New York Knicks Rumors: Late Push For Kevin Martin Being Made?
New York Knicks Rumors: With the NBA Trade Deadline so close, the Knicks are attempting to make a last second deal for Minnesota Timberwolves SG Kevin Martin.
It has been a quiet NBA Trade Deadline thus far for the New York Knicks, as there has been very few rumblings coming from Gotham City. The Knicks are in the market for a point guard, but are lacking the assets to make a big time deal, as their selling points have been Jose Calderon‘s leadership and veteran qualities and Kyle O’Quinn.
Not surprisingly, that has not gotten many teams excited, as Calderon has another year left on his contract and O’Quinn has been unable to get into the Knicks’ rotation. There was a rumor earlier in the day that the Knicks could potentially add the draft rights to 2015 second round pick Guillermo Hernangomez to sweeten a deal, but Phil Jackson is high on the young prospect.
One of the teams that the Knicks reportedly talked to about acquiring a point guard was the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves were gauging the interest of Ricky Rubio, as they seem intent to starting giving more minutes to the electrifying and two-time defending Slam Dunk Contest winner, Zach LaVine.
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But, to the surprise of few people, the rumor seemed to be just that, as the Knicks lacked the assets to get the Timerberwolves attention for Rubio.
With Rubio seemingly out of the picutre, the Knicks moved on to another one of his Timberwolves teammates, shooting guard Kevin Martin. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Knicks are making a run at Martin but a deal does not seem likely to come together before the deadline hits in less than an hour.
ESPN sources say that New York has made a trade run today at Minnesota's Kevin Martin, but that deal, too, appears unlikely to come together
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Martin has missed the last nine games because of a wrist injury, but he appears to be close to playing. It is not clear what kind of package the Knicks would sent the Timberwolves way for Martin, but it would at least signal the Knicks trying to improve their roster as they lack consistent scoring options behind Carmelo Anthony.
A potential road block in acquiring Martin is the fact that he has a player option for the 2016-17 season worth $7.4 million. That could drive some teams away, as people are looking to clear cap space, not add it, for the upcoming season with some solid free agents available.
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That would make the acquisition of Martin a peculiar one for the Knicks, as they want to keep their future cap space as open as they can. Also, they already have Arron Afflao entrenched at shooting guard, so adding Martin would seem to be redundant when they have a clear need in the backcourt at point guard.