Isn't Curry(12 mill isn't he?), Azubuike(3 mill isn't he?), Chandler(don't know how much he is on) enough for a max deal?
Doesn't quite work like that. At all times during an off-season, a team must have a combination of 12 players and/or cap holds. If nothing is unchanged in the cap and CBA, then next years cap is projected to be $58,044,000. Looking at their roster:
1. Stoudemire, Felton, Mozgov, Fields & Walker are guaranteed for next year (total $30,049,477).
2. Douglas & Galinari have team option contracts worth a combined $5,335,822 - Knicks would like to keep both.
3. Turiaf has a $4,360,000 player option (which he's unlikely to opt out of).
That's 8 players on contract if the season ended today for a combined $39,745,299 towards next year's cap (if the Knicks exercise the options for Douglas & Galinari). Assuming they renounce their free agents:
1. Their unrestricted free agents are Curry, Azubuike, Williams & Mason.
2. Chandler is a restirected free agent.
As they only need to get to 12, four cap holds would count towards the cap (each worth $490,180), being $1,960,720.
So that's 12 players / cap holds. But they also have to swap first round picks with Houston this year (unless it's the first overall pick) and if they trade Randolph, they'll have another first rounder. Assuming they give Randolph away for nothing, that Houston pick is probably going to be a mid-first rounder and could be worth up to $1,414,100 (salary scale). It would also replace one of the cap holds.
So total cap holds will either be $1,960,720 or $2,884,640 (depending on whether they keep the Houston pick).
So their 8 contracted players and four cap holds combine for $41,706,019 (or $42,629,939 if they keep the first round pick). That leaves them only $16,337,981 in space (or $15,414,061) and means:
* Melo giving up $2m-$3m next year (also impacts the total value of his contract); and
* their other free agent signings next year would have to be bargain basement.
They're obviously thin up front and I don't imagine too many big men would be that keen to accept the minimum to play on a team that I just don't see being successful. I mean Felton-Fields-Melo-Galinari-Stoudemire with Mozgov-Douglas-Walker-Turiaf is ok, but is it really significantly better than what they are now - barely a 0.500 team?
Of course if they don't exercise the team options on Galinari or Douglas, or trade Mozgov or Turiaf, then they'd have the space to sign Melo to a max contract (if he insists on it). But they'd also be losing a current rotation player (or players) for a minimum value player (or players) as replacements.
