It’s no secret that the New York Knicks have been working to trade Evan Fournier. The 30-year-old guard was removed from Tom Thibodeau’s rotation in 2022-23 and has one guaranteed year left on the contract that the signed with New York in 2021.
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the Knicks are open to the idea of trading Fournier as part of a multi-team deal. A couple of days after that report dropped, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that the Knicks, Suns, and Pacers had “exploratory discussions on a three-team trade where Cam Payne would’ve joined the Knicks.”
In that scenario, Fournier would’ve gone to Indiana, making him the second Knicks player this offseason to be dealt to the Pacers. New York also would’ve created an over $19 million traded player exception in the process.
However, on Sunday, the Suns agreed to trade Payne to the Spurs in exchange for a protected future second-round pick. Payne averaged 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 48 games (15 starts) for Phoenix this past season.
In other news, according to SNY’s Ian Begley, this week New York will guarantee “a portion” of Sims’ 2023-24 contract that was originally non-guaranteed.
Jericho Sims, watching the Summer League Knicks last night, will have portion of his 2023-24 deal guaranteed this week. Sims’ deal becomes fully guaranteed next month. https://t.co/7RPimIVUFH
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 16, 2023
More Knicks news
- Joel Embiid caught the attention of Knicks fans (and every other fan base) by saying in an interview that his goal is to win a championship, “whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else.” He took to Twitter on Monday morning and implied that he was simply being a troll.
- New York’s physical therapist and wellness lead Erwin Benedict Valencia announced on Friday that he was leaving the team.
- QJ Peterson was the star of the Knicks’ final Summer League game on Sunday, and he posted on Instagram to give fans a look at what it took for him to get to that point.
NBA news
- According to NBA insider Marc Stein (subscription required), the Mavericks are hoping that the Hawks will trade for Pascal Siakam so that Clint Capela may be made available for Dallas to snag as part of a multi-team deal.
- LeBron James is switching his jersey number (again), going from No. 6 back to No. 23 out of respect for Bill Russell.
- Steph Curry won the 2023 American Century Championship on Sunday with an eagle on the 18th hole.
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