When the Knicks abandoned the chase for Chris Paul and signed Tyson Chandler, many fans breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not because Chandler is the better player – he obviously is not. But the acquisition essentially signaled that the Knicks were planning to “stand pat” for a bit. That their roster was a more or less finished product, that they were ready to contend.

But are they?

The Knicks’ first eight games have shown us a couple of things. The frontcourt, when firing on all cylinders, is just about as good as we expected. And the backcourt is just about as bad. Any hopes that Toney Douglas would be an adequate caretaker for the point guard position have been more or less dashed at this point; in Saturday’s game against the Pistons, Douglas fell behind both Iman Shumpert and Mike Bibby in Mike D’Antoni’s rotation. Landry Fields has been almost as bad, looking more like the fish-out-of-water version we saw in the playoffs against Boston than the second-round steal that won Rookie of the Month in November and December 2010. Meanwhile, rookie Iman Shumpert looks like a real keeper.

So let’s fast-forward to June. Let’s assume the Knicks finish strong, qualify for the playoffs, even win a first-round series before getting dispatched by… eh, let’s say the Chicago Bulls. They could be ready to make a real push into the top tier of NBA teams in 2012, but they’re missing one crucial piece.

And they’ve got the full mid-level exception just burning a hole in Glen Grunwald’s pocket.

But here’s the question… what do you spend it on?

Grunwald could try to sign a point guard to run the show… someone like Mike D’Antoni’s old pal Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, or our old pal Raymond Felton, all of whom will be unrestricted free agents this summer. But maybe you think Shumpert is good enough to run the point full-time… with an assist from a re-signed Baron Davis or some other veteran. And maybe you think that mid-level deal is better spent on another wing player. Someone who can hit a three, who could play off guard at times but slide to one of the forward positions when STAT and Melo take a breather… someone like Wilson Chandler.

Just curious, Knicks fans… if it came down to that choice, who would you want to add for next season? A point guard – Steve Nash? Or the do-everything swingman and ex-Knick – Wilson Chandler?

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(Yes, this assumes that either player would be willing to sign for approximately $5 million/year… and that Mike D’Antoni will be back coaching the team. It’s my hypothetical, deal with it.)