This time of year, with neon names like Damian Lillard and James Harden available on the trade market, you’d normally expect the Knicks to be in the conversation as a potential landing spot.
After all, New York is a market that can more readily absorb bigger contracts. And, with the team having failed to land a single guard on an All-Star roster since 2001, the club has certainly swung big for floor generals before. There was the 2004 deal for Stephon Marbury (they landed an aging Penny Hardaway in that same swap), and then the ’06 one for Steve Francis. Hell, last summer alone, they were thought to be bidding largely against themselves in an effort to get four-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz.
