The New York Knicks are expected to be active ahead of the upcoming NBA trade deadline. Two potential moves the Knicks could make, according to a report, are trades - likely separate - involving guard Jose Calderon and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson.
Amidst a losing season, Knicks president Phil Jackson has a clear plan: dump as much salary as possible to clear cap space for free agency. He already shed the contracts of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Samuel Dalembert. His next move, according to Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy, likely will be getting rid of Calderon.
Per Kennedy:
"I'd be surprised if he's a Knick after the deadline. If he is still there, it means they tried to move him and failed - not that they wanted to keep him. They really want to get his money off of the books since he's owed over $7 million for the next two seasons. ...
"Don't expect New York to get anything significant back for Calderon. This would be a contract dump where they take back expiring deals and maybe a pick. They aren't going to trade for anyone who has a deal beyond this season because - again - then they limit their flexibility."
As of now New York has around $30 million in cap space to use this summer. Although Jackson seems more concerned about creating financial flexibility for the future, that doesn't mean he would pass on trading for a player who could improve the team long-term.
Kennedy reported if Jackson were to become available before the Feb. 19 deadline, the Knicks would be one of the teams pursuing him. The biggest issue for New York, as Kennedy pointed out, is they don't have much in the way of assets to make it worthwhile for Oklahoma City to send Jackson to the Big Apple.
