NEW YORK — Knicks president Donnie Walsh has no plans to watch the hourlong LeBron James spectacle Thursday night on ESPN.
What will he be doing instead?
“Probably watching a movie,” Walsh quipped after the press conference officially introducing Amar’e Stoudemire as the newest Knick via a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns.
“I’m not going to watch [LeBron]. I know I’ll get a phonecall within 10 seconds.”
Walsh and the Knicks spent two years clearing some $34 million in cap space to pursue James, but now appear resigned to him heading elsewhere — with Miami his reported destination.
“I don’t know. I’d be surprised” if he came to the Knicks, said Happy Walters, Stoudemire’s agent. “I mean, it’s possible. Everyone else says Miami.”
“I’m not totally sure what LeBron is gonna end up doing,” Stoudemire said. “Obviously, would love to have him here in New York but we’re not sure what his decision is going to be so we gotta wait and see.”
If the Heat make a Super Trio out of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, they could become instant contenders in the Eastern Conference, along with Boston and Orlando.
“I think at first blush you’re thinking, ‘Wow, three great [players], two really unstoppable-type guys with a very, very good big guy, that’s formidable,'” Walsh said.
“But now you have to go and become a team. All those things have to happen, so I’ll be curious to watch it if that’s what happens.”
Even without landing their ultimate prize, Walsh said the cap-clearing work had to be done.
“We were in stasis, we couldn’t do anything,” he said. “So we were just chasing our tail around.”
Absent an announcement by James that he is headed to New York, the Knicks could opt to refocus their efforts on 2011 free agents such as Carmelo Anthony, whose wedding James will reportedly attend this weekend in New York.
“You can’t just get under the cap for one year,” Walsh said. “At that point you’ve got to manage your cap so you have the ability to get under a lot, particularly early and we’ll have that ability.”
Anthony has expressed interest in playing in New York and Knicks fans may spend the next year hoping for yet another megastar to big their team.
“We’ll structure our contracts that we can get into the free agent market when we know there are players there that are A) top-level players; and B) players who want to come to New York,” Walsh said.
In the meantime, the Knicks will have some $18 million in cap space to spend on additional parts such as Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller and Raymond Felton.
Stoudemire benefited from playing with Steve Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, in Phoenix under current Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.
Yet the Knicks have only second-year point guard Toney Douglas currently on the roster.
Asked if obtaining a point guard such as Felton was priority No. 1, Walsh said D’Antoni’s system could employ a point forward without utilizing a traditional point guard.
“Sometimes Mike would rather have a guy that’s a forward that’s really playing point guard,” Walsh said. “The point guard that would play in that situation would be somebody who’s a great shooter. You can do that with a small forward, you can do that with a shooting guard.”
Walsh preferred to focus the day on Stoudemire, whom he said was obtained in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix as a “courtesy” to the Suns. He will make $99.9 million over five years, with a player option for the fifth year.
“The Knicks get more cap room this year. They get close to $1 million in extra flexibility,” Walters said.
Walters said the Knicks might get a 2nd-round pick in the Amare trade, but Walsh wouldn’t confirm it.
Stoudemire says winning an NBA title in New York is his ultimate goal, but without James that will become even harder.
“It’s definitely a goal of mine to ultimately win a championship,” Stoudemire said, “and that’s what we’re looking to do here in New York.”
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