WHAT’S THE HOLDUP? Ronny Turiaf has to be traded for a draft pick in order to open up the needed cap space for the Knicks to get Tyson Chandler. (AP)
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The Knicks were on the verge of forming arguably the biggest Big 3 in NBA history as the club closed in last night on the stunning signing of elite 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler, according to multiple NBA sources.
In forming a Chandler-Amar’e Stoudemire-Carmelo Anthony frontline, the Knicks are ready to blow up their long-stated Master Plan of preserving salary-cap space for 2012 in order to sign Chris Paul in a whopping change of heart.
The Knicks realize Paul is headed elsewhere, even if last night’s three-team trade that had him going to the Lakers was killed by the NBA, which owns the Hornets.
For the Knicks, the future is now, not in 2012.
To add Chandler in a potential four-year, $58 million package, the Knicks are ready to cut ties with starting point guard Chauncey Billups, who would be a victim of the new NBA amnesty clause to create cap space.
The holdup is center Ronny Turiaf also has to be traded for a draft pick to open the needed cap space to have Chandler start at nearly $14 million per season. According to sources, the Turiaf trade last night was stopping the deal from being consummated. Turiaf has chronic knee issues and may need to pass a physical.
The other alternative would have the Knicks and Dallas engineer a tidy sign-and-trade — Billups for Chandler — because Billups makes $14.2 million. But one NBA source called a sign-and-trade “a long shot.’’
Billups, who was to attend his first day of voluntary workouts yesterday, instead flew back to Denver on his own without the Knicks’ blessing, according to a source.
The Chandler signing would leave the Knicks with no legitimate starting point guard on their roster and they lost out last night on former Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley, who agreed to terms with the Jazz.
Cleveland point guard Baron Davis is a likely amnesty candidate, but it seems unlikely he would fall to free agency after the initial bidding for under-the-cap teams. Mike Bibby, a Mike D’Antoni favorite, and Mario Chalmers are free agents.
The Knicks have been enamored with undrafted 6-foot-7 point guard Julyan Stone, invited to training camp before the lockout, but it’s unclear which team’s camp he will attend.
“Whatever’s clever and what makes sense for us to win a championship is what we’re going after,’’ Stoudemire said. “That’s what we want as players. That’s what the coaches want. The time is now for us to really turn it up a notch.’’
Chandler, who helped lead Dallas to last June’s NBA title with his shot blocking and monstrous defense, was the shiniest jewel in a weak 2011 free-agent market and the defensive center the Knicks long coveted.
When the club realized its chances of nailing Paul now or in the future dwindled, the Knicks pounced.
“You always want to get better,’’ said one executive familiar with the Knicks’ decision to scrap 2012. “You just never know when that will be.’’
The Knicks were offering one-year deals with their $5 million mid-level exception and two sources said they were closing in on an agreement with 39-year-old Grant Hill late Wednesday night before the Chandler scenario unfolded quickly. If the Knicks get Chandler via the amnesty route, they won’t have their mid-level available for Hill, who wanted to play for the Knicks.
When the day began, Chandler appeared headed to Golden State, which offered him a multiyear deal starting at $15 million. A Bay Area TV station stated the Warriors were attempting to sweeten the offer last night, but an NBA source said, “He wants to come to New York.’’
The Knicks may have a $2.5 million exception in the new CBA for under-the-cap clubs just under the salary cap. The Post reported yesterday their trade talks with the Hornets for Paul were “dead.’’
Chandler averaged 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 74 games last season.
Training camp officially starts today and the Knicks have 10 players under contract. The point guards on their roster are Toney Douglas, coming off major shoulder surgery, and untested rookie Iman Shumpert.
It’s a bitter pill for Billups, who could retire.
“He’s irate under the circumstances,” his agent Andy Miller told Yahoo!. “He has no intention of being open-minded about any possible situation where a team would claim him off waivers unless it’s a team he chooses himself. Buyer beware.”