The New York Knicks have a ton of cap space this offseason and they plan to use it. The organization is far enough under the salary cap that they can afford to sign two free agents to maximum contracts. The Knicks are hoping that the lure of Madison Square Garden and the Big Apple will be enough to land some combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. However, it’s no guarantee that even one of these star players will join the franchise, so the Knicks need a backup plan.

Most teams’ backup plans probably include the likes of Amar’e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson and possibly Carlos Boozer, but I don’t think any combination of those three guys is a great long-term option for the franchise. A plan that avoids these pseudo-stars and sparks a youth movement could be the best option for the organization moving forward. Sure, the franchise would love to have LeBron James selling New York Knicks tickets in 2010-11, but that may not be an option.

Instead of going after the Level 2 free agents, I think the Knicks should focus on filling out the roster with some young players that seem to fit Mike D’Antoni’s system. If the Knicks give near-maximum contracts to guys like Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer, they’re not going to have much money left to flesh out the rest of the roster, which would leave the team pretty thin from a depth perspective.

If the Knicks miss out on the top-tier free agents, the guy they should go after is Rudy Gay. The 24-year-old wing will be a restricted free agent this summer, and while the Grizzlies insist they’ll match any offer, I don’t think they’d match anything close to a max deal (Note: A maximum contract for Gay would be smaller than that of the top free agents due to NA experience).

It would be a risk to put a lot of money into a player that may lack a killer instinct, but he’s still young and developing. Gay would be a great fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system, as his athleticism and shooting ability could make him a force in an up-tempo scheme. Gay could conceivably be the Knicks’ go-to scorer moving forward, as he can create his own shot and has the offensive talent to dominate on a nightly basis. The only question is if he has the drive.

The second order of business should be re-signing forward David Lee. Lee has stated that his preference is to return to New York next season, so he may be willing to do for at a bit of a discount. Either way, he’ll be a bargain for his production. He’s never going to be a superstar, but he plays very well in D’Antoni’s pick-and-roll heavy offense and should be a borderline All-Star for the next five years. He’s a hard worker and cleans up on the glass, and would be a solid inside option at a decent price going forward.

Signing these two players to be the major acquisitions of the offseason would leave the Knicks with some money to play with. One player that would seem to fit their system is point guard Luke Ridnour. The Knicks don’t have an experienced point guard on the roster and it probably wouldn’t be wise to throw Toney Douglas to the wolves just yet. Ridnour is a very good shooter and a solid floor general; his game seems tailor-made for the up-tempo offense in New York. He doesn’t play much defense, but neither did Steve Nash when D’Antoni was in Phoenix. Ridnour could bridge the gap to when Douglas is ready to take over as the starter in a couple of years, assuming Levitra he develops into a better playmaker. Other point guard options the team could look at include Raymond Felton, Steve Blake and Kyle Lowry.

The Knicks also need to fill the gaping hole they have at the center position. Earl Barron played surprisingly well after the Knicks signed him toward the end of the 2009-10 season, so he could be an option coming off the bench. As for filling the starting role, a good Kamagra Soft place to look would be Brendan Haywood. Though not the toughest of big men, Haywood is a good defender and a shot blocker, which the Knicks desperately need. He rebounds at a decent clip, though next to David Lee he won’t be relied on for that too much. If the Knicks can afford him, I think he’d be a nice get to fill the hole at the five.

If the Knicks landed Gay, Ridnour and Haywood via free agency, and re-singed Lee, they’d be looking at a starting lineup that would include those four players and small forward Danilo Gallinari. Douglas would come off the bench at the one, Bill Walker at the two and Wilson Chandler the three. As mentioned above, Barron could be a bench option at the five. That would leave backup power forward as the team’s biggest need, but guys like Gallinari and Chandler can play the four in smaller lineups and D’Antoni doesn’t like to run more than eight or nine deep anyway.

The Knicks are likely to try and purchase a draft pick in the latter part of the first round later this month, as the team doesn’t own a first-rounder as of June 9th. A pick that could be for sale come draft night is the 25th overall selection, owned by Memphis. Memphis has two other picks in the first round, so it’s a good bet that they’ll look to ship this one. The Knicks could purchase the pick and look to select a four like Iowa’s Craig Brackins, whose shooting would work very nicely on this team. The draft takes place before the start of free agency, so taking the best player available could be the move for the Knicks if they buy back into the first round. The Knicks also have two second-round picks and could target guys like Derrick Character, Tiny Gallon and Samardo Samuels for frontcourt help.

In the event that the Knicks fail to land James, Wade or Bosh, filling out the roster will be much easier to do if the Knicks resist signing those Level 2 free agents. The team laid out above would likely be a playoff contender in the East immediately, with room to grow into something more. The Knicks have Eddy Curry’s contract coming off the books next summer, so his expiring deal could be shopped at the 2011 trade deadline for another piece of the puzzle. At the very least, it will give the Knicks some more cap space to play with after 2010-2011. Looking forward is the key to this offseason.

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