 - become available. There also is a possibility that the Spurs will decide to move Tony Parker, whose contract is up next summer. Parker has told friends he would more than welcome a move to New York, which would be amenable to his wife, actress Eva Longoria. The Spurs have given no indications that they are interested in dealing Parker, but that could change.
Meanwhile, the Knicks know that if they are to have any chance of trading for Parker or Anthony, they need assets. Of the three players they acquired from Golden State, Turiaf, who has a $4.3-million player option, is the only player with guaranteed money next season. Randolph will be a restricted free agent and Azubuike a free agent. Eddy Curry also comes off the books after next season. The Knicks are committed to only three players for 2011-12 - Stoudemire, Felton and Turiaf - with every other contract either expiring or holding a team option.
Felton last summer turned down a five-year, $40-million extension from the Bobcats.
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