Carmelo Anthony Worried New York Knicks Won’t Add Scoring Help in Free Agency
By Josh Hill
The New York Knicks were in and out of the playoffs in a blaze, but that’s not the way to win titles. Thy made it out of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since making it to the NBA Finals during the 1999-00. But in New York, anything less than a title is a wasted season and it’s not only Knicks fans who are nervous the team will have shallow pockets this offseason.
According to The New York Post, Anthony is “concerned” the Knicks won’t find the scoring help he needs in free agency.
"According to a source, Anthony has told a confidant he is concerned management will stand pat this offseason and said he believes the team needs to add a bona fide secondary scorer for the Knicks to take the next step and win a championship. The source said Anthony loves combo guard Iman Shumpert, 22, and projects him as a superstar, but not for two seasons. The source also said Anthony privately wishes the club will add a significant piece to the roster and not be status quo."
Assuming the New York Post isn’t making up another story or blowing this out of proportion, Anthony is spot on in his assessment that the Knicks need another scorer to compliment his production on the floor. Anthony finally had the season we thought he’d have as he won the NBA Scoring title. But not even Anthony turning in his finest season to date with the Knicks was enough to get them farther than the second round of the postseason and that’s a problem that needs correcting.
However, the Knicks don’t have piles of cash to dive into and lure a star scorer to fly alongside Melo. Nearly $75 million is tied up in contracts for next season and the kind of scorer the Knicks need won’t be cheap. This is the same situation that caused the Knicks to lose Jeremy Lin last year as the Houston Rockets structured a contract that exploited this very problem.
New York can’t amnesty Amare Stoudemire either as they already used their one contractual mulligan on Chauncey Billups. So if the Knicks make a move, it’s going to be small and won’t be close to the one Melo is calling for right now. That being said, the Chicago Bulls swung low and struck gold with Nate Robinson this season, but the Knicks will need to find a diamond in the rough if they add a potentially prolific scorer in 2014.