On June 22, the night of last month’s draft, the Knicks contemplated sending the Clippers a trade package that featured Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and three first-round picks in exchange for star forward Paul George, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
When New York later agreed to trade Toppin to the Pacers for a couple second-rounders, the Clippers briefly brought up RJ Barrett to take his place in the aforementioned trade framework, says Scotto. The Knicks balked at that proposal, believing the asking was price too steep for George, who will make $45.64MM in 2023/24 and is eligible for an extension this offseason, per Scotto.
The Knicks control multiple protected first-round picks from other teams, so it’s unclear whether the first-rounders Scotto mentioned were protected in some fashion or were their own unprotected picks. Either way, apparently the talks didn’t advance.
Still, the Knicks remain on the lookout for a third star to complement Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, according to Scotto.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, Josh Hart will sign a long-term extension with the Knicks in August once he becomes eligible. His maximum extension number would be $81MM over four years, and Begley hears the veteran wing will receive “slightly less” than that figure. It seems highly likely that Hart exercised his player option in order to give the team more financial flexibility in free agency, with a handshake agreement on an extension.
- Begley hears from sources who say the Knicks haven’t budged on their asking prices for star players on the trade market, including Damian Lillard and James Harden, and both players are unlikely to wind up in New York. Like Zach Lowe of ESPN, Begley continues to hear the Knicks might be eyeing Joel Embiid in the future.
- Prior to using their mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks were interested in several unrestricted free agents, including Bruce Brown, Max Strus and Yuta Watanabe, Scotto states. Brown signed with the Pacers; Strus landed in Cleveland via sign-and-trade; and Watanabe signed with Phoenix.
- Losing Toppin means New York has rotation minutes available at backup power forward. Scotto hears Isaiah Roby will be given an opportunity to win the job, with Hart an option in small-ball lineups. Roby signed with the Knicks on the last day of the ’22/23 regular season, receiving a significant upfront payment ($400K) that suggested he could be in the team’s future plans.
- Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley‘s floor in a rookie scale extension is expected to be $20MM annually, and Scotto’s sources say the Knicks would consider a deal in that range. However, if the two sides don’t reach an agreement and Quickley continues to improve next season, Scotto says New York might contemplate using him as part of a trade package for a star.
The Knicks are being surprisingly cautious, and frugal so far this off-season.
Not a good sign. They went hard last year, and whiffed, now they have a legitimate chance at Lillard, and they do nothing?
I’d trade Randle, and probably anyone else on the roster if it meant bringing in Lillard for the rest of his career.
I totally agree with u I’ve been saying Leon Rose is asleep at the wheel and he hasn’t made one Block Buster Trade for a star so all that crap about him and World Wide Wes connections blah blah blah. Leon Rose is hoarding draft picks like a bum collecting bottles to scrap up enough change to get a bite to eat. Every summer we swing and miss or Lazy Leon doesn’t even put forth a effort to trade for a star. Honestly he is being too dam patient just like Coach Thibs is too dam stubborn. You have OG Annouby,Dejounty, Lillard,Harden,Levine,Derozen on the Block and Leon Rose the master Hoarder of Draft picks is about as quiet as a church mouse on Sunday. Smh
Knicks being “frugal” is a very good sign.
Knicks lost in the 1st round to Atlanta 2 years ago. They advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs this year.
Lillard? He is only interested in being dealt to Miami to play with Jimmy and Bam.
Beal? Beal’s agent is Mark Bartelstein. The new Phoenix Suns CEO is his 30-year old son, Josh. That deal was done before it ever started. Phoenix knew during the Regular Season that he was requesting a trade.
Paul George? How many rings does he have? How many times has he been hurt in the playoffs?
Lillard named NY as a place he wouldn’t mind going to.
All this media hub-bub about Lillard only going to Miami is exactly that, hub-bub.
Not saying Lillard is not requesting Miami as first on his list, and Portland is not attempting to accommodate, but I can’t see Lillards desire to be in Miami forcing Portland into taking their garbage picks, Herro, and Robinson.
If I’m Portlands execs this sounds like work, on top of work. No thanks. Do a trade in order to do more trades.
Better to wait until the season, or Lillard softens, or other teams soften before accepting the weak Miami assets, and salary package.
Lillard named Brooklyn as a place he wouldn’t mind going too. Not the Knicks.
Being very frugal is a good sign I beg to differ Leon Rose has done nothing but signed and traded for stop gap players. I said nothing about Bradley Beal but since u mentioned him he is like most stars whether young or old that Leon Rose either swung and missed or played possum with his arsenal of draft picks that’s collecting dust by the days nights and summers. Name one impactful trade Leon Rose has made other then Derrick Ross and Josh Hart. Nothing . Even the capped out Lakers with two superstars do more with nothing Tham Leon Rose with his arsenal of draft picks. Give me a break. SMH. Leon Rose is a joke and the team will never get pass the Second round with this stubborn defensive minded coach who constantly gets out coached by other coaches so in Thibs were lost.
