Who Will the Knicks Release Before Opening Night?

September 11, 2008-- The New York Knicks currently have sixteen players on their roster, one more than the NBA maximum, and they may end up with more very shortly. With speculation that Allan Houston could make a comeback attempt with the Knicks and the possibility that the Knicks could add an additional player through a trade with Memphis, there is a chance that the Knicks could end up with eighteen players on their roster. If that happens the Knicks would find themselves in the position of having to unload three players by opening night. The question that this brings is given the Knicks current roster, who should they consider cutting before opening night?

No Brainers

Malik Rose- Rose holds no value for this team. He plays a position where the team is overstocked. Considering the contract that the Knicks would have to take back in a trade in order to deal Rose it is reasonable to assume that he is virtually untradeable . His contract expires at the end of the season and at almost thirty-four years old, he is not in the team's future plans, so a buyout makes perfect sense.

Jerome James- James has two seasons left on his current deal meaning that his contract will be off the books before the long-awaited "Summer of LeBron." The Knicks won't play him either way, so they might as well give his roster spot to someone who has a chance of spending more than five minutes on the hardwood this season.

Stephon Marbury- Some fans think the Knicks should just cut ties with Marbs because he is a cancer in the locker room. Conceding that this season is probably nothing more than a developmental one for the team, having a guy like Marbury who won't be around next year may be pointless. The only upside to keeping him is that if he plays well during the first half of the year, then maybe a contender will be willing to give up a draft pick for him before the deadline. The problem with that thinking is that there will not be a contender below the salary cap so the Knicks would have to take back an exorbitant contract and there aren't many of them around the league that expire this year and belong to a player of less value than Marbury. A few months ago I thought keeping him made sense; I'll now go on the record and say that releasing him makes more sense.

Mardy Collins- You want to like him because he's a Knick, but the fact of the matter is that if the Knicks had as much talent on their bench as their fans want to believe, street vendors wouldn't be selling maps to the playoffs outside of Madison Square Garden. Collins has had some moments where he's shown promise, but it's not hard to come by guys who average three points and two assists in this league. Before releasing him, Walsh should try to trade him for a future second-round pick, but if he can't, he needs to recognize that a backcourt of Collins, Marbury, Duhon, Robinson, Roberson, Crawford, and Richardson (should the Knicks play him at the two because of the glut at forward) is more than crowded and Collins won't get the playing time he needs to develop.

No Way

Eddy Curry & Zach Randolph- Their contracts are just too big and long for them to leave any way other than via trade.

Jamal Crawford- Not only does Craw fall into the same category as Curry and Randolph when it comes to his contract, but he's a valuable member of the team. Crawford plays with heart, is rapidly improving, and is aware of his weaknesses. No doubt, he's a keeper.

Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, Nate Robinson- This group is the future of the team.

Chris Duhon- The Knicks need to see what this two-year experiment is made of, not to mention that he's obviously more talented than Roberson or Collins.

Jared Jeffries- The only way to get the three years left on his contract off the books is to trade him. Who knows; Mike D'Antoni's system might be a fit where this lanky athletic player can shine and either become an asset or increase his trade value.

Anthony Roberson & Patrick Ewing Jr.- Both of these young talents showed enough promise for the Knicks to pick them up this summer for short and inexpensive deals. It's worth keeping them around to see what they've got to offer. Also, in the case of Ewing, releasing him would be a PR nightmare.

Quentin Richardson- Q-Rich's situation is similar to Marbury's, but he is not the distraction that Marbury is and his contract goes an additional year but is at a lesser value. With chronic back problems and getting closer to his thirtieth birthday, it is not likely that Richardson is in the club's long-term plans, so releasing him makes sense if your motive is to provide more playing time for the younger players. If he can stay healthy, though, Richardson could become a very tradeable asset come mid-season. For that reason, he should stay on the roster.