I still believe the Melo deal was the right move at the time; Mozgov's yield to a desperate David Griffin later is a valid point but I think the Knicks, with Amare in hand and the likelihood that Melo would have gone to Brooklyn meant that the alternative - proceeding with Amare plus the youth we traded - made much less sense. I've heard the arguments, I suppose you've heard mine.
I see this situation differently. Butler is older than Melo was, and the core is younger. There is no win-now imperative that an Amare-type player might compel. The upcoming free agency the next two years is more favourable to NY than what Donnie faced. The draft, which meant little to the Knicks the year Amare had them flirting with the playoffs pre-Melo, means so much this year.
I think this Knicks team has the chance to do something special - 25 wins. If Kanter or Hardaway miss time before Christmas, then Porzingis' arrival may well be delayed until after the ASB. Then we might be in the mix for something even more special - under 20 wins. Add any of RJ (be still my heart), Little, Zion, Reddish or even Langford to the core of KP/Knox/Frank/TimJr, and our core becomes legitimately exciting. Plus we'd have one max spot this summer or two the following summer.
The big play I'd look isn't cashing chips in for Butler but rather trying to move Courtney Lee to Philly for Jerryd Bayless (expiring) and TimJr to Sacto for expirings (they have loads of flexibility) or to Dallas for Wessy Wes (expiring); I'd be willing to sacrifice either Burke or Mudiay to do it, but not picks. Those two moves would give us enough cap space for two max spots and still be in a position to resign either Hezonja or potentially even Kanter (as well as possibly Vonleh or Burke or Mudiay). We'd be one of the three worst teams in the league, yes, but with the payoff of lots of time for the kids and the belief that the rebuild would be expedited this summer, once we add a top-5 or so pick and, potentially, two stars. If the Fizdale aura is real, I could see Kyrie/Butler being in play. Hell, if we get Barrett or Little, I could see Kyrie/Durant being in play. We wouldn't be a team that looked like it was going to lose forever.
And, again, if they didn't come, we'd still be in great spot. I don't see a compelling enough reason to bring in Butler now.