The Knicks have signed 29-year old shooting guard Roger Mason to a 1-year, $1.4 million dollar deal. Mason played in 79 games (5 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 19.2 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has now played in 346 games (88 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 19.2 minutes, 7.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Mason is a good long range shooter as he has hit 38.1% from three point range in his career. I really like this signing for the Knicks as Mason will bring some scoring punch off of the bench.

The Knicks have signed 26-year old point guard Raymond Felton to a 3-year, $25 million dollar contract. Felton played in 80 games (all starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has now played in 399 games (369 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he is averaging 34.9 minutes, 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. This was a good signing for the Knicks as Felton gives them another quality player.

The Knicks have done a sign and trade deal with the Warriors. They signed 27-year old power forward David Lee to a 6-year, $80 million dollar deal and then they sent him to the Golden State Warriors for 20-year old power forward Anthony Randolph, 27-year old PF/C Ronny Turiaf, 26-year old SG/SF Kelenna Azubuike and a second round pick. Lee played in 81 games (all starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 37.3 minutes, 20.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He played in 368 games (210 starts) in his five years with the Knicks and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 13.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Lee was a good player for the Knicks but this was a trade they had to make because they brought back three players that they like.

Anthony Randolph has the biggest upside of the return the Knicks got in this trade. Randolph played in 33 games (8 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 96 games (30 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 19.6 minutes, 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. The sky is the limit for Randolph who is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. SG/SF Kelenna Azubuike is the kind of open court player that Coach D’Antoni loves. Azubuike played in 9 games (7 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 25.7 minutes, 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 205 games (84 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he has averaged 24.4 minutes, 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Azubuike has hit 40.9% of his shots from three point range in his career and the Knicks will take advantage of that. Ronny Turiaf will be a solid backup center and power forward for the Knicks this season. Turiaf played in 42 games (20 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 294 games (69 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.9 minutes, 5.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.

I think David Lee is the best player in this trade but I think in the end it will help both teams as the Knicks needed more players.

The Knicks have signed 27-year old power forward Amare Stoudemire to a 5-year, $100 million dollar contract. Stoudemire played in 82 games (all starts) for the Suns last season and he averaged 34.6 minutes, 23.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 516 games (499 starts) in his 8 years in the NBA and he has averaged 34.3 minutes, 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. I really like this signing for the Knicks as Stoudemire is a great fit in Coach D’Antoni’s system from their days together in Phoenix.

UPDATE: (7/9/2010) - This was actually a sign and trade deal with the Suns. The Knicks have sent the Suns a $16.5 million dollar trade exception plus a conditional second round pick. That is not much of a price to pay for securing Amare Stoudemire for the next five years.

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.