The Knicks only added Darko Milicic and first round draft picks Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas for this season so it will be up to head coach Mike D’Antoni to improve the Knicks. He was only 32-50 (39%) in his first season with the Knicks. But, he has a career record of 299-222 (57.4%) as a head coach in the NBA. He also has a post season record of 26-25 (51%) in his career. The Knicks hope he can add some wins to his playoff record and it is possible that they could snag the #7 or #8 slot in the playoffs if everything goes well.

26-year old David Lee signed a 1-year deal to return to the Knicks and he will likely start at center for them. He played in 81 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. With Lee in a free agent walk year he could really go off for the Knicks this season and that is exactly what the team is hoping for. 24-year old Darko Milicic will likely back up Lee this season. He played in 61 games for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Milicic should fit into the Knicks’ running offense so he should help them out this season and he could also earn some minutes off the bench at power forward. 24-year old Eddy Curry will likely also get some backup minutes in the pivot for the Knicks. He played in only 3 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 4.0 minutes, 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A

29-year old Al Harrington fit right in with Knicks’ new playing style. He will start at power forward again this season for the Knicks. He played in 73 games for the Warriors & Knicks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is also a good long range shooter for his size as he nailed 36.4% of his three point attempts last season. He should have another solid year for the Knicks. 22-year old Jordan Hill was the #8 pick of the first round of the NBA Draft last June and the Knicks will give him a chance to back up Harrington this year as he fits the playing style better than Jared Jeffries. Jeffries played in 56 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B

22-year old Wilson Chandler really stepped up last season for the Knicks earning him a starting job. He played in all 82 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Chandler will likely step his game up some more this season as he seems to be a perfect fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offense. 21-year old Danilo Gallinari will be Chandler’s back up this season for the Knicks. He played in 28 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 14.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Jared Jeffries could also get some playing time at small forward this season even though he doesn’t seem to fit in the Knicks new playing style.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-

The Knicks have released SG/SF Sun Yue and point guard Gabe Pruitt. This is good news for the Knicks as neither of these players have much of an upside. The re-signing of Nate Robinson pretty much ended the chance of either Yue or Pruitt making the Knicks and that is a good thing.