Knicks making moves with eye toward future

By unloading Jamal Crawford on the Warriors and Zach Randolph on the Clippers, Walsh demolished $27 million of cap space for the all-important 2010 shopping spree. If he can somehow trade Eddy Curry (due $11.3 million in '10), he'll have money to re-sign David Lee and Nate Robinson plus land not one, but two prized free agents by 2010.

With two cap-slashing trades in a matter of hours, Walsh made himself a serious player in the summer of LeBron.

But he'll have to get in line with Joe Dumars, who acquired similar cap room in the Allen Iverson trade. He'll see Rod Thorn's familiar face in the same line. And Donnie Nelson's, Daryl Morey's, and Pat Riley's. Funny, he'll see Danny Ferry's face in the same line. Ferry, it turns out, has a few tricks up his sleeve. With minimal money committed to 2010 and maneuverability to go with it, the Cavs will have some options, too.

There's nothing wrong with any of this, with the possible exception that there is only one LeBron not a cast of them, like in the commercials. So these executives must know something the rest of us don't, and the dirty little secret is that, yes, they do.

First, the list of high-impact free agents is much longer than LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. LeBron is the king of the class, but any number of teams could reinvent themselves quite adequately with the scraps of the next two free-agent classes, including Carlos Boozer ('09 opt-out clause), Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Manu Ginobili, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler.

Second, the players and GMs also are well aware that the owners are leaning toward letting the collective bargaining agreement lapse after the 2010-11 season. Whether a work stoppage ensues, everyone involved expects the new CBA to be more favorable to the owners. So top-tier players with a chance to opt out or terminate their contracts before then are going to be far more inclined to do so. In other words, it'll be a mad dash for cash. Gotta get it while the gettin's good.

"That's why all these guys Bosh, LeBron, D-Wade agreed to the extensions they have," one GM said Monday. "They wanted to opt out during this CBA because the new CBA might not be as favorable."

NBA fans are savvy enough to know why trades are done, and they don't seem to mind watching their team get worse before it gets better. New York fans are universally embracing Walsh's chopping block partly because they've been so mind-numbed by bad basketball without a plan that moderately interesting basketball with a plan seems like nirvana.

So despite the fact that a few tickets are still available for the King's next campaign stop, the fans who are there Tuesday night will stand and cheer and make the Garden sound like a basketball place again. Even if they're cheering for the best guy on the other team. Even if that guy never wears a Knicks uniform.