The Knicks have been preparing for free agency for a couple of years now. I have a feeling that LeBron James won’t be coming to the Knicks as other teams seem to have been doing a better job of wooing him. Still, don’t be too disappointed if “The King” isn’t coming to N.Y. as some big time players will be. Obviously Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson would be high on the Knicks’ wish list due to Coach D’Antoni being familiar with them because they played for him in Phoenix. The Knicks are also said to be looking at sharpshooters like Kyle Korver, Mike Miller and Ray Allen. That leads me to think that the Knicks might be willing to sign one superstar and a lot of good players which might be the better way to go. The Knicks also can’t afford to wait too long to offer David Lee a new contract because some teams are going to come hard after him starting tonight at midnight. I think the Knicks will also be looking into restricted free agents like Anthony Morrow (Warriors) and Rudy Gay (Grizzlies). The long shot here is that the Knicks try to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Nuggets which is very much worth talking about seeing how he’s likely to be placed on the trading block. No matter what the Knicks do they are going to be major players this summer likely adding a lot of talent.

23-year old rookie center Jerome Jordan will be acquired by the Knicks on July 8th. He was the 44th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Jordan played in 35 games (all starts) for Tulsa last season and he averaged 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He played in 133 games (119 starts) in college and he averaged 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. This has the potential to be a nice pickup for the Knicks.

The Knicks have picked 22-year old small forward Landry Fields with the 39th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Fields played in 32 games for Stanford last season and he averaged 22.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He played in 129 games in his college career and he averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Fields might get a shot for a lot of P.T. as a rookie for the Knicks as he is a improving basketball player.

The New York Knicks have picked 23-year old shooting guard Andy Rautins with the 38th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Rautins played in 35 games (all starts) for the Syracuse Orange last season and he averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He played in 127 games (65 starts) in his career at Syracuse and he averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Rautins is a sharp shooter and the Knicks will likely use him a lot of the bench for that purpose. He also plays all out, all of the time and that’s the kind of guy the Knicks need.

The Knicks have only four players under contract for 2010-11 (Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari) heading into tomorrow night’s NBA Draft. The Knicks will pick #38 and #39 tomorrow night so don’t expect them to add any game changers. That is unless they trade one of the remaining four players on the roster tomorrow night. The Knicks clearly have their eyes set on July 1st when free agency opens. So while it’s a big night for the league tomorrow it likely won’t be as special to the Knicks.

23-year old SG/SF Wilson Chandler continues to keep improving which has the Knicks’ brass excited. Chandler played in 65 games (64 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He has now played in 182 games (150 starts) in his three years with the Knicks and he is averaging 31.5 minutes, 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Chandler’s name is being floated around in trade rumors but he might be one of the younger players the Knicks should keep to build a foundation for the future.

23-year old point guard Sergio Rodriguez has left the Knicks to sign a 3-year deal with Real Madrid in Spain. Rodriguez played in 27 games (8 starts) for the Knicks last year after coming over in a trade with the Kings and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 7.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. The Knicks got him to bump Chris Duhon out of the starting lineup but Rodriguez never seized his opportunity. Rodriguez played in 285 games (22 starts) in four years in the NBA and he averaged 13.2 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. The Knicks shouldn’t miss him too much as they are in the hunt for a new starting point guard this summer.