Phil Jackson made it clear prior to the trade deadline that he did not believe the Knicks were in a good position to deal. The team lacked roster assets and draft picks while targeting high-profile players. In the end he was right and the Knicks failed to make a move to help with the second-half of the season. Carmelo Anthony told the media he saw it coming.
Anthony told the media following team practice that he did not expect a deal to get done by the 3p.m. deadline on Thursday. The Knicks were trying to remain as active as possible, but Anthony noted that no one was really worried about moving.
"If you don't hear anything as of now, I doubt we're probably even doing something. But you never know," Anthony said, via ESPN.com. "This game over the years has done some weird things. We've still got to 3 p.m. [Thursday] to try to figure something out. I haven't been hearing anything. The guys on the team, seems like they haven't been hearing anything."
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Knicks were interested in acquiring Jeff Teague and Rick Rubio at the deadline. They pushed during the day, but were only willing to give up veteran point guard Jose Calderon and forward Kyle O'Quinn in a deal. That was of no interest to any of the teams at the deadline. Calderon heard the trade talk all week with his name involved, but told the media that he not thinking about the potential of getting moved.
"I'm used to it," Calderon said, via the New York Times. "Like I always say, we don't know what's going to happen. I'm really happy where I am right now with the role I have, the way we're building something here and how the team is playing. But you're always one call away from something changing."
The Knicks still plan on chasing a guard, but it will have to wait until the offseason. According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, the team will likely re-visit potential deals for players like Teague and Rubio while making moves for Brandon Jennings and Mike Conley who have expiring contracts and will be free agents. There are options in a buyout. Begley reports that Kevin Martin was a target at the deadline. He could end up having his contract bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves which would make him an easy target for the Knicks.
