A note on Buddy Hield and the Kings: In talks with some teams about trades involving Hield, Sacramento had been asking for draft compensation, SNY has learned. The Knicks have a significant amount of draft capital over the next few drafts. But it’s unknown if New York would have any interest in a) trading for Hield or b) including future draft picks in a Hield transaction.
Sending Julius Randle’s salary out in a deal for Hield would work under trade rules.
As of earlier this week, no Knicks trade