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New York Knicks rumors: Knicks eyeing 2015 free agency

By Andrew Melnick

Jan 7, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Detroit Pistons power forward Greg Monroe (10) battle for position under the basket during the second half at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks defeat the Detroit Pistons 89-85. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
Jan 7, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Detroit Pistons power forward Greg Monroe (10) battle for position under the basket during the second half at Madison Square Garden. New York Knicks defeat the Detroit Pistons 89-85. Mandatory Credit: Jim O /
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Although the New York Knicks wanted to make a big move this offseason, they reached their goal of re-signing star forward Carmelo Anthony. Now that he is locked up, they can focus on the future – both of the Knicks’ highly-paid bigs, Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani, will come off the books in 2015, meaning they will have cap space next offseason.

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As Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders points out, the Knicks will be a big player in free agency next year.

"If they’re smart, Knicks fans will sort of glaze past this upcoming season and set their sights on the summer of 2015, mostly because that’s when the team will clear away their cache of bad contracts and hit the free agency market to find pieces to go around Carmelo Anthony. Phil Jackson has done some interesting things at the onset of his new career as president of basketball operations for the Knickerbockers, but even he knows that this upcoming season has the potential to be just as big of a train wreck as last year’s campaign. Granted, new head coach Derek Fisher will inject some life (and the triangle offense) into the team, and there were some nice moves over the summer, like trading Tyson Chandler for Jose Calderon and drafting Cleanthony Early, but this team isn’t ready to compete for a championship just yet. If Carmelo wanted immediate results, he’d have been better off signing in Chicago, because he’s very likely not getting them in New York in 2014."

Free agents in 2015 include Cleveland Cavaliers’ power forward Kevin Love, Portland Trail Blazers’ big man LaMarcus Aldridge and Memphis Grizzlies’ center Marc Gasol, but all three of their current teams are heavy favorites and Gasol seems like the only truly attainable player. Of course, now that Detroit Pistons’ big man Greg Monroe has signed his qualifying offer, he will be  an unrestricted free agent and is certainly an option for the Knicks. Phoenix Suns’ guard Eric Bledsoe, who is still a restricted free agent, could be in the same position.

Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league all summer long.

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