NBA | Many Knicks realize they might depart after season

Larry Hughes is a veteran guard who can shoot, dunk and defend, but some believe the New York Knicks really need him to do merely one thing: play out his contract.

Al Harrington scores, David Lee rebounds and Chris Duhon makes plays. But they might make their greatest impact next summer, on a spreadsheet, as deleted cells.

On July 1, the contracts of Hughes, Harrington, Lee and Duhon will expire, along with the contracts of Nate Robinson and Darko Milicic, paring millions of dollars from the Knicks' payroll, most of it designated for the pursuit of free agent LeBron James.

This is standard practice in the modern NBA, where short contracts are currency and salary-cap room equals hope. The Knicks can create more than $20 million worth of optimism by letting six of their best players disappear.

"It's odd; it's different," said Hughes, an 11-year veteran. "You play this game long enough and you probably see everything. Right now, I'm seeing something that I've never seen before."

The Knicks are not alone. About a dozen teams are clearing cap space for the greatest free-agent class in recent history, potentially headlined by James, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson.

No franchise needs a roster purge as badly as the Knicks. They have struggled since 2001 and capped out since 1996.

Donnie Walsh, the team president, persuaded Lee and Robinson, two of the Knicks' best young players, to accept one-year contracts this summer.

It makes for smart bookkeeping, though not necessarily great morale. Some view the Knicks as virtual temp workers hired to keep the locker room warm for James. They are acutely aware of their transitory status.

"It's a business, man," said Robinson, a former standout for Rainier Beach High School in Seattle and the University of Washington. "If I'm here next year, I'm here. If I'm not, I'm not.

"There's nothing I can do about it."

With no guaranteed stake in the Knicks' future, the short-timers might have little incentive to pass the ball, set a good screen or take a charge — the out-of-the-box-score plays that can make a team more successful.

Coach Mike D'Antoni said he thought of addressing the subject at the Knicks' first team meeting but decided it was best left unspoken.

Notes

• Detroit rookie forward Austin Daye, who played college ball at Gonzaga, and Milwaukee guard Carlos Delfino have been suspended one regular-season game without pay for their roles in an altercation during Wednesday night's exhibition game. Daye was suspended for striking Delfino in the face, and Delfino was suspended for retaliating by swinging at Daye.

• Golden State swingman Stephen Jackson has been suspended for two exhibition games for conduct detrimental to the team. In Friday's 110-91 exhibition victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Jackson picked up five fouls plus a technical foul in less than 10 minutes, went to the locker room from the bench and didn't return.