News: Donnie would love to bring in a 7 footer who can block shots. Coincidentally, I would love to see Donnie bring one in as well.

As the current Knicks roster stands, there is no clear backup center to speak of, unless of course David Lee and Malik Rose fit that bill…… I didn’t think so either.
So there you have it, Donnie has to go get a shot-blocking center to provide the type of interior defense that only appears in the Garden nowadays when a visiting player kills the Knicks with it. But there is one minor problem: who can we go get?

I have given this thought, and I have decided that while I would love to add a player who can help us well into the future, I would be willing to bring on a veteran stopgap to keep us from making a foolish trade for a young player.

Potential buy-out options include guys like Stromile Swift and Raef LaFrentz, both of whom are in the final years of their current contracts. Swift, if bought out would require a deal worth more than the minimum, and thus would only be an option for the Knicks via trade. Swift for Rose anyone? LaFrentz on the other hand would have been absolutely perfect for the Knicks about 6 years ago. He was a sweet-shooting, shot-blocking center who would have been an ideal complement to either Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry. Now, I am not so sure. But if he were available without the Knicks having to give up anything, I believe that he would be a decent stopgap backup for us. How about Q-Rich and Malik Rose for LaFrentz and Martell Webster? I would do it, but would Portland? Theo Ratliff is a free-agent, but why would he sign a minimum salary deal to come play for the Knicks when he can sign the same deal to play for the Celtics or another contender? That’s simple, he wouldn’t (although I would love to have him).

Young shot-blockers are out there, but I am not sure how readily available they are. Sean Williams of the Nets comes to mind, and to a lesser extent, Hilton Armstrong of the Hornets. Neither team figures to give up on these guys, and I am not sure if the Knicks would have what it would take to get either of them Armstrong has had a rough start to his career, and I do not think that the Hornets would sell low on him just yet.

One player who I would love to see the Knicks get on the cheap would be Shelden Williams. I know he is too small to be a real center, but I believe that he is the type of player that the Knicks can really use. He can come in and rebound and play interior defense, two traits that would be ideal for a bench player. His stock is really low right now, and maybe the Knicks can get him for Renaldo Balkman and a swap of future second round picks. Or maybe the Knicks can take on Abdur-Rahim’s final two years and send Malik Rose the other way. After all, the Kings have plenty of players in front of Williams, including Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson, and Brad Miller. While I am not sure if either deal would work financially, I think that they would both be good moves.

Lastly, would anyone be against exploring a deal that would send Eddy Curry to Memphis for Crittenton/Lowry and Darko Milicic. Memphis needs a post scorer, and Curry would fit in well there, as there is no one else there to clog up the paint on offense. Curry’s contract is not overly cumbersome, but it can potentially go through the ’10-’11 season, which is something the Knicks do not want. In Milicic, the Knicks would get a good shooting shot-blocker who, while not as offensively talented as Curry, will keep more people out the paint than Curry will. Milicic reminds me of a poor man’s Raef LaFrentz with a bit less range on his jump shot. (As I noted above, I think that a young LaFrentz would be perfect for the Knicks.) The Knicks would also be able to bring on a young point guard like Crittenton to hopefully develop behind Duhon. Giving up on Curry would be a tough thing to do, but this move would also create cap relief for the summer of ’10. I’d go for this if it were on the table.

Those were just some options that I feel the Knicks can look into without completely overhauling our roster. I am curious to know what everyone thinks, and hopefully hear more potential ideas for Donnie to consider. Every Knick fan from Donnie Walsh onward knows that the Knicks need an interior defender who can deflect shots and deter players from driving down the lane. However, does anyone know who that guy is?