Knicks Deal Crawford; Randolph Near Exit, Too

Jamal Crawford led the Knicks in scoring last season and was second this season with 19.6 point a game.

MILWAUKEE — Donnie Walsh made the first major trade of his brief Knicks tenure Friday, shipping guard Jamal Crawford to the Golden State Warriors for forward Al Harrington.

The Knicks confirmed the trade Friday afternoon, even as they were working toward a second deal that would Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Tim Thomas, a former Knick, and Cuttino Mobley. An N,B.A. team executive involved in the Knicks-Clippers talks said he expected that deal to be completed by the end of the day.

The Harrington-Crawford deal reunites Walsh, the Knicks’ president, with one of his favorite players. As president of the Indiana Pacers, Walsh acquired Harrington twice — in the 1998 draft and again as a free agent in 2006.

But the deal, and the looming trade of Randolph, are more about the future than the past, since the team, for the moment, will almost certainly be less competitive on the court. By unloading Crawford’s contract, which has three years remaining, the Knicks will shed $10.1 million before the summer of 2010, when they hope to be suitors for LeBron James. Harrington’s annual salary is close to Crawford’s, but his contract expires at the end of the 2009-10 season.

With Crawford gone, the Knicks are committed to about $43.6 million for the 2010-11 season, when the salary cap should be around $64 million. The Knicks could have about $20 million in cap space to pursue James, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star, or one of the other top free agents of 2010. The class could include Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire.

Al Harrington, left, has been averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game for Golden State this season.

Those cap figures, however, do not include possible contract extensions for David Lee and Nate Robinson.

Trading Randolph would clear another $17.3 million from the books in 2010. Both Thomas and Mobley have contracts that expire in two years.

The Knicks will shed five other major salaries over the next two years, with the expiring contracts of Stephon Marbury, Malik Rose, Quentin Richardson, Jerome James and Chris Duhon.

Crawford joined the Knicks in 2004, in a sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls. He was the first major free-agent acquisition by Isiah Thomas, the Knicks’ former team president. Crawford has played both backcourt positions for the Knicks, mostly as a starter. He was their leading scorer last season, with 20.6 points per game. He was averaging 19.6 points this season, second to Randolph.

Crawford attended the Knicks’ shootaround in Milwaukee but acknowledged that he had been informed by his agents of a possible trade.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world,” he said. “But it would be a little disappointing, because when things were bad I was here. So I wanted to be here when things got good.”

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