Trading valuable assets for a win-now player would be a very Knicks move, but New York appears to be playing it safe when it comes to a potential deal involving Eric Bledsoe.
Knicks president Steve Mills attempted to shut down trade rumors surrounding 19-year-old point guard Frank Ntilikina and 23-year-old center Willy Hernangomez ahead of the team's game against the Cavaliers on Sunday night. ESPN's Ian Begley reported last week the Suns had reached out to the Knicks about both players, but New York has been consistent in its refusal to move them.
"We’re committed to [Ntilikina] and his development," Mills said (via the New York Post). "What we’re trying to do with this team, it centers around guys like Frank, [Kristaps Porzingis], draft picks moving forward. I feel really good about him."
MORE: Suns GM takes shot at Eric Bledsoe's leadership
Ntilikina, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, missed nearly all of summer league and preseason competition with a knee injury, and he's been limited in the regular season after an ugly ankle injury. He showed flashes of brilliance against the Nets on Friday, finishing with nine points and five assists in 23 minutes.
Hernangomez has struggled to crack Jeff Hornacek's rotation, but Mills has been supportive of Hornacek's approach to Hernangomez's development. The 2015 second-round selection (acquired by the Knicks from the 76ers on draft night) had his most impressive showing of the early season against Celtics last week with 12 points in 11 minutes on 5-of-6 shooting. Knicks fans shouldn't be surprised to see more time for Hernangomez moving forward.
"[Hernangomez is] a guy who's going to be with us the next three years and we have a lot of time to work with him, and he's going to be part of who we are," Mills said.
Following Bledsoe's infamous tweet about not wanting to be in Phoenix, the Suns have been looking to acquire a "young player with significant talent," according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The high asking price has put the Suns in a holding pattern, with teams interested in Bledsoe's services unwilling to meet Phoenix's demands. The Knicks are firmly in that group for now.
Perhaps with Phil Jackson still at the helm, the Knicks may have already pulled the trigger on a trade for Bledsoe, but with Mills and general manager Scott Perry in charge, New York is comfortable building for the future. Sporting News' Sean Deveney spoke to an NBA scout who put it in basic terms: "They’re bad right now. They should be bad right now. They need to be. Who knows what is going to happen, they could still do something crazy, but it seems like they’re OK with being bad for now."
The Knicks aren't competing for a playoff spot. They know that. It's in the team's best interest to stockpile young players with the potential to grow around a franchise-changing talent like Porzingis.
Maybe the Knicks have actually learned from past mistakes after all.
