Knicks Should trade Anthony Randolph - Melo or No Melo

It's become pretty obvious to me over the last 3 days that the New York Knicks should trade 21 year old Forward Anthony Randolph before the trading deadline -- and they should trade him whether or not they believe they can make a trade for Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony Randolph is an interesting player that is highly pursued by other teams around the NBA, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers expressed heavy interest in the young promising forward last summer, reportedly offering the Knicks a 1st round Draft pick for 2011, however team President Donnie Walsh has been firm with his belief in building Randolph over the next two years into being a key part of the team. Unfortunately Donnie has to battle it behind the scenes with coach Mike D'Antoni, who has Randolph sitting in his doghouse because he doesn't carry a "high-enough motor" and D'Antoni is unimpressed with his "in-game demeanor". All understandeable, but the kid's raw talent and size are a rare commodity these days and is the big reason why he has been hesitant to deal him so far.

According to the New York Post, the Knicks already have a contingent deal in place with Minnesota to acquire their 2011 First Round draft pick, which is pretty huge seeing as Minnesota is 10-30, a winning percentage that is 3rd to last in the NBA (Trailing the Cleveland Caveliers 8-30, Sacramento Kings 8-28) and could be a phenomenal draft pick. The team could then pursue a top Center or Forward in the draft, which Walsh acknowledges is their weak spot -- Basically, one or the other. They grab a power Forward and STAT plays Center -- they draft a defensive, rebounding Center and STAT moves back to Power Forward, his natural position. Amar'e Stoudemire, a.k.a. STAT, has played the season at Center.

The idea here is Donnie Walsh is a smart man, probably one of the brightest minds in the NBA. He knows what players want, what they will sacrifice to get what they want, and knows that all the cards are in his hand regarding Carmelo Anthony and will play them properly, not desperately. He has 4 players/prospects he can trade to Minnesota, Denver, or a 3rd team to acquire a draft pick or Carmelo Anthony -- rookie sensation SG Landry Fields, improving SF Wilson Chandler, SF/PF Danilo Gallinari, and PF Anthony Randolph.

I honestly believe at this point in the season that if D'Antoni is going to stand by his refusal to give Randolph playing time (10 games played in 2010-2011) that Walsh should acquire the top draft pick. He can bring in a power forward from a formidable spectrum of extremely talented players that could be in the draft:

Enes Kanter (PF/C) -Freshman - Kentucky
Jared Sullinger - Freshman - Ohio State
Derrick Williams - Sophomore - Arizona
Donatas Motiejunas - International - Lithuania
Trey Thompkins - Junior - Georgia

Now, while I am a huge fan of PG Raymond Felton, I have to at least assume that the Knicks will somewhat consider trading the PG to acquire a higher draft pick, maybe somebody along the lines of PG Kemba Walker out of UConn or Alec Burks from Colorado. Both would be a long-shot and are not among the areas of weakness for the Knicks; I am simply saying it should at least be looked at. If I had to choose, I'd stick with Felton, obviously. He works too well with Amar'e in the pick & roll, he has shown signs of an excellent jump shot from the perimeter and gets to the free throw line often. He doesn't try to drive to the hoop too much but knows the right times to. While turning the ball over has been a problem so far, he's countered that with the occasional rebound and averaging 8.9 assists per game. He's at the height of his career, and I believe that he should at least be explored as a trade option because now that he's averaging 18.3 points per game, I have to think he could draw a 1st round draft pick and [dare I say it] a 2012 2nd round draft pick. Maybe I'm giving the kid the benefit of the doubt because he may just be a product of D'Antoni's high-powered offense strategy.

Either way, I'm tired of watching the Knicks fork over 1st round pick after 1st round pick. I'd like to see them acquire a First Round draft pick from the Timberwolves. It will be a remarkable pick, easily Top-10. It still appears that Carmelo Anthony does not want to spend the remainder of his career in New Jersey -- and despite a new CBA taking away some serious money from him, maybe we don't give players enough credit and just assume they are all about the money. Maybe Carmelo truly will take the sacrifice of $15M to play for a solid contender in the East instead of the pretender in the New Jersey.