“The Knicks are being surprisingly cautious, and frugal so far this off-season.
Not a good sign.”
I mean, compared to the way the Knicks have operated over the last two decades, I will take caution and frugality from their FO any day of the week. Even in this article, that Paul George trade would have happened with previous regimes and then George would have played like 40 games and then gotten a massive, bloated extension in the offseason.
I don’t like the Toppin trade, but we’ll see what the team looks like when all is said and done.
I’d rather, as a fan of basketball, my franchise give indications that they are not still butt-hurt, or gun-shy by a process that scourned them almost 1 year ago…
The market will come to them is likely why. The east has gotten weaker which makes them stronger right now.
Belleing the ball isn’t a bad strategy as of current.
I give them credit for being patient but this team isn’t going anywhere in the East unless they make a big move. And I don’t see many stars fitting well with a ball dominant Randle
Great trade idea for Knicks to acquire Paul George
Clippers accept Grime, Fournier, Toppins and picks
I’d suggest that Knicks send a better package to acquire Lillard
Add Quickley
Both Clippers and Blazers are Microsoft and they have money to pay taxes
Portland doesn’t know who owns them.
Publicly Jody Allen claims to be a beneficiary of her brother’s trust, which is true, but the trust lawyers claim that she didn’t get control over the sports franchises, and the franchises were to be sold, and the proceeds transferred to the many charitable destinations of Paul Allen’s wishes, according to the trust.
Vulcan Inc. runs the team in every way until this legal/and lawful fiasco is fully settled.
Portland is in a strange place. Not sure how the trust would react to losing money, and not having sold the franchise? They must have experienced this with coVid?
Microsoft definitely doesn’t own the Blazers though, and the Blazers are in a somewhat precarious position, and the trust lawyers are sending mixed signals about their position on selling the team.
Seems like the Nike bid would have been accepted under these circumstances, and has added to the confusion about whether the team is actually for sale, and is Jody Allen the owner, with ownership control?
I can say without a doubt Jody Allen is not the owner, but I have no clue about the state of the sale of the franchise.
I’d say no, the Blazers aren’t for sale, judging by what has taken place the last 3 seasons.
Not a George fan at all, but surprised they didn’t do that initial trade of Toppin Grimes and Fournier with the picks. None of those guys are future stars
No chance the NYK suggested that package. I doubt they seriously considered it. The Toppin trade indicates when it happed indicates they couldn’t have been all that serious (it wasn’t time sensitive for them to trade Toppin).
PG13 hasn’t been a full time player for 5 years, and if those things change into a player’s mid-30’s, its for the worse (although that’s hard to phathom here). He’s also a rental that wants an extension, which is the only reason he’s being shopped. Even Ballmer isn’t keen on extending PG13 to age 38.
The Knicks don’t have an “asking price” (as a possible buyer). What they (hopefully) have is sanity. Pursuing Lillard or Harden would indicate otherwise. Some ideas are even to idiotic for the NY media to float. Yet, anyway.
PG-13 for IQ, Fournier and 2 firsts makes much more sense to me.
And real quick on Leon Rose: he has put NY back on the map, even if he doesn’t talk to the media. He’s quietly built a sustainable winning team. Obviously signing Fournier was a mistake and he missed on Toppin and Reddish, but he’s hit big on Randle, Brunson, and Hart. He had to take some swings in order to bring in talent.
Now it’s all about bringing in players that fit Thibs system and guys who don’t subscribe to load management. Of course he also has to deal with Klutch v. CAA aspect. It’s a difficult line to walk but he’s brought excitement and hope back to the Garden.
Leon Rose hadn’t made one Block Buster Trade other than mid season trades for Derrick Rose and Josh Hart. I’m sorry I’m not impressed with his hoarding of draft picks are collecting dust by the day becaus he can’t put a inticing package together for a star to save his life. And now let’s talk about your stubborn coach Thibs who constantly gets out coached by younger coaches who don’t run dinosaur age offensive sets like this clown. This will never get us to the Eastern Conference Finals or Finals period. This is a joke and so is Leon Rose who is asleep at the wheel collecting draft picks like a bum collecting enmity bottles. Only thing that is garunteed in life is death, taxes,and Leon Rose signing another CAA client. SMH.
The Knicks would have looked good with Strus
Roby is a good player OKC and the Spurs lost to positional depth. I’d been hoping the Heat could somehow get him the last couple of years at the 4/5/3. He makes sense for them in that role Topping had/should have had