WASHINGTON — Knicks maligned point guard Jose Calderon isn’t sure he will be around next season, but he claims he would like to be, even as a backup.
“For sure, 100 percent,’’ Calderon said Saturday before he sprained his left ankle in the third quarter in the 99-89 loss to Washington. “A couple of years ago, if my team needed me to do that? I’m not the one putting me in the starting position. That’s question for coach but, yes, 100 percent.’’
Calderon, 34, has played in 107 games in his two seasons as a Knick — all of them as a starter. He will enter the final year of his contract that pays him $7.6 million.
The Knicks are campaigning openly to see if they can find a new starting point guard next season. Carmelo Anthony lobbied for free-agent-to-be Rajon Rondo earlier in the road trip — and he will grace the Garden Sunday. It’s unclear if Calderon will be healthy enough after stepping on John Wall’s foot. According to an NBA source, coach Kurt Rambis is high on Rondo and what he can do in the triangle, and Knicks general manager Steve Mills huddled with agent Billy Duffy at Oracle Arena for a half-hour.
Earlier this week, the Knicks officially signed former Sixers point guard Tony Wroten, who is not expected to play this season as he rehabs from last season’s ACL tear but is being groomed.
The Knicks could do worse than having Calderon as a reserve next season and not have to face the quicker Walls and Rondos from the outset. If the Knicks cut him by using the stretch provision on Calderon, they would save $5M million in cap space for 2016 but would also reduce their space for 2017.
Unlike Carmelo Anthony and his no-trade clause, Calderon can’t decide his fate. “It’s still Easter — not summer yet,’’ Calderon said. “I’ll figure it out when the season is over. I don’ know what’s going to happen.”
Knicks reserve Lance Thomas did not accompany the club to Washington as he flew from San Francisco to New York on Thursday to get a second MRI exam on his left knee because there “was still pain in the area,” Rambis said. The result again showed no structural damage as he still has a bruise/sprain. Rambis said he still thinks Thomas will make it back before the season ends.