It will take years for the Knicks organization to dig themselves out of this hole.
They have:
Marbury for the next two years: 20 M 27 M
Randolph for the next four years: 13 M, 15 M, 16 M, 17 M
Curry for the next four years: 9 M, 10 M, 10 M, 11 M
Q Richardson for three years: 8 M, 9 M, 9 M
Crawford for the next four years: 8 M, 9 M, 9 M, 10 M
Rose for the next two years: 7 M, 8 M
James for the next three years: 6 M, 6 M, 6.5 M
Jeffries for the next four years: 6 M, 6 M, 6.5 M, 7 M
This is a little better than I originally thought -- they are going to have to wait for a couple of bloated contracts to expire (Randolph, Curry, Crawford and Jeffries). Some of these guys are decent players they are just paying them too much money. The Knicks ARE going to tank for a couple of years unless you can find another GM as stupid as Thomas to trade them to. But in two years, the Knicks salary will be at $58 million and the year after that, they only have $28 million on the books. Knicks fans are going to have to be patient with the rebuilding process but it won't take as long as I previously thought.
I did find it interesting that Walsh stated that the Knicks would become fiscally responsible and get under the salary cap. That's bad news for the fans of NY -- it's a DEFINITE advantage to have an owner who is willing to go over the cap and Dolan can afford to do it in NY's market if he puts a team on the court that can compete for a title.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in NY. Would the Pacers be willing to trade O'Neal for Randolph or Curry?
