It's early, but still one of the Least in the East

So Donnie, you see the Cavaliers add Shaq, the Magic acquire Vince Carter, the Wizards pick up two major rotation players in Randy Foye and Mike Miller and even the Milwaukee Bucks (a borderline playoff team even with injuries) make a bold move for cap space to keep their core intact . . . “How do I feel about that?" he interrupted. "I hope none of them work." Probably not the marketing slogan to go with when selling tickets for 2009-10. The draft-day selections of Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas are nice pieces, but neither are the centerpiece-type players this franchise needed out of the draft to immediately upgrade the team. So now Walsh and his staff has the rest of the summer to retool this roster that fell seven games out of a playoff spot last season. Of course Walsh made it crystal clear the focus remains 2010 and for Knicks fans, that valuable free agency period is only a few months after what could be another season without a playoff berth. It could be a very empty May and June next year, especially without a first-round pick (what the hell are we going to talk about here?!). The Utah Jazz, who own the rights to that unprotected pick, are the happiest of all to hear that the Knicks likely won't be making any aggressive moves this summer to jump into the playoff conversation in the ever-improving East. Perhaps John Wall's representation should begin now putting out hints that they have no interest in playing in SLC. Let's take a look at the playoff contenders at this point in the East: Cavs, Magic, Celtics, Bulls, Hawks, 76ers, Heat and Pistons. A few teams that came very close (and are expected to be there again) are the Bobcats and Bucks. A team you can not discount if they remain healthy is the Wizards. That's 11 teams so far. You perhaps can put the Knicks there at 12. And now name me the four teams out of that group that will fall out so the Knicks can get in. One argument you can make from a Knicks perspective is they were very much in the conversation late in the season, but they were only because there were so many mediocre teams battling for that 8th spot. The Pistons were fading. The Bucks were decimated by injuries. But the Knicks didn't have Danilo Gallinari -- arguably their best player if healthy -- and Chris Duhon was exhausted playing so many minutes early in the season with a shallow backcourt. Eddy Curry was never in shape and David Lee, at 6-9, was asked to play center. The team also didn't have enough perimter shooters. OK, so how does any of that change? Gallo's health and durability will be under the microscope all season. As will Curry's conditioning (and ability -- make that willingness -- to run). Toney Douglas is a good grab as a late first-rounder, but we've heard his kind of rhetoric before (just rewind the tape on Nate Robinson). Where are the shooters? Darko Milicic has proven to be a backup center and, at least, you can say he's an upgrade over Jerome James. But while Walsh and Mike D'Antoni speak optimistically about improving a 32-win team, their goal to make the playoffs this coming season is, at this early point of the summer, is far-fetched. A lot of pieces have to fall in place this summer to improve this roster enough to be in the playoff conversation and still maintain the necessary cap space for next summer to be in play. The Nets made the decision that 2010 was more important that being a playoff also-ran, which is why the VC deal went down. They did land a solid role player in Courtney Lee and saved $16M in cap space a year from now, when Jay-Z can try to convince LBJ to come to Bk'lyn. But here's the situation to watch closely: If LeBron signs an extention with Cleveland this summer, I think you will see the Knicks drop the plan and get aggressive. That doesn't mean they will give up any cap room for next summer, but they might be more inclined to spend some of it in a trade or with the mid-level exception. * * * * Some info left on the cutting room floor from my column in today's Newsday: The Knicks can entertain sign-and-trade discussions involving both Lee and Robinson on July 9, after the seven-day moratorium. There is expected to be a strong market for Lee, who led the NBA with 62 double-doubles, and there are teams with cap space that have an interest. The Pistons could attempt to sign him to an offer sheet if they do not go after Carlos Boozer and the Trail Blazers are also said to be in hot pursuit, but more likely in a sign-and-trade scenario. For the Knicks to keep him, Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, would likely have to agree to a back-loaded deal to protect the cap space in 2010. Walsh would also have to first find a way to move either Eddy Curry ($11.2 million against the cap in 2010-11) or Jared Jeffries ($6.8 million) off the roster to offset Lee’s contract, which could command up to $8 million per year or more. Consider the range of these comparables: Troy Murphy ($11 million), Andris Biedrins ($9 million) and Udonis Haslem ($7.1 million). Paul Millsap, a restricted free agent with the Jazz, is said to be waiting for Lee to set the market for himself. Robinson won’t command nearly as much in salary, but his popularity as an electrifying 5-9 guard and two-time Slam Dunk champion could be valuable as an attraction in some small markets. According to one league source, the Lakers inquired about Robinson’s availability after his 33-point performance at the Staples Center on Dec. 16. Kobe Bryant has expressed adoration for Robinson and owner Jerry Buss was said to be smitten after that game. The Sacramento Kings also were close to a deal for Robinson and Jeffries before the trade deadline and there are indications that the deal could still take place this summer. Robinson had a breakthrough season statistically – career-high 17.2 points per game – but his ball-dominating, one-on-one mentality does not fit well in Mike D’Antoni’s system. The Knicks drafted a rugged point guard, Toney Douglas, the 29th overall pick on Thursday and are also in the market for a starting point guard with the plan to move Chris Duhon to a backup role this season. The same could be said about Lee’s future with the selection of Jordan Hill with the eighth overall pick. The 6-10 Hill is a solid rebounder who has a good mid-range game and, unlike Lee, is a bona fide shot blocker. But the best-case scenario would be to be able to play them together and have some depth in the frontcourt. The Knicks can re-sign their own restricted free agents, but their only tools for signing other free agents are with the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions. Neither will attract a high-end player such as Hedo Turkoglu or Lamar Odom, but there is an outside chance that New York could be alluring enough for 36-year-old Jason Kidd to consider it. Kidd is most likely to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, but you can expect the Knicks to at least make the call.