The New York Knicks are reportedly attempting to follow the Brooklyn Nets' reported acquisition of future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with a move for a former first overall NBA Draft selection.
Is it LeBron James? Nope. John Wall? Not quite. What about Derrick Rose? He's not available either.
The Knicks were negotiating a deal with the Toronto Raptors on Sunday that would bring Andrea Bargnani to New York, as first reported by The New York Times. The 7' Italian forward has not fulfilled his potential in Toronto since being taken with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft. In his seven seasons with the Raptors, Bargnani has career per-game averages of 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Citing unnamed league sources, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Knicks agreed to send a 2016 first-round pick, Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and two future second-round picks to Toronto.
Before Knicks fans got themselves too distraught over (or totally talked into) the team's intent to use future draft picks to acquire a power forward with an aversion to rebounding who is widely considered one of the most notable NBA Draft busts in recent years, the deal was reportedly put on hold pending NBA approval.
Although the deal was not made official on Sunday and could still be altered, Novak felt -- or was told -- that an agreement was close enough that he thanked the Knicks and the fans of New York on Twitter.
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NEW YORK (AP) — The Knicks and Toronto Raptors are discussing a trade to bring former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani to New York.
The Knicks' push to land the forward from Italy was put on hold Sunday when a deal was not completed, but a person with knowledge of the discussions says the talks will continue.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were to remain private.
The New York Times reported first Sunday that the teams had agreed to a deal, with the Knicks sending Steve Novak, former Raptors center Marcus Camby and a future No. 1 pick to Toronto. But the deal was not approved for salary reasons and the teams will keep looking for ways to make it work.
Bargnani was the top pick of the 2006 draft but the Raptors have made just one playoff appearance since drafting him.
He averages 15.2 points for his career, but dropped to just 12.7 per game last season while playing in only 35 games, missing the last month with a sprained right elbow. The 7-footer averages just 4.8 rebounds for his career and largely plays on the perimeter in Toronto, but his 3-point shooting percentage tumbled to about 30 percent in each of the last two seasons.
Bargnani has two years and about $22.2 million remaining on his contract.
The Knicks waived reserve guard James White earlier Sunday.