The Knicks season is basically over and with no cap space or draft picks, next season looks bleak as well. The big worry is that Carmelo Anthony will leave in free agency but he did say he would take a paycut to stay. Another way to get cap relief and add better players is to trade Amare Stoudemire which is what one report says they’ll try to do.
via Boston Globe:
The Knicks have limited options to improve this summer but a move they are expected to make is offering the expiring contract of Amar’e Stoudemire to a team that has not already used its amnesty clause. That team in turn could trade the Knicks the long-term, unwanted contract of an impact player, such as the Pelicans’ Eric Gordon.
Aside from the fact that no team wants to take injury riddled Stoudemire and the big payout he’s expected, there’s also another issue. According to ProBasketballTalk, there’s a flaw in this method. Any team that takes Amare won’t be able to amnesty him because of the rules in the new collective bargaining agreement.
From Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ (Q. 68):
“For a player to be eligible for the Amnesty provision he must be on his team’s roster continuously from July 1, 2011 to the date he is amnestied, without any new contract, extension, renegotiation or other amendment to his contract in the meantime. Players who were waived prior to July 1, 2011 and are still receiving guaranteed salary are also eligible. Teams cannot amnesty players they sign, receive in trade, extend, renegotiate, or otherwise amend after July 1, 2011.”
But who knows maybe there is some team out there willing to take Amare and his expiring contract.
