The New York Knicks apparently have high hopes for the offseason, with a new report claiming the team is hoping to trade for either Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love or Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. Knicks president Phil Jackson, meanwhile, suggested he would trade the team's 2015 NBA draft pick if it's higher than No. 4 and a talented big - Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns - isn't on the board.
You can't blame the Knicks for aiming high. A report over the weekend from Al Iannazzone quoted a league executive as saying Jackson may consider building a package around the team's to-be-determined 2015 first-round pick in order to go after Durant or Love.
"They could try to trade it for Kevin Durant," the executive said. "Or maybe Kevin Love. Cleveland probably would do that."
Oklahoma City trading Durant to New York this summer won't happen. Even if Durant hasn't committed to re-signing with the Thunder by next season's February trade deadline, Oklahoma City still won't trade Durant. Thunder general manager Sam Presti will likely ride next season out - with a new coach now, apparently - and do everything he can to convince Durant to stay beyond next season. By not trading him, Oklahoma City can at least try to paint itself as the good guy if Durant leaves by insisting it tried everything it could to make him stay.
Love is a different story. The Knicks could end up with Love in the summer, but it wouldn't make sense to trade away a high first-round pick - assuming it's in the top four - for a player whom most reports indicate will test free agency after the season anyways. New York could have anywhere from $21-26 million in cap space this season, meaning it wouldn't be a necessity to pick up Love's Bird rights in a sign-and-trade if the Knicks wanted to sign him outright.
As for what happens if the Knicks land a pick higher than No. 4, Jackson recently suggested he'd be more likely to trade the pick - especially if a talented big isn't available.
"(Jackson) confessed to being more likely to trade the Knicks' first-round pick if they fall to No. 5, and he emphasized a defensive big man is a priority," Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote Tuesday.
Towns is the best defensive big in the 2015 draft class. Still, even if New York didn't land a No. 1 or a No. 2 pick for Towns or Okafor, the team's need at point guard makes D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay, both of whom are projected to be top four picks, hard to pass up.
As for free agents, other targets reportedly include Rajon Rondo, Goran Dragic, Brook Lopez, Greg Monroe, Tobias Harris and LaMarcus Aldridge.
