Hypothetical for yall:
Been hearing some rumors that the Celtics might be willing to trade away the 28th pick in this draft (since they already have 10 thousand other picks over the next couple of seasons) just to get rid of Gerald Wallace (and the $10 million he is owed in 2015-2016) in the deal.
I think that if the Knicks don't end up using all the cap space we use this summer, that would be a VERY smart deal for the Knicks to consider. Obviously the tricky part of this scenario is that the draft is before free agency, and we would have to make this deal and give up the $10 million in cap space this summer before free agency even starts. That may be very difficult for Knicks fans to stomach after all of the relentless spending leading up to this season, to go and spend $10 million on a player like Gerald Wallace.
But at the same time, looking at things long term, this move could pay off. Getting the 28th pick in this draft could be huge for us. This draft is very deep and we could certainly draft at least a valuable contributor for years to come at #28, maybe even a starter like Chris McCullough could be IMO. And I have always personally been a BIG fan of Gerald Wallace. I have always admired the reckless abandon that he plays with. While I hated him in BK, I always knew that he was one of the players I would love if he played on my team. And his contract only lasts one more season so its not like we would be taking on a ridiculous long term deal.
If the Knicks took on his contract we could potentially get another valuable draft pick (even more valuable when considering that we have no first rounder next year) and IMO it would get us a very productive veteran player who could help anchor our bench for years to come. A guy like him would be perfect to come off the bench for Melo and even play alongside him. He plays with the kind of energy that Knicks fans love to see from their own.
I do not think it would be the worst thing in the world to pay him $10 million this season, get a first round draft pick out of it, and then have his contract expire off our books after next season, and then potentially resign him for a much more cost efficient deal next summer based on how he fits in with this team and Coach Fisher's style. I personally think that he would be great and it would be an excellent fit for "Crash" to end his career playing on a (hopefully) winning team in front of fans who truly appreciate all of the hustle and energy he brings to the table every single night... and of course, as I said before, the draft pick certainly helps because even if Wallace is a bust and we don't resign him next summer, at least we get that 28th pick. And Knicks fans should know as well as anyone that you can find value at the end of the first round. We drafted David Lee a couple of years back at #30, and he was by far the best Knicks draft pick since probably Patrick Ewing I would think
I mean if the Cs would do this kind of deal for Calderon, I say jump all over this in about a second, because we would basically be getting a more effective player for the same amount of long term # + a draft pick. But I find that scenario unlikely considering the whole point of this trade would be for the Celtics to dump Crash's contract to free up cap space and Calderon has a bad contract as well.
But idk it still might be possible because they might be willing to use the stretch provision on Jose which would allow him to come much cheaper as far as salary cap commitments. If they used the stretch provision on Jose, he would only cost the Celtics about $3 million this summer as opposed to Crash's $10 million. So anything can happen. Especially if no other teams are willing to take on Wallace's contract. Regardless, this is something the Knicks should explore if it is available to us IMO.
Like I said, I have always secretly wanted to see Gerald Wallace in a Knicks jersey, but his contract has always been so bad. And it would obviously never hurt to have another draft pick at our disposal this summer.
If any of yall read through all of that... What do yall think???