Why Monta Ellis is the best option for the New York Knicks? NBA Trade Speculation (Part 1)
At the end of every season, teams begin their search for appropriate players who would help the franchise improve their performance in the next season. Before any final deal takes place several rumours swirl in the league regarding
these trades.
The same is the case with the New York Knicks, the team which made it to the playoffs after a gap of seven years last season.
In the past month, names of Steve Nash and Chris Paul have been associated with the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony, the star small forward who joined the Knicks midway through last season, went as far as saying that he will love to
play alongside Chris Paul. However, there is nothing in black and white as of yet and the major reason behind it is the labour stoppage.
This National Basketball Association lockout has now cost the next NBA season game after wiping out the summer games, free agents market and training camps before the season.
However it has provided teams like Knicks some extra time before they can make their move in a bid to land a star player in the franchise. Whenever the work stoppage ends, Dwight Howard, Paul, and Nash will shoot into the limelight.
All three stars have everything on their resume except the NBA World championship and they will b e wanting to join a championship contender to increase their chances of winning one.
However, keeping in view the financials and assets value of the Knicks, it seems rather difficult for them to get their hands on one of these players. The world though doesn’t just end here for Knicks as they still have the option
of Golden State Warriors thrilling combo guard Monta Ellis.
Here are the reasons why Ellis is the most suitable choice for the Knicks:
Acquiring Dwight Howard or Chris Paul seems unattainable
Acquiring Howard or Paul seems almost impossible, because the owners of the franchises are already demanding a hard salary cap in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Therefore, if the new CBA comes with addition of these
clauses then it would delay the Knicks pursuit for Paul and Howard.
Even if the hard salary cap is not introduced in the new CBA, the Knicks don’t have many assets left behind that would allow them to hire a third max-level player. They exhausted most of their salary cap by acquiring Amare Stoudemire
Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups last season.
Apart from the deficiency of the funds and salary cap, the major hurdle in N.Y’s way is that it’s really hard that both these players could make it to the free agency. Even if they got into the free agency, both Orlando Magic and
New Orleans Hornets don’t want to lose their key players without getting much in return and end up empty handed like what had happened with Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2010.
So gaining these two players means that the Knicks would have to utilize every penny in their account. Considering this situation it’s best for the Knicks to pursue a player like Monta Ellis, whose team is also interested in trading
him away and moreover, he is not as expensive as Paul and Howard are.
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