In a move that perplexed most NBA analysts and fans, the Knicks used the amnesty clause on point guard Chauncey Billups so that they could sign Tyson Chandler to a $15 M contract. The move meant the Knicks had some holes to address at point guard, and in typical Mike D’Antoni style, defense does not seem to be much a consideration in filling the void.

In addition to already having shoot first point guard Toney Douglas, D’Antoni can now choose to enter either the decrepit Mike Bibby or possibly the 5’11″ Barea, if they do indeed acquire him. The backcourt would be so vulnerable on defense, but that has seldom been a consideration for a coach who has never really put much consideration into that part of the game.

I’m not sure how much basketball Bibby has left in his sneakers, and Barea may be a flash in the pan. During the regular season, Barea averaged just under 10 points per game, and while impressive in the playoffs, he was inconsistent. He had some 20+ point games and then other nights where he barely sniffed the stat sheet. It’s hard to see the value in a guy like Barea when the Knicks aren’t having any trouble scoring anyway, but maybe it is just D’Antoni’s preference to have a guy like Barea whose primary thought when he gets the ball is what kind of shot he can find for himself.

The Knicks probably have made a huge mistake by letting Billups go. I don’t even know how Chandler and Amar’e will work together, but something tells me the Knicks are putting all their eggs in the “get Chris Paul” basket, and are shoving all in, and going with whatever they’re stuck with if they strike out. They realize ultimately that to contend with the likes of Miami, Chicago, and Boston, that they are going to have to get their own super trio, and just having Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony probably isn’t enough.

Even if the Knicks do land Paul, he’s going to have to find a way to get his teammates to tighten up late in games and play some defense. There haven’t been that many run ‘n’ gun teams that have made the Finals, and if you want to go ahead and mention the Lakers’ Showtime teams, I will counter that they actually played very good defense, at a fast pace. Don’t confuse the two. The Knicks need to pick it up defensively if they are going to get anywhere, and adding Barea and Bibby hardly will accomplish that at all.

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New York Knicks fans will get an early chance to enjoy the team this season. With the NBA lockout coming to an end, it looks like the season will begin on Dec. 25 (Christmas Day). There are three games on the current NBA schedule for that day, and one of them features the Knicks . If the league decides to keep the league schedule as it appears for that day, it will allow fans a very early (primetime) look at how the team stacks up this season.

If we believe indications from the league that the NBA is going to try for a 66-game schedule this year and that the lockout has come to an end, then it is finally time to get excited about the Knicks again. On Dec. 25, the Knicks are on the schedule to play the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are in the early game for NBA coverage on Christmas Day, and could stay the first game in a pretty big tripleheader .

The Knicks made pretty big strides in the 2010-11 season thanks to the free agent signing of Amare Stoudemire(notes) and then the trade for Carmelo Anthony(notes). The team won seven of their last 10 games in the regular season, clinching the No. 6 seed in the 2011 Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Knicks fell short against the Celtics in the first round though, and it turned into an early offseason for the club. Injuries took a toll on the Knicks though, as Stoudemire was hurt and point guard Chauncey Billups(notes) missed time in the playoffs.

Now all three stars are back for the new season, and hopefully they have kept in good shape during the lengthy offseason. If there are only 66 games in the 2011-12 schedule, then it raises how important each game is. As such, the new players that New York is able to sign will play a very significant role on the team.

Making it to the NBA Playoffs was a good goal for last year, but with two superstar players on the roster now, it’s time to make it deeper into the postseason. The Miami Heat appears like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, but the Chicago Bulls are also retaining a roster that won 62 games last year. It will remain tough among the elite teams in the East, but New York looks good enough to compete. Winning it all will depend on how much the roster can improve in the next month.

More From YCN :

A Look at Knicks Roster

Salary Cap Impact on Knicks

Chris Paul to New York

Source:

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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Former National Basketball
Association player Cuttino Mobley sued Madison Square Garden LP,
parent of the New York Knicks, alleging that the team
discriminated against him based on what it perceived to be a
disability.

Mobley, who hasn’t played since the 2008-09 season, says
the Knicks ended his career by having him declared medically
ineligible to play because of a heart ailment, according to the
complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The Knicks said in a statement that Mobley’s lawsuit has no
merit.

Mobley, 36, was diagnosed in 1999 with hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart wall, according to the
complaint. He had been medically cleared every year, by every
team he played for, subject to his signing a waiver of
liability, according to the document.

The Knicks, who were aware of his condition, agreed to
waive a physical examination of Mobley prior to trading for the
shooting guard in 2008, according to the complaint.

Instead of sending Mobley to the cardiologist who had
treated him for many years, the Knicks selected Mark Estes and
then Barry Maron who, according to the suit, were well-known
opponents of allowing players with Mobley’s condition to play.
Both said Mobley shouldn’t play.

The Knicks saved about $19 million by having Mobley
declared medically ineligible to play because insurance paid the
player’s salary, according to the complaint. The salary also is
forgiven from luxury tax payments, which teams pay for being
over the roster spending limit.

“The Knicks’ actions effectively deprived Mobley of the
ability to play professional basketball, not only for the
Knicks, but for the rest of his career,” according to the
complaint.

Mobley hasn’t officially retired and several teams
expressed interest in signing him but backed out because he had
been medically disqualified from playing for the Knicks,
according to the complaint. The teams weren’t identified.

The Knicks said in their statement that on the day of his
retirement, “Cuttino publicly stated that he had no choice but
to follow the advice of the doctors and step away from the
league.”

“Although we understand Cuttino Mobley’s frustration with
the effects of his illness, we are extremely disappointed in his
recent actions,” according to the team statement.

Mobley seeks unspecified monetary damages, 25 percent of
which he said he would donate to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Association.

