New York Knicks Rumors: Buying or Selling Gossip Ahead of 2015 NBA Draft
Friends, the agony ends tonight. The excruciating mystery of the New York Knicks' 2015 draft choice will finally be over.
But first, let's sort through the latest draft night rumors: the media hype, the fans' wishful thinking, the executives' smoke screens and the Zen Master's wild schemes.
Trade Hardaway to Nuggets for Jennings
ESPN.com's Ian Begley reports the Detroit Pistons are interested in Knicks' shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr., and proposes the Pistons might swap Brandon Jennings for him. (A straight swap would not be legal under the collective bargaining agreement, so the Knicks would need to toss in other assets.)
This seems unlikely. Although Hardaway struggled on both ends of the court last season and the Knicks could use Jennings' help in the backcourt, the deal doesn't fit Phil Jackson's M.O.
First, Jackson has shed salary for a year. Why dump a $1.3 million Hardaway for an $8.3 million Jennings?
Second, Jackson has been chintzy with guards. While his team floundered desperately, Jackson traded away J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert and went digging through the bargain bin for Alexey Shved and Ricky Ledo. Trading for Jennings doesn't fit the pattern.
Oh, and there's that whole part where, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the Knicks never even talked to Stan Van Gundy about this one.
Verdict: SELL
Trade No. 4 to Suns for Bledsoe and No. 13
Sean Deveney of Sporting News reports "The [Phoenix] Suns had talks with the Knicks about dealing the fourth pick for point guard Eric Bledsoe and the No. 13 pick, but Phoenix has not been limited to the Knicks in that regard."
This won't happen. The Suns owe Bledsoe a lot of money—he's guaranteed about $58 million over the next four seasons. Bledsoe's good, but not good enough for a guard to get that sort of money from Jackson.
Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reported the Knicks were doubtful to trade outside the top 10 unless a young player and additional pick were offered. The Suns only have No. 44 left to offer in this draft.
Verdict: SELL
Trade No. 4 to Nuggets for Nurkic, No. 7
Sam Smith of Bulls.com reports "one move making the rounds lately" would see the Knicks trading the No. 4 pick to the Denver Nuggets. New York would receive Denver's No. 7 selection and promising young center Jusuf Nurkic, who was named to the 2014-15 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
The deal could be sweetened if the Nuggets also relinquish their rights to the Knicks' 2016 first-round draft selection, which is owed to either Denver or Toronto.
This arrangement isn't exactly exhilarating, but it's not entirely hideous, and it does bring New York some of Jackson's high-priority items: frontcourt players and future draft picks.
With the No. 7 slot, the Knicks could probably have either Frank Kaminsky or Trey Lyles. Kaminsky is a sweet-shooting 7'1" center who played all four years for Wisconsin, so he is entering the draft with a maturity the Knicks' locker room could certainly use. According to Deveney, "The Knicks had the Wisconsin big man in for dinner and a workout late last week and came away impressed."
Yet, instead of having both Nurkic and Kaminsky on the same roster, the Knicks might draft Lyles. He's a jack-of-all-trades with the build of a power forward (6'10", 250 lbs) and the experience of playing small forward, (since his Kentucky team was staffed with giants). Last month, the Daily News' Frank Isola said the Knicks had been "enamored" with Lyles.
Either way, Jackson ends up with two big men for the price of one. If any last-minute deal is likely to happen, this is the one.
Verdict: BUY
Draft Kaminsky at No. 4
According to Deveney:
"Kaminsky would not have gone to New York unless the interest from the Knicks was real. ... That’s why one of the topics of discussion at the Knicks meeting was bucking conventional wisdom, passing on guards D’Angelo Russell and/or Emmanuel Mudiay and taking Kaminsky — whose versatility makes him a natural fit in the triangle offense — with the fourth overall pick, two league sources told Sporting News.
"
A novel concept: simply using the power to choose whoever they want to, ya know, choose whoever they want. It makes perfect sense. It's so clean, so elegant...so unlikely.
Although No. 4 might not be as decadent a treat as the Knicks execs were hoping for, it is still a tempting enough morsel to dangle before teams who are salivating over D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay (like the Knicks should be). The Knicks brass know this, and they're getting grabby. They're not going to choose a "lesser" player if they think they're missing out.
If they can't find the right trade-down scenario, they might pull a Sam Hinkie and just select the most talented "asset" and plan to trade "it" for someone else later in the offseason.
If I had my druthers, Phil Jackson and Steve Mills wouldn't get too cute. They'd keep the No. 4 pick. They wouldn't let the latest whims or last-minute workouts sway them too much. They wouldn't romance themselves into drafting a long shot, imagining how clever they'll look when that kid becomes a star.
They would just draft Emmanuel Mudiay. Or D'Angelo Russell or Jahlil Okafor if they're still available. Or Willie Cauley-Stein. Or Justise Winslow. Or, heck, maybe even Kristaps Porzingis.
Yet, recent history would indicate Jackson and Company can't resist mucking about and taking gambles. A nice, calm, sensible draft night probably isn't what Knicks fans should prepare for.
Take heart. Whatever new devilry lurks nearby, it will be done beating your brain to a pulp and ripping your soul to shreds soon.
Verdict: SELL
Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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