Royal Flush: Knicks Fit to be 'King' Following Pair of Trades

A wild day of wheeling and dealing by president Donnie Walsh leaves the Knicks fans salivating at the chance of landing a big free-agent haul in the summer of 2010. In a pair of moves, the Knicks began trimming the fat of their bloated payroll, sending Jamal Crawford to Golden State for Al Harrington, then shipping Zach Randolph to the L.A. Clippers for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley. By dumping Crawford and Randolph, the Knicks shed two contracts that extend beyond the "Summer of LeBron James," and with their departure goes some $27 million of cap space heading into the 2010 offseason, when James and several other big names are scheduled to be free agents. Crawford has been a Knick since 2004, and was among the first big moves Isiah Thomas made in trying to surround Stephon Marbury with fresh faces. Unfortunately, like almost every other move Thomas made, Crawford wasn't able to deliver any sustained success, as he was a talented but streaky scorer who lacked defensive prowess and was ... (link)