New York offered Amar’e Stoudemire, Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Iman Shumpert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an attempt to land Love, a source told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. The Wolves reportedly rejected the deal.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly offering No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins in a potential deal for Love and the Chicago Bulls also willing to make a ‘significant’ trade, it makes sense for Minnesota to avoid a deal with the Knicks.
Hardaway and Shumpert could have been enticing pieces for Minnesota, but an aging Stoudemire — who averaged just 11.9 points per game in an injury plagued 2013-14 season — is a far cry from the player he was four years ago. Stoudemire’s contract is almost up, and it appears unlikely that he would sign a long-term deal to play for the Timberwolves.
The real problem for the Knicks is that they don’t have many first-round picks to use in a potential trade. New York already dealt their 2014 and 2016 first round selections, and because of NBA rules not allowing a team to trade top picks in consecutive years, the Knicks can’t trade their first round spots in 2015 and 2017.
For a team like the Timberwolves that is looking to acquire young talent, the Knicks would be far from an ideal trade partner.
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