Had things gone a little differently this February, it’s possible Terry Rozier might be a New York Knick right now.
SNY’s Ian Begley reports the organization was seriously considering such a move at the 2020 NBA trade deadline.
The Knicks believed they could have acquired Rozier, D’Angelo Russell or some similarly young player with star potential for a few of the many mid-sized contracts and ‘future first round picks’.
With seven first rounders over the next four draft draft years, New York can afford to be more liberal with their draft picks than they have in the recent past — which is to say not much given the organization’s reticence to use draft assets to trade for players in the past.
From earlier: one directive at the 2020 trade deadline for the Knicks: keep enough assets to be well positioned if/when a disgruntled star asks for a trade. More on that and why NYK has softened previous stance on trading future first-round picks here: https://t.co/oh0fqxmcrL
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 22, 2020
It is debatable whether it would be worth a draft asset to get Rozier on the roster, but not because of Rozier himself despite how his last season with Boston went.
The former Celtic has had a solid if up-and-down first season with Charlotte, but has largely been worth his $19.8 million paycheck with 18 points and 4.4 assists per game.
While the Ohio native would be a huge upgrade over their current options at point guard — currently a who’s who of rehabilitation projects mostly leaning towards not working out — he’s also likely not enough of a draw to overcome the impact of dysfunction already driving free agents to the Brooklyn Nets.
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