The goal should be to get well under the cap for the Summer of 2010. It's not even that difficult to do if the Knicks could actually formulate a long-term plan. The Knicks have one salary on the books for the 2010-11 season, Jamal Crawford at $10,080,000. Besides resigning whichever of these current young guys continues to improve, nobody, and I mean nobody, should be given a guaranteed contract for that 2010-2011 season. That's the summer LeBron and Melo will be able to opt out of their extensions and be unrestricted free agents, assuming they go with the shorter length extension, and not the straight 5 years.

LeBron will be 25 years old in the Summer of 2010, entering the prime of his career. By then, the odds are he will be frustrated at Cleveland's inability to surround him with enough talent to win a title, and ready to jump to a big market. Everything should revolve around being under the cap this summer to have a shot at him.

That means:

1. No more trades that bring back longer term deals.
2. Don't even sign anyone to the exemption if it means guaranteeing money in any season after 2009-10.
3. Allow contracts to be cleared from the cap. There's a reason expiring contracts have value even if the player is completely washed up (Penny should be walking off the books right now). Here are the contracts that need to be cleared, not dealt for longer deals:
a. Allow Taylor ($9.75 million) and J. Rose ($16.9+ million) to walk after this season. Houston's $20.7+ million finally comes off the cap after this season, as well, as does JYD's $6.45 million (he has a team option for 2007-08 and I assume the Knicks don't have to pick that up under the Amnesty Clause release of JYD).
b. Allow M. Rose ($7.1+ million) to walk after 2007-08.
c. Marbury ($21.9+ million) and Francis' ($17.18 million) deals both expire after 2008-09. If neither are movable for short-term deals (obviously they won't be), I can see Francis being bought out at some point. Clearly these two aren't playing together for 3 more seasons. Just don't compound an obvious mistake at the deadline last year by flipping Francis for an even longer-term deal.
d. Richardson, Crawford, and James all have player options for 2009-10. So worst case they're all still on the cap that season, then all but Crawford get cleared that summer. Crawford appears to have a player option for 2009-10, but guaranteed money for 2010-11, which I assume to mean that year becomes guaranteed if he picks up his previous season's option.
4. Look at that Summer of 2010 as the light at the end of the tunnel and look at it as the free agency period that rules your next 4 years of play. Play the youth plus Marbury, as the team is presently constituted. Let guys like the Rose boys, James, and Taylor rot on the bench if it means Frye, Lee, and hopefully Butler are playing more.
5. Match the offer Butler will be receiving from another team, possibly Chicago, as long as it's not out of control, and doesn't extend past a couple of seasons.
6. At some point, buy out James so the urge to play him over Butler is not there for whoever is coaching the team. He's on the cap until 2010, but he's of no use anyway, so he might as well be bought out at some point before then, if only to open up a roster spot and solidify Butler's role.

Unfortunately Isiah doesn't have 4 years of patience to work with because of the mess Layden created and he added to, so none of this is likely, but it's exactly what needs to be done. LeBron on Broadway in 2010-11 is the goal with someone like Melo as the consolation prize if LeBron doesn't opt out or goes elsewhere. Even if LeBron and Melo are both unavailable, the only way to ever win a title here is to sign a couple of impact free agents in their prime seasons. There's so much young talent in this league and New York and The Garden are a great place to play when the team is a winner. Players will want to sign here. Make sure that room is open starting that summer to get it done.

Here's the cap situation:

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm

One addendum:

That hoopshype site didn't have Curry's long-term deal and I didn't notice it until now. He signed a 6-year, $60 million contract in the sign and trade with Chicago, so his deal actually extends into 2010-2011. So Curry and Crawford should be the only current veterans with long-term contracts on the cap that summer.

I agree here. No more long term deals until FA of 2010. I want this team to actually sign a big time FA.

I want to clear so much space, the Knicks could sign multiple big-time, in their prime free agents. I want to be able to do what Orlando was able and actually about to do the offseason they signed Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. They were also about to sign Tim Duncan until David Robinson convinced him to stay. Now none of that worked out because Duncan didn't sign, Hill got hurt, and T-Mac couldn't handle the load on his own, but they had a chance to sign the three of them. Not being able to predict injuries, and knowing any player would love to play in the Garden for the Knicks if the Knicks are going to be good, imagine a healthy trio of Duncan, Hill, and T-Mac as the third fiddle. I'll take my chances with a young threesome like that anyday because I'd never expect a previously healthy guy to have the bad luck Hill had.

