Chandler, Gallinari hold key to Knicks' here and now

New Yorkers are not a patient group. And they haven't exactly been tolerant through eight losing seasons at Madison Square Garden, voicing their displeasure both in the arena and on the airwaves.

Nov. 21, 2008 changed all that. On that day, within a few short hours, Knicks president Donnie Walsh chopped off $27 million of 2010-11 payroll with the execution of two separate trades. And all of a sudden, there was a light at the end of the Lincoln Tunnel.

That light is still eight months away, but at this point, New York seems very willing to wait. In the meantime, it would be nice if the current Knicks roster showed some promise to both the fans and any prospective free agents that might consider a move to the Big Apple.

With six of the Knicks' nine best players in the final year of their contracts, the burden of making the team's future look bright will essentially be shouldered by two players: third-year wing Wilson Chandler and second-year forward Danilo Gallinari.

Walsh has said that David Lee, who had to sign a one-year deal this summer to maintain the cap space, is part of the long-term plans. But come July, there could very well be a conflict between Lee's cap hold (which allows the Knicks to retain his Bird rights) and a second marquis free agent. The same goes for Nate Robinson and Al Harrington.

Knicks eyeing improvement before summer Mike D'Antoni believes the Knicks don't have to wait for a big free agent to get better.. Read more ... Knicks re-sign free agents Lee, Robinson After taking the entire summer, Lee and Robinson sign deals that allow the Knicks to maintain their 2010 cap space. Read more... The real season starts in July After putting all his eggs in one basket, what happens if Donnie Walsh doesn't get the free agents he wants? Read more...

When July 1 finally arrives, only six Knicks will be under contract. If Walsh got his wish, that number would be just four, but it will be difficult to find takers for the contracts of either Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries.

Jeffries has some value to D'Antoni as a versatile 6-foot-11 guard/forward/center. He won't help much, but he doesn't hurt. Curry, on the other end, has turned out to be nothing but a financial burden. While his team waits for him to get in game shape, Curry's chances of ever finding a spot in the rotation (as well as Walsh's chances of ever finding someone to trade for him) get slimmer every passing day.

Rookies Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas will be in the fold, but D'Antoni doesn't want to wait until next year to win games, so they may not get much of a chance to show what they can do this season. Chandler and Gallinari, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to take their games to a new level and improve the outlook of the future Knicks in the process.

It would be best for his team if Chandler focused his efforts on the defensive end. Believe it or not, D'Antoni has actually put an emphasis on defense in training camp. But no matter how much the coach talks about it, it's up to the players to make the effort to take the Knicks' defense from terrible to acceptable. Chandler can be a nice complementary player on offense, but with his length and athleticism, he has the ability to be his team's best perimeter defender. He just hasn't shown the willingness yet.

If there wasn't enough pressure on Gallinari to perform at a lottery-pick level, D'Antoni called him "the best shooter I've ever seen" before camp even began. The coach's hyperbole may be a bit of a stretch, but it only takes a few minutes of watching Gallinari in warmups to realize that the 21-year old has a nice stroke. The problem is that we haven't been able to see much of that stroke outside of warmups.

A week later, D'Antoni modified his remark and pointed out Gallinari's limitations. But there's little doubt that the Italian is the Knicks' best talent. In addition to being a terrific shooter, he's 6-10, can put the ball on the floor if you chase him off his shot, and make plays for his teammates. And when you those teammates react exuberantly any time Gallinari lets one fly from 3-point range, you know that they see him as a potential star.

D'Antoni isn't just going to hand Gallinari 30 minutes a game though. "He'll have to produce," the coach said. "The bottom line is we want to win. We want to make the Playoffs." But he's confident the forward will earn his minutes. Then it's about earning that future-star status and giving Knicks fans something more than cap space to look forward to.

1. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE There has to be some sort of commitment on the defensive end of the floor. 2. GET ON THE BOARDS The team that ranked 27th in rebounding last season must improve on the glass. 3. FORGET THE CONTRACT YEARS The six players on the last year of their contracts must put the team ahead of their own stats. -- John Schuhmann