The Knicks need another impact player, and there’s little doubt about that. Yeah, the team might make the playoffs, but the it don’t have the roster to vanquish the top three team that would surely be faced. The expectations of postseason games at the Garden already have Amar’e, Felton, Gallo, and Randolph shouldering great burdens. How much of Amar’e's game was Steve Nash? Is Felton able to command an offense? Can Gallinari expand his game? Will Randolph live up to his potential?

This is why the Knicks want Carmelo Anthony. Sure, he hasn’t been a defender, and maybe he isn’t the most efficient of shooters. But Carmelo represents a known quantity, a player who has the pure ability to score from anywhere at anytime and who is a lock for twenty point games. In this respect, acquiring Carmelo would be as much about relaxing the psyches of the Knicks players as bringing in the coveted second star.

But clearly, the atmosphere of MSG has been turned over this summer. Hope springs anew, the specter of the Isiah era having all but dissipated with an infusion of fresh, optimistic blood. They have the requisite flashiness in Amar’e, so is it possible that the equally flashy Carmelo could be detriment to the revived team culture? Not only would the price for Carmelo exceed the precise the players’ who were supposed to have their burdens eased, but an Amar’e and Carmelo duo would be ultimate rejection of statistical analysis. There are eight All-Star appearances between the two, but neither plays acceptable defense and thus there is a tremendous dichotomy between the two schools of basketball thought. The public infatuation with the two, resulting from rim-rattling dunks, has drawn the ire of basketball statisticians, who point to lackluster adjusted +/- ratings and merely average efficiency numbers.

As has been repeated ad nauseam, it is no sure thing that Carmelo would put the Knicks over the top. So with the renovation of the team’s character already well on it’s way, should the Knicks’ direct their attention to function over flash?

This is not to say Andre Iguodala doesn’t have his moments. Iguodala is one of the best athletes in the NBA, but if you talk about Carmelo being the manifestation of Gallinari’s potential, Iguodala is the player who perhaps uses his athleticism best. While I have written that Carmelo’s athletic ability inherently provides room to grow on defense, Iguodala already has taken advantage of that extra bit of potential.

Sure, Iguodala won’t drop 30+ like nothing and will struggle with his jump shot. But he has shown an ability to be the all-around player the Knicks desperately lack, and has reinforced that reputation in Turkey this month (data from 2008-09 season). Amar’e scores from the paint. Gallinari scores from beyond the arc. Amar’e messes up on D. Gallinari’s length only goes so far against a slashing forward. Whereas Carmelo represents a quintessential D’Antonian player – a hunger for fast-paced plays – Iguodala would symbolize D’Antoni’s concession that the importance of a good defense exceeds that of a good offense. While Carmelo is the play finisher, Iguodala is uniquely a playmaker on the wing.

Unlike the Nuggets and Carmelo, the 76ers want to move Andre Iguodala. The Sixers drafted Evan Turner with the second pick, a player who has drawn many comparisons to Iguodala, and Iguodala is of course owed $56.5 million over the next four years. Saddled by the megalithic contracts of Iguodala and Elton Brand, the Sixers are desperate for some cap relief, and theoretically an Eddy Curry for Iguodala trade works. While the Sixers primary motivation in trading their team’s best player would be to provide some financial maneuverability, GM Ed Stefanski and new coach Doug Collins will seek a useful assets in addition to an expiring deal.

Despite lacking the leverage Carmelo has, Iguodala would not command such a great load of assets. That offer the Knicks made for Carmelo (Gallinari, Curry, first-rounder) that supposedly is not enough? It would blow other offers for Iguodala out of the water. So, would adding Wilson Chandler or Toney Douglas do the trick? Hey, throw in a second-rounder or two for all I care. The Sixers would prefer to receive a first-round pick, but a shallow market for Iguodala and his contract could bode well for the Knicks’ theoretical offer. There would be no more worries of the Knicks trading supposed-future-perennial-All-Stars in Gallinari and Randolph. Gallinari would continue to get time as a starter, while Randolph would get consistent time as the team’s sixth man.

Perhaps a result of their different skill sets, fans seem to be more repulsed by Iguodala’s contract than Carmelo’s. But over his seven-year career, Carmelo has missed 10.5% of his games. Iguodala? Just 1.2 percent, all coming four seasons ago. Not only this, but Iguodala has showed the ability to play a multitude of positions, while Carmelo will expect to play at the three, and thus dethrone Gallinari (above).

In fact, Iguodala’s salary mostly pales in comparison to Carmelo’s, if the latter is to sign the three-year, $65 million tender (per-year salary estimated). By the time Chris Paul and Deron Williams could be free agents, the Knicks would have nearly $7 million more to spend.

Sure, “Andre Iguodala” doesn’t have the same cachet as “Carmelo Anthony,” but the Knicks goal now has to be to win. Carmelo is a great player to watch, but does he contribute in all facets of the game like Iguodala? Would Denver trade him for a package sans Gallinari and Randolph? In the end, a winning team is just as attractive for free agents as one with two big-time stars.

As Fran Blinebury wrote, Iguodala could force his way out sooner rather than later. It would be a contrarian move, without a doubt, but preferable one in the interests of the Knicks future on the court. Yes, Iguodala wouldn’t draw as much attention off of Gallinari and Randolph on offense as Carmelo would. But they surely wouldn’t have to clean up the mess on the other end of the floor all the time, either.

The Knicks need another star to contend. Problem is, they might be targeting the wrong one.

Position data from 82games.com; +/- data from BasketballValue.com; contract data from ShamSports.com