So what I want to have a chance to do from a Knicks standpoint is sign LeBron James AND Carmelo Anthony. Or I want to be able to sign DeWayne Wade AND Chris Bosh. You know, something that seems crazy, but is actually possible if the cap is cleared out.

I want to win a title. I'm about to turn 31 and the Knicks haven't won a title since 2 years before I was born. That's unacceptable. It's time to change the plan. This is the only way to do it with this current Knicks roster/cap situation. Clear cap space and you have a chance to get these players. If you don't, then you don't even have a shot, and every year a Jerome James/Clarence Weatherspoon is added. It's ok to add a vet to fill a roster spot in the meantime, but not for 5-6 years like the aforementioned useless additions were given. Plently of players jump from team to team on 1-2 year deals every offseason.

I hate Isiah. Because he signed Jerome James for like 5 yrs, $30 million, he might not match Jackie Butler's 3 yr, $7 million offer sheet from the Spurs. Butler is so much better than James, it's not even funny, and he's only 21, so there's major upside. Matching the offer wouldn't hinder my grand plan at all. That's what I meant by resigning the young guys at reasonable deals. Isiah is pretty good in one area-- indentifying good young talent. He plucked Butler from the CBA and gave him a shot. Now he will probably lose him and he will fit in well next to Duncan. I really hope they match anyway. James will be hurt/useless anyway, which is why Butler played 55 games last year.

This jackass has been getting players making a ton of money. If he does not f*cking match that offer, I hope Dolan fires his ass tomorrow.

Well Dolan is part of the problem. He doesn't seem to want to spend more. I like that because it means maybe they realize they need to clear the cap, but a 3 year, $7 million contract to a 21 year old center with upside would not hinder the cap long-term one bit. Dolan will say he doesn't want to spend $14 million (with luxury tax) for a third string center. Thing is, Butler is better than the second string center, who is being paid $30 million or so, and was even getting minutes over the starter, who is being paid $60 million. So I am not as upset about Isiah possibly not matching than I am with the plan. The guy he plucked from the CBA showed promise and might have to be let go at age 21 because of an awful signing he made last year, someone he already wants to jettison. That's why I am upset.

He should fire his ass if that happens (probably should've fired him all ready) but he won't. Thomas gets this year to fix this mess or he's gone, at least according to what I read in the NY Post a couple weeks back.

Then what? Dolan and Steve Mills will bring in another idiot who doesn't understand the salary cap. The Knicks need new ownership more than anything.

Dolan's a joke, no doubt, but unfortunately for you guys he's not going anywhere. Best you can hope for is that he grows a brain sometime in the next few years. After the Bulls had their great championship runs, Reinsdorf and Krause had brain cramps as well, it took the organization a while, and a couple rebuilding programs, but when they finally brought Paxson in, he started to turn things around for us. Maybe with some dumb luck Dolan can find somebody, you never know.

I know, that's what I have to hope for. Krause didn't know how to rebuild that team. It's not his fault free agents didn't want to sign there and follow in Jordan's footsteps, but trading Elton Brand after two really nice years as a 22 year old for a high school kid made no sense at the time. I still don't think it makes sense, but it has worked out overall, I suppose. I'm sure Paxson wouldn't mind Brand being there though. Brand is the man. I also didn't think it made sense to trade Artest that quickly, but he would have caused more and more problems over time. However, Brand and Artest were two REALLY nice pieces to build around, and they never really gave it a shot. Krause kept trying to get younger, even though Brand and Artest were both really young since they left Duke and St. John's, respectively, after their sophomore seasons.

Krause ticked me off near the end of his run, I hated the Brand trade then and still do now, and the way he tried recruiting McGrady and other big name stars was a joke. Sorry, but a lunch at a local cafe and a visit from the cheerleaders isn't going to get the job done. :no1:

It only took another year and half for the Knicks to can Isiah and find a GM who apparently wants to follow this plan.

I was wrong about Jackie Butler, but he did show signs at the time. He fell off the face of the earth after San Antonio signed him. Obviously Isiah went against the plan by dealing Francis' shorter deal for Randolph's longer one. The rest of the plan can still be executed, if they can somehow get Randolph out of here.