Fansided

NBA Rumors: Knicks were in talks to acquire Eric Bledsoe during Draft

By Josh Hill

Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan introduces New York Knicks new president of basketball operations Phil Jackson (not pictured) at a press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan introduces New York Knicks new president of basketball operations Phil Jackson (not pictured) at a press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New York Knicks were expected to make a bevy of trades at the NBA Draft, but it’s the trades they didn’t make which we’re talking about. 

When the NBA Draft wrapped up, the New York Knicks had made far fewer trades than initially anticipated. This will end up being a stroke of brilliance by Phil Jackson or the beginning of the end of the Knicks season this year. Time will tell, but already it’s looking like the Knicks passed up on a few solid offers to land the draft class that they did.

According to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, the Knicks were in talks with the Phoenix Suns to acquire guard Eric Bledsoe before New York eventually made their pick on the night.

Begley reports that Phil Jackson believed things fell into place the way he planned, thus leading to no trades being made outside of the Tim Hardaway Jr deal. Rumors had swirled in the days leading up to the draft that the Knicks would be interested in acquiring Bledsoe, but these were balked at later on.

As it turns out, the rumors were very valid and nearly came to fruition if the draft had gone differently.

What this shows us is that the Knicks really wanted Kristaps Porzingis at No. 4 overall as they gave up pursuit on Eric Bledsoe to get him. The failure to trade for a point guard was balanced out later on when the Knicks dealt for Jerian Grant and shipped off Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks.

In addition to the Bledsoe rumors, Begley reports that the Celtics and Knicks were talking about a Jared Sulinger deal that eventually fell through when ‘things fell into place’.

New York wasn’t totally active on the trade market during the NBA Draft, but they were active nonetheless and that’s what counts. They didn’t ignore trades and they may have actually done the smart thing and doubled down on some of the bigger deals they could have sprung on.

More from FanSided

Home/NBA