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Renaldo Balkman's days with the Knicks appear to be numbered.
An NBA front office source familiar with the discussions told Newsday = Sunday=20 night that the Knicks are considering trading Balkman to the Denver = Nuggets for=20 point guard Taurean Green and small forward Bobby Jones.
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The deal was proposed to the Knicks late last week, and both teams = are=20 discussing the deal internally.
As Renaldo would say, Aw man, crazy. More as details become=20 available.
UPDATED 10:08 p.m.: Here's my take: Though he's athletic, it's become = clear=20 that Balkman doesn't fit Mike D'Antoni's system, which requires quick = decision=20 making and a lot of savvy. Green and Jones are just roster fodder, = although=20 Green is a ball-moving point guard who could compete for a spot in = training=20 camp.
As Alan Hahn has written several times, the Knicks were high on Green = coming=20 out of Florida, and would've taken him with Portland's second-round pick = last=20 year. But the pick never ended up being included in the Zach Randolph = trade, and=20 the Blazers ended up taking Green -- a player they didn't need -- and = trading=20 him to Denver.
The real significance here -- unless you're all torn up about Balkman = being=20 traded -- is the fact that the Knicks would have 17 players under = contract.=20 That's two over the limit and a clear sign that they're gearing up for = one or=20 more significant trades.
We know they'd love to move Randolph's three years and $48 million = remaining,=20 and having a ton of bodies and contracts would only facilitate what = would be a=20 complicated deal. Green joining Chris Duhon in the point guard = competition=20 certainly doesn't bode well for Stephon Marbury, but I've already been = assuming=20 he's gone anyway. This is just another move that confirms that = belief.
The Knicks are involved in active trade discussions with several = teams, so=20 this could be an eventful summer. The way Donnie Walsh is amassing = bodies=20 suggests that he's positioning himself to do something big when the = opportunity=20 presents itself.
UPDATED 10:21 p.m. A person familiar with the situation said Green = and Jones=20 both expect to be waived by the Knicks, which would put a damper on = parlaying=20 this into a bigger deal. Both players have non-guaranteed contracts, = which means=20 it's simple accounting to waive them and get back to the 15-player = limit. If the=20 Knicks can shed another body, they wouldn't mind bringing Green to = training camp=20 to have a look-see. So it appears that this is simply a move designed to = get rid=20 of Balkman and save $1.32 million in cap space next season.
One more time: Aw man, crazy.
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