Walsh's bold plan could mean two big names for Knicks

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Donnie Walsh is a man with a bold plan.

And he's sticking to it.

During a whirlwind couple of days leading up to Thursday's NBA trading deadline, the Knicks president got rid of six players, brought in half a dozen new ones with expiring contracts -- including seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady -- and now has between $33-$36 million in offseason salary cap space.

Now the Knicks have the option of targeting not one, but two maximum-contract free agents beginning July 1. That's when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson become unrestricted free agents.

It is the most attractive free agent class since 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Reggie Miller hit the market.

"As of the trading deadline at 3 o'clock today, I think we've done what we could do to get as much cap room as we can next summer," Walsh said 5 1/2 hours after the 3 p.m. ET deadline.

The Knicks get McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract and Sergio Rodriguez from Sacramento, while Houston acquired Kevin Martin and Hilton Armstrong from Sacramento and Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from the Knicks. The Rockets and Knicks will swap first-round picks in 2011 and the Rockets will also receive the Knicks' 2012 first-round pick.

The '11 pick is top-1 protected and the '12 pick is top-5 protected, ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported.

Having shed the 2010-11 contracts of Jeffries ($6.9 million) and Hill ($2.7 million), the Knicks have just four players under contract for next season -- Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry, Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas -- for a total of $17.7 million.

Asked how far under the salary cap the Knicks now were, Walsh said: "It's a lot more than it was. It's a lot more than it was."

If the salary cap number comes down to $53 million, as many project, that gives the Knicks more than $30 million to spend. If a maximum contract starts at $16-17 million in 2010, they would be in the neighborhood to afford two max-contract free agents.

"It is a lot of cap space and if you tried to figure it by how many max players are in there, I think ... it's probably true" that the Knicks could land two max-contract free agents, Walsh said.

Of course, the Knicks will be competing with the Heat, Wizards, Clippers, Nets and Bulls for the prize free agents. Those teams have cleared the most salary-cap space.

McGrady has averaged 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists over his career but has played in only 101 games over the last two years.

He had microfracture surgery on his left knee in February and played in just six games this year with Houston, averaging 3.2 points and 0.8 rebounds.

Still, Walsh said he believes McGrady can help the franchise this season, and potentially beyond should the Knicks opt to re-sign him. Walsh said McGrady was on his way to New York on Thursday, but it remains unclear if he will play Saturday against Oklahoma City.

"He's a great player and he didn't lose that. We'll have to see what his physical condition is, but I've been told that he's playing against guys both in Chicago and Houston," Walsh said.

Asked if keeping McGrady beyond the final 29 games of this season was an option, Walsh said, "All the options are open now."

Walsh said he was also high on Rodriguez, who could spell Chris Duhon at the point or even take over the starting spot.

Walsh didn't gain any cap relief by trading away fan favorite Nate Robinson to Boston for Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker. But he may have done head coach Mike D'Antoni a favor. Robinson and D'Antoni often clashed and Robinson spent 14 straight games on the bench this season before emerging from the coach's doghouse. Walsh said that had nothing to do with his motivation to trade Robinson, a three-time Slam Dunk champion.

"Boston was interested. I thought it was a good situation for Nate. He'll be on a playoff team that could go deep in the playoffs and he'll play so it's a very good position for him," Walsh said.

In an effort to land LeBron or one of the other big-time free agents, the Knicks have surrendered their 2009 lottery pick in Hill; they swapped out their '11 first-round pick to Houston; and they traded their '12 first-round pick.

Walsh said he's "hopeful" that those picks won't turn out to be very high once they're used.

"I'm hopeful, but I don't know," he said. "That's the risk, that you don't know."

He insisted he has added "flexibility" to the franchise and remains confident that his plan is coming along nicely.

"I thought it was a good bet," he said. "This puts the franchise in a position where it can build a contending team."