The New York Knicks will be on the hunt for center help when free agency and trading begin on December 9th.  If the season started today, 28-year old Ronny Turiaf would be the starting center.  He played in 64 games (21 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Turiaf has now played in 358 games (90 starts) in his his NBA career so far and he is averaging 17.9 minutes, 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  22-year old, second round pick Josh Harrellson would be the likely #2 center for the Knicks right now.  His game is built around rebounding and blocking shots.

29-year old power forward Amare Stoudemire played in 78 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 594 games (577 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 21.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots so far in his career.  The Knicks need Stoudemire to keep up with his very solid presence in the paint both offensively and defensively in 2011-12.  27-year old Renaldo Balkman might get a chance to backup Stoudemire in 2011-12.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets & Knicks last year and he averaged 7.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Balkman has now played in 207 games (12 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.2 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

27-year old small forward Carmelo Anthony is ready for his first full year with the Knicks in 2011-12.  Anthony played in 77 games (all starts) for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  He has now played in 591 games (all starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  I look for Anthony to score close to 30 points per game for the Knicks in 2011-12.  24-year old Bill Walker will backup Anthony this year.  Walker played in 61 games (1 start) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 125 games (14 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.1 minutes, 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

The Knicks are pretty young at shooting guard, but they aren’t without a lot of talent there.  23-year old Landry Fields stepped into the starting lineup for the Knicks last year as a rookie, and he did a great job.  Fields played in 82 games (81 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Knicks have enough scorers to cover for Fields while he does a lot of the dirty work.  25-year old Andy Rautins didn’t get on the court much for the Knicks as a rookie last year.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 4.8 minutes, 1.6 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  His game is shooting the ball, so he might get more of a shot this year for the Knicks.  21-year old Ian Shumpert was a first round pick out of Georgia Tech last June.  He only shot 39.6% from the floor in his career in college, so he might take some time to develop in the NBA.

The New York Knicks appear to be in solid shape at the point for 2011-12.  35-year old Chauncey Billups will be the starter once again in 2011-12.  He played in 72 games (all starts) for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He shot 40.2% from three point range last year, proving he can still knock down a open jumper.  Billups has now played in 982 games (888 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 32.3 minutes, 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  25-year old Toney Douglas is currently the backup point guard and shooting guard for the Knicks right now.  He played in 81 games (9 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 24.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Douglas has now played in 137 games (21 starts) in his first two years with the Knicks and he has averaged 22.3 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

59-year old head coach Mike D’Antoni almost deserves a pass on his first two years with the Knicks because the front office continued to give him lousy players in an effort to clear up cap space to go after LeBron James last summer. That didn’t work out but the Knicks did bring in a lot of talent for D’Antoni to work with. The Knicks are 61-103 (37.2%) under D’Antoni in his first couple of years but he’s a much better coach than that and it will start to show this year. D’Antoni has a career record of 328-275 (54.4%) during the regular season and he is 26-25 (51%) as a head coach in the NBA.

27-year old Ronny Turiaf could well be the starting center for the Knicks this year. He 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. Turiaf 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. Turiaf is better used as an energy guy off the bench.

24-year old rookie Timofey Mozgov will also likely get a lot of P.T. for the Knicks at center in 2010-11. He played in 16 games (3 starts) in Russia last season and he averaged 13:37 minutes, 6.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Mozgov is a legit big man as he is 7’1″, 270 pounds. It will be interesting to see how he handles the speed of the NBA game.

27-year old Eddy Curry won’t get much P.T. for the Knicks this year, even if he’s healthy. Curry played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 8.9 minutes, 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He has now played in 511 games (410 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.4 minutes, 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KNICKS CENTERS IN 2010-11: D

27-year old power forward Amare’ Stoudemire was the biggest addition for the Knicks over the summer. He 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. Stoudemire has now played in 516 games (499 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 34.3 minutes, 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He might also play a little bit of center this season but that will depend on his back up, Anthony Randolph.

21-year old Anthony Randolph will back up Stoudemire when the year starts but he could push him to center at some point in the year. 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. Randolph was the key player the Knicks got back in the David Lee trade so big things will be expected out of him.

24-year old Shawne Williams has never been able to shake off the court issues. That hasn’t stopped the Knicks from giving him a shot to get his career back on track. Williams last played in the NBA in 2008-09 with the Mavericks. He has played in 126 games (6 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 13.4 minutes, 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

Patrick Ewing Jr. is a legacy like they once said in Animal House. His daddy was one of the best players in Knicks’ history. That being said he is a long shot to make the team. Ewing played for the Reno Bighorns in 2008-09 in which he appeared in 30 games (9 starts) and averaged 35.2 minutes, 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KNICKS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: A+

22-year old small forward Danilo Gallinari really improved in his second year in the NBA last season. He played in 81 games (74 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Gallinari has now played in 109 games (76 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 29.0 minutes, 12.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Gallinari’s best asset is his long range shooting as he has nailed 38.9% of his three point shots to this point in his NBA career. The Knicks hope Gallinari takes another step forward in 2010-11.

22-year old rookie Landry Fields might be the top back up at small forward for a while. He played in 32 games at Stanford last season and he averaged 22.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Fields 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. The Knicks have been very impressed with Fields during the pre-season.

26-year old Kelenna Azubuike will likely be out until January as he continues to rehab his knee. 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. His main asset is his outside shooting as he has nailed 40.9% of his shots from three point range in his NBA career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KNICKS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B-

The Knicks have a lot of choices at shooting guard for the 2010-11 season. 23-year old Wilson Chandler is the likely starter at shooting guard. He played in 65 games (64 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 15.3 points, 5.4 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 has averaged 31.5 minutes, 13.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. But, Chandler needs to improve his outside shooting if he wants to keep his starting job. He has only shot 30.8% from three point range in his career so far.

30-year old Roger Mason seems like a good fit in the Knicks’ running style on offense. Mason played in 79 games (5 starts) for the Spurs 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 has averaged 19.2 minutes, 7.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Mason has shot 38.1% in his career from 3-point range and that alone should get him his share of minutes for the Knicks this year.

23-year old Bill Walker was impressive last season with the Knicks & Celtics. He played in 35 games (13 starts) for the Knicks & Celtics and he averaged 21.9 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Walker has now played in 64 games (13 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 15.4 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Walker has shot an amazing 42.7% from three point range to this point in his career which is pretty amazing.

23-year old rookie 2nd round pick Andy Rautins is a shooter. He played in 35 games (all starts) for Syracuse last season and he averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Rautins played in 127 games (65 starts) in his four years for the Orange and he averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Rautins will have a tough time making the team.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KNICKS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: C