Ranking Last-Minute NBA Trade Deadline Targets for the New York Knicks

One of these seasons, the New York Knicks won't be among the most active teams leading into the NBA's trade deadline.

It just won't be this year. Or the next. Or the one after that. Check back around 2099—things may have quieted down by then.

In the meantime, the Knicks' situation is more complicated than it's been in recent seasons. They are neither clear buyers nor sellers, which makes for wide-reaching trade speculation (and great dramedy).

Seemingly nothing is off the table as a result. The Knicks will have to consider all potential moves, be they win-now transactions or transition-triggering teardowns.

First-round picks will not count toward our tally. If the Knicks can get their hands on a top-30 pick, they should do it. End of story.

We won't be listing options who, in all likelihood, would require the relocation of Carmelo Anthony. His status with the team is sort of fluid, but he still doesn't intend to waive his no-trade clause, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Prospective targets will be a mix of players who help the Knicks win now or jumpstart a rebuild. Contract statuses, cost of acquisition and theoretical fit with the roster will shape the standings, but the top options will be those who best blend into New York's short- and long-term outlooks.

5. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves

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New York Knicks Receive: PG Ricky Rubio

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: PG Derrick Rose

Sources told ESPN.com's Ian Begley that the Minnesota Timberwolves contacted the Knicks about a potential Derrick Rose trade. They are serious about this pursuit, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge.

You're now free to hum (or bellow) Peaches & Herb's "Reunited" while sifting through old photos of Rose standing in the vicinity of the Timberwolves coach-president Tom Thibodeau.

This is one of the few situations in which the Knicks have leverage. Rubio is the superior player as a pass-first point guard who actually tries on defense, but he's not an ideal fit. He takes touches away from Kristaps Porzingis and Anthony since he can't play off the ball, and his contract runs through 2019-20.

Teams won't blink at paying starting point guards an average of $14.6 million per year in the new salary-cap climate, but it's only the Timberwolves who need this trade.

Grabbing Rose gives them additional spending power over the summer—breathing room they must have if they plan to be free-agency players while also considering new deals for the extension-eligible Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins. Karl-Anthony Towns will be up for an extension of his own in 2018, and Gorgui Dieng's raise kicks in next season. It becomes easier to pay all those dudes without Rubio's eight-figure salary on the ledger.

Dispatching Rubio in favor of Rose also ensures Kris Dunn can assume starting point guard duties no later than 2017-18. That's yet another win for the Timberwolves, who need to see all their young pieces marinate together as they're forced to reinvest in them.

This isn't to suggest the Knicks are getting fleeced. Rose is not good, and there's a possibility Rubio unlocks a tamped-down Olympics Melo with his kick-outs off the bounce. It's not like free-agent point guards will be lining up to meet with them after the Charles Oakley debacle, either.

Minnesota nevertheless seems determined to offload Rubio's deal. New York should be interested insofar as it doesn't cost more than Rose. (Thibs can have Joakim Noah if he's feeling reckless, though.)

4. Jeremy Lamb, Charlotte Hornets

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New York Knicks Receive: SG/SF Jeremy Lamb, PG Ramon Sessions

Charlotte Hornets Receive: PG Brandon Jennings, SF/PF Lance Thomas, 2017 second-round pick (from Chicago, via New York)

Opportunity is knocking at the Knicks' door. The Charlotte Hornets were "aggressively" pursuing Lou Williams, according to ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, before he was shipped to the Houston Rockets, as first reported by Wojnarowski. They'll now need to find offensive help elsewhere.

There's enough here to catch the Hornets' attention. They are woefully thin behind Kemba Walker and could use an upgrade over Brian Roberts and the inured Ramon Sessions. Brandon Jennings isn't playing at a starter's level but holds more offensive value than either of Charlotte's primary backup floor generals, according to NBA Math. His expiring contract makes him even more appealing.

Lance Thomas can be sold to the Hornets as a low-end three-and-D option. He has battled injuries and inconsistent playing time, but he's knocking down more than 40 percent of his three-point attempts for a second straight season. His wonky defensive stands will look much better in Charlotte, where he won't constantly be tasked with defending one of the two best players on the court.

Jeremy Lamb would be a worthy flyer for the Knicks even if all he did was move his feet on defense. It helps, too, that he's only 24 and owed under $14.5 million through the next two seasons. Insert him into a perimeter rotation that includes Justin Holiday (free agent this summer) and Courtney Lee, and New York shouldn't struggle as much on defense.

Sessions is nothing more than cap fodder for this deal. Jennings' minutes are better off going to Ron Baker even if Sessions gets healthy, and the Knicks can cut bait with his $6.3 million salary for next season via a team option.

Regardless of whether Anthony sticks around (he will), New York should make a concerted effort to target youthful dice rolls who might one day be valuable to a competent basketball team. Getting Lamb is a step, however small, in that direction.

3. P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns

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New York Knicks Receive: SF P.J. Tucker

Phoenix Suns Receive: SF/PF Lance Thomas, 2017 second-round pick (from Houston, via New York)

P.J. Tucker is a familiar name around these parts. Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek knows him from his days helming the Phoenix Suns, and the 31-year-old has been on the team's radar since early January, according to Begley.

