When Phil Jackson said he would do anything to get the New York Knicks back into title contention, he meant it even it was a little farfetched. The race for Kevin Love appears to be down to three teams as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors all have offers on the table. However, that does not mean other teams have not at least attempted to see if they stood a chance. The Knicks tried their hands at striking a deal, but were denied.
According to Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal, the Knicks offered the Minnesota Timberwolves Amar'e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr for the Love, but were turned down. It was a long-shot offer at best, but shows that the Knicks are serious about acquiring marquee players to pair with Carmelo Anthony as well as trading one of those three players before the 2014 season begins. The Knicks were thought to be a target for Love should he get to free agency next summer, but the team tried for a trade instead.
The Timberwolves are looking for a first-round draft pick to be tossed into any deal and that is something New York does not have. Plus, getting Stoudemire is not a valid replacement for Love. While Hardaway Jr and Shumpert are quality assets for Minnesota, they really have no sue for either player on the court.
The Knicks' offer does not compare to what Cleveland and Golden State have put up. The Cavaliers still hold the x-factor to any Love trade which is Andrew Wiggins. While the Cavaliers are doing all they can to not trade the No. 1 draft pick, if they get desperate enough it appears Wiggins will get tossed in. The same goes for Klay Thompson. The Warriors ideally want to retain the shooting guard, but will include him if they can guarantee it lands them Love.
Meanwhile the Knicks are still left trying to trade away their abundance of guards and expensive big men. New York wants to trade JR Smith or Iman Shumpert before letting go of Hardaway Jr while Andre Bargnani is the better deal compared to Stoudemire. Bargnani might not have played much last season, but he can still be extremely productive in the right situation.