The Knicks are such a mess, it's hard to know what they're going to do. On one hand, they should be trying to win now due to the fact that Melo is locked in long-term at big $, but on the other hand, they haven't put anyone around him. They have a few decent prospects (Hardaway jr, Larkin, Early) & a couple young(ish) players who are putting up solid #s (Shved, Aldrich). Other than Melo & Calderon, I don't think they have any high salary commitments on the books beyond this year, so I'd imagine they will pursue a top FA such as Love or Aldridge. If they do get the #1 pick, I could see them going with Okafor, as he is likely the most NBA ready prospect, to pair with KL/LA in the front court.
PG Calderon/Larkin
SG Hardaway/Shved
SF Melo/Early
PF KL or LA/?
C Okafor/Aldrich
Not much defense but that roster could still be playoff bound (barring injuries), due to how weak the Eastern Conference is, but not an actual contender. If they fall out of the top 2, I could see them trading the pick, as they need a big man long-term, & Okafor/Towns will likely go top 2. If their pick did slip to #3, I could see them moving it, in which case I'd gladly trade #12+future 1st+OKC+GSW+(1 of) Burke/Burks/Hood for Russell. Not sure that makes sense for NYK tho.
Personally, if I were them, I'd try to get Melo/Calderon off the books & build around Towns or Russell, as I don't see them contending even with the signing of a big time FA. They are lucky they're the Knicks bc any other team (besides LAL) would be screwed for the next 5+ yrs (like BKN is). They are still the Knicks though so something will happen as the NBA needs them to be at least somewhat relevant.
I think they end up signing a big time FA, trade their pick for a ton of assets & package them along with their other prospects for a 3rd marquee player to go along with Melo & whoever they sign. No idea what star player would actually be available in a trade, tho.
