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Trade deadline day! By 3 PM we will no who is a Knick and who isn’t...at least for the rest of this season.
We begin, of course, with the Derrick Rose/Ricky Rubio rumors. Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday night that the deal was dead, but by Thursday it was back on like Donkey Kong, suckas!
Minnesota's Ricky Rubio remains a significant target for the Knicks today, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 23, 2017
The Knicks are fishing for an extra piece!
The Knicks, sources say, are pushing for an additional piece from Minnesota in the Rubio/DRose talks and that's been the holdup this week.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Could that piece be power forward Nemanja Bjelica? Marc Berman believes as much, and he also reminds us that the Knicks have ties to Rubio through their European scouting department, which makes me unreasonably happy given that their European scouting department is by far the best part of the organization.
The Knicks had interest in Rubio, much more a playmaker than Rose, at last year’s trading deadline. Ever since Rubio was drafted in 2009, the Knicks have had an unusual fascination with him, stemming from Barcelona-based European scout Kevin Wilson knowing the family.
According to USA Today, the Knicks have asked for Minnesota power forward Nemanja Bjelica to be thrown into a Rubio-Rose deal.
Shoot your shot, Knicks. It’s always scary to play these games of trade deadline chicken, but they might as well ask for too much and adjust from there. Could the Knicks actually win a negotiation for once?
The Knicks are also looking into deals for the likes of Brandon Jennings and Kyle O’Quinn. Their asking price for O’Quinn is pretty dang high, per Isola.
One NBA team that has spoken with the Knicks says they're looking to get a first round pick for Kyle O'Quinn.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) February 22, 2017
As for Knicks who may be coveted by other clubs, Mindaugas Kuzminskas has drawn interest from the Suns.
The Phoenix Suns expressed interest in trading for New York Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) February 23, 2017
Not Cheese! Kuzminskas has fallen out of Jeff Hornacek’s rotation for the time being, but he has demonstrated some real skills. If the Knicks are going to trade him, I’d prefer something nice in return.
Hold onto your butts, folks. Only a few more hours.