The Knicks have long been a team that needs a guard. The team has always been unlucky in this position and even betting on Frank Ntilikina was not the best choice.
The franchise, however, sought to acquire two of the league’s best veteran point guards in the run-up to the commercial deadline earlier in the year. A report by Ian Begley of SNY.tv states that the Knicks tried to trade with D’Angelo Russell and Terry Rozier during that time. It’s read :
Under former team presidents Phil Jackson and (Steve) Mills, the Knicks were strongly opposed to negotiating future first round choices. This was a reasonable position for an organization that had been burned so often by trading in the front row in the past.
But before the 2020 deadline, that approach has changed. The Knicks were comfortable including future first round picks in Terry Rozier’s Russell and Charlotte offers.
It is also added that one of the proposed offers included the offer of Bobby Portis, Allonzo Trier and Frank Ntilikina, in exchange for Russell.