The disease killed Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics and
Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount University. The Knicks acquired
Eddy Curry in a 2005 trade with the Chicago Bulls, who had asked
the player to take a DNA test to determine whether he was
susceptible to the condition. Curry had missed games due to an
irregular heartbeat.

The case is Mobley v. Madison Square Garden LP, 11-08290,
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Scott Soshnick in New York at
ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

Former National Basketball
Association player Cuttino Mobley sued Madison Square Garden LP,
parent of the New York Knicks, alleging that the team
discriminated against him based on what it perceived to be a
disability.

Mobley, who hasn’t played since the 2008-09 season, says
the Knicks ended his career by having him declared medically
ineligible to play because of a heart ailment, according to the
complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The Knicks said in a statement that Mobley’s lawsuit has no
merit.

Mobley, 36, was diagnosed in 1999 with hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart wall, according to the
complaint. He had been medically cleared every year, by every
team he played for, subject to his signing a waiver of
liability, according to the document.

The Knicks, who were aware of his condition, agreed to
waive a physical examination of Mobley prior to trading for the
shooting guard in 2008, according to the complaint.

Instead of sending Mobley to the cardiologist who had
treated him for many years, the Knicks selected Mark Estes and
then Barry Maron who, according to the suit, were well-known
opponents of allowing players with Mobley’s condition to play.
Both said Mobley shouldn’t play.

The Knicks saved about $19 million by having Mobley
declared medically ineligible to play because insurance paid the
player’s salary, according to the complaint. The salary also is
forgiven from luxury tax payments, which teams pay for being
over the roster spending limit.

“The Knicks’ actions effectively deprived Mobley of the
ability to play professional basketball, not only for the
Knicks, but for the rest of his career,” according to the
complaint.

Mobley hasn’t officially retired and several teams
expressed interest in signing him but backed out because he had
been medically disqualified from playing for the Knicks,
according to the complaint. The teams weren’t identified.

The Knicks said in their statement that on the day of his
retirement, “Cuttino publicly stated that he had no choice but
to follow the advice of the doctors and step away from the
league.”

“Although we understand Cuttino Mobley’s frustration with
the effects of his illness, we are extremely disappointed in his
recent actions,” according to the team statement.

Mobley seeks unspecified monetary damages, 25 percent of
which he said he would donate to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Association.

The disease killed Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics and
Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount University. The Knicks acquired
Eddy Curry in a 2005 trade with the Chicago Bulls, who had asked
the player to take a DNA test to determine whether he was
susceptible to the condition. Curry had missed games due to an
irregular heartbeat.

The case is Mobley v. Madison Square Garden LP, 11-08290,
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Scott Soshnick in New York at
ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

MIAMI — Carmelo Anthony talked late Saturday night about playing a basketball game in New York City in mid-November, but not at the Garden and not in a Knicks uniform.

Anthony emerged from the FIU locker room at midnight Saturday pretty certain the NBA will cancel the first two weeks of the season today — no matter the last-hour meeting being arranged for last night between the two sides in the league’s labor dispute.

Nothing is set in stone, but Anthony believes he, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and friends will stage a big exhibition in the Big Apple.

Getty Images

COMIN’ HOME? Carmelo Anthony said he, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and friends are trying to stage an exhibition game in New York after a successful event in Florida on Saturday.

“We’re going to keep giving back,” Anthony said.

On his Twitter account yesterday, Anthony started banging the drums for his Big Apple charity-fest.

“Working on an epic exhibition charity game in NYC,” he wrote. “Showtime. I’m comin’ home.”

Anthony and several players who participated in the South Florida All-Star Classic at FIU’s gym met with a union official after the game and were told the Players Association is still not budging on its position of a 52 or 53-percent cut of revenue. (The owners want a 50-50 split).

“We had conversations,” Anthony told The Post. “It was just good to get everybody together.

“I don’t think anything is going to happen between now and Monday,” Anthony added. “So we’ve just got to be prepared for that, be prepared for the lockout for the first two weeks and see where all this is going.”

The Knicks’ season opener against Miami on Nov. 2 at the Garden and their first eight games total are expected to be scrapped today.

“It’s sad all the way across,” said Anthony, who scored 30 points for victorious Team Wade and hit the game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left to send the game into overtime. “It’s [sad] for us as players. It’s sad for the owners. It’s sad for the fans of the NBA.”

And so Anthony said he wants to keep the barnstorming tour going. Nobody appreciates these exhibitions more than Anthony. It’s clear how much he loves basketball, how much he loves being in the gym. He was the last player to leave the FIU arena Saturday, though a South Beach Saturday night awaited. He even stopped to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans in the pouring Miami rain before departing.

“If they want to lock us out [longer tan two weeks], we’re sticking together,” Anthony said. “It’s Saturday. Let’s be realistic. I don’t think anything is going to happen between now and Monday.”

Anthony enjoyed himself Saturday and his willingness to assert himself among a collection of star players (nine All-Stars participated) was telling. In the final minutes of regulation in a tight game, he posted up Kevin Durant repeatedly and called for the ball almost on every possession.

“It got real intense down there,” Anthony said. “We made it competitive and made it fun.”

Of course, defense is the concern with Anthony. Team Wade’s coach, comedian Kevin Hart, even started yelling at Anthony to “play on both ends,” and Anthony just ignored him.

Despite the elephant of the lockout in the room, it was a swell night at the packed, 4,000-seat FIU gym, with coach Isiah Thomas throwing a basketball party to benefit “Mary’s Court,” which funds kids in poverty in Chicago and is named after his mother.

For one night, Thomas promoted charity and not the false notion he secretly is running the Knicks, and he came across so much better in that role.

marc.berman@nypost.com