Like his free agency, Knicks President Leon Rose played conservatively for the first time trading limit on Thursday with a very minor transaction.
While Eastern competitors Miami, Boston and Chicago have improved, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau will look to fight the Wizards on Thursday and not just with the same guys he has, unless the Knicks are proactive in the buyout market.
The Andre Drummond Center is at the top of the list, as it draws up a takeover with Cleveland, after the Knights were unable to find a deal on Thursday’s trading deadline.
After trading Austin Rivers and Ignas Brazdeikis, Knicks still has over $ 14 million in headroom and $ 60 million in summer space.
As The Post reported that the deadline has come, Rose plans to have fun this summer.
If a player does not sign a buyout, the ceiling money is split between Knicks players as a bonus to reach the NBA minimum wage.
In addition, the Knicks enter the draft night with that cover space to make an easier transaction possible, while most teams are upside down.
The Knicks went back and forth on Drummond as a match, but he is durable, recovers and scores in the center position, despite the analytical manavas that make fun of his large numbers.
Drummond is from Mount Vernon, so the Knicks have been on his radar, despite reports that the Lakers and Nets are heavyweight leaders. The Knicks also have a financial advantage over the Lakers and Nets in being able to offer much more than the minimum, with little guarantee even for next season.
The little striker Otto Porter, who was changed in Orlando and could be given up, would also be a target.
At Thursday’s trading deadline, the Knicks won a second-round pick at the end of 2021 in their individual transaction to make up for the second round they lost to Detroit for Derrick Rose.
But Knicks’ biggest win was guard Lonzo Ball, who remained in New Orleans instead of being traded to Chicago, which would have controlled his future as a free agent. The Bulls have been engaged in serious talks with New Orleans.
As reported by The Post, the Knicks were unwilling to give up significant assets for Ball if they felt they could sign him in the summer.
Some Knicks targets have been distributed elsewhere, while combo guard Victor Oladipo has been moved to Miami, where it is rumored that he would like to sign again this summer. Rapids goalkeeper Norman Powell has been substituted in Portland, but the Knicks could be in play when he is a free agent.
Other targets included Evan Fournier, traded in Boston, and JJ Redick, moved to Dallas.
For Oladipo, the Rockets got Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a 2022 draft-pick swap. Knicks also had questions about his long-term health, but GM Scott Perry still felt it could be a powerful upgrade. Stop shooting.
One of the two marginal players the Knicks acquired from Sixers in Thursday’s trade, French center Vincent Poirier and swingman Terrance Ferguson, will probably be given up until their success in the redemption market.
Knicks lost two 15-person positions in Rivers and Brazdeikis, and Knicks managed to trade them in that business. Rivers and the Knicks agreed to find a new destination at the All-Star break and have been away from the team ever since.