As of late January, ESPN.com's Marc Stein was hearing the Suns would hold out for first-round compensation in any Tucker trade. Let's face it, though: That's not happening.

Tucker turns 32 in May and will reach free agency in July. Potential rentals on the back end of their prime won't nab first-round picks on their own unless they're being shipped out in exchange for crummy long-term contracts.

Lance Thomas is signed through 2019-20, but he'll barely make $7 million per year during that time, and the final year of his deal is non-guaranteed. Phoenix can use him as a cut-rate Tucker replacement while its foggy rebuild continues to take shape; there's always room in this league for wings swishing 40-plus percent of their triples.

Other aging vets New York can acquire run counter to the big picture, but not Tucker. His expiring deal is low-risk, and the money the Knicks save from moving Thomas' pact can be put toward outside free agents or a new contract for Holiday. Plus, there's the whole "This team can't play a lick of defense" thing.

"I don't think our guys aren't trying," Hornacek said in January, per Begley. "Maybe we're just not capable of it."

That's almost as damning as it is accurate. The Knicks are 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and their starters are even worse (29th). Tucker can come in and check premier scorers, and he allows Hornacek to play Anthony and Porzingis at the 4 and 5, respectively, without abandoning all hope of getting stops.

2. Mario Hezonja, Orlando Magic

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New York Knicks Receive: SF/PF Jeff Green, SG/SF Mario Hezonja

Orlando Magic Receive: PG Derrick Rose, SG/SF Justin Holiday, 2017 second-round pick (from Houston, via New York)

Shoot your shot, Phil Jackson.

Multiple teams are reportedly interested in acquiring Rose from the Knicks, according to Begley. The Orlando Magic could be one of them. Maybe, I think. They've been linked to the Detroit Pistons' Reggie Jackson, per USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, who is basically a rich man's Rose with some semblance of three-point range.

Rose's impending foray into free agency destroys whatever hope the Knicks had of recouping all the value they relinquished during his arrival. He still fancies himself a max player, per Begley, which is enough to scare off any mildly interested suitors.

Still, the Magic are in a weird spot. They're rebuilding but don't know it. They will have cap space this summer but, as Bismack Biyombo's four-year, $68 million agreement proves, they could use a beta-test period with new faces before making any commitments.

Trading for Rose's expiring deal affords them that flexibility. They get to see whether his dribble penetration results in more floor balance without entirely ruining Elfrid Payton and can pull the rip cord this summer if it doesn't work out. They also open up time at power forward for Aaron Gordon by dealing Jeff Green, and Holiday is more likely to see the court under head coach Frank Vogel than Mario Hezonja.

The Knicks needn't think twice if the Magic are game. Hezonja isn't yet two years removed from being selected with the fifth overall pick and, at 6'8", maintains his ceiling as a combo forward who soaks up spin at shooting guard.

Hezonja's plummeting field-goal percentages are a slight concern. But Orlando's offensive glob-fest isn't an ideal landing spot for perimeter come-ups. He converted 39.3 percent of his threes as a rookie when given at least four feet of space, including 36.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot deep balls.

New York's four-out lineups, inept as they often are, should help Hezonja recapture that version of himself.

1. K.J. McDaniels, Houston Rockets

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New York Knicks Receive: SG/SF K.J. McDaniels

Houston Rockets Receive: PF/C Kyle O'Quinn, 2017 second-round pick (via Chicago)

Shame on the Rockets for ruining "The Great Courtney Lee and Kyle O'Quinn-for-Brewer and K.J. McDaniels proposal of February 2017" with their acquisition of Williams from the Lakers, as first reported by The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Fortunately for the Knicks, the Rockets are chasing "win-now" splashes, according to ESPN.com's Zach Lowe. O'Quinn still fulfills that requirement.

Houston was sniffing around Kosta Koufos back in December, per Stein. O'Quinn is basically him, but younger and cheaper, with traces of a jumper. And just plain better.

Holiday can be worked into this deal if the Rockets aren't comfortable with giving even more of Brewer's minutes to Sam Dekker. But K.J. McDaniels seldom plays, and there's a good chance head coach Mike D'Antoni rolls with James Harden-Eric Gordon-Williams lineups before devoting more time to a 20-something project.

New York has more wiggle room in its rotation. McDaniels' three-point chops pale in comparison to the marksmanship of Holiday and Lee, but this shouldn't be a deal-buster. As Lowe wrote:

"

McDaniels doesn't play, mostly because of a busted jumper. Some team should take a shot on him at the right price. If there's a lesson of the last half-decade of NBA trades, it's this: When there's a rangy or athletic wing that has even a 10 percent chance of being decent, try to grab that player as a throw-in to a larger deal. Think about how teams landed [Jae] Crowder, Middleton, Iman Shumpert, Will Barton, and even Tim Hardaway Jr. You cannot have enough versatile wings.

"

With Holiday set for free agency, McDaniels' $3.5 million salary for next season (team option) is nice, if necessary, insurance. He probably isn't the next Barton or Crowder, but his defensive intensity is something the Knicks need whether they're hitting reset or chasing a first-round playoff exit.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey and Adam Fromal.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com and accurate leading into games on Feb. 23. Draft-pick information via RealGM.