NBA Turkeys: What Each Team Is Thankful For

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New York Knicks

Nov 22, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Amar

The Knicks Are Thankful For: Large Expiring Contracts

The Knicks recently signed Carmelo Anthony to a brand new five-year, $124 million contract this season, which made many Knicks’ supporters happy and thankful this offseason.

Although that is a nice contract that assures the Knicks a superstar to build around, it is the expiring contracts of J.R. Smith, Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani that the Knicks should be most thankful for. Those three cap-swelling contracts currently have the Knicks in a bind, but by the middle of the year, those could be valuable trade chips that the Knicks could cash in to surround Anthony with more talent.

Even if the Knicks don’t move those contracts, those three coming off of the books signals a huge cap relief that would make room for younger, more effective, players (like Marc Gasol) that the Knicks can sign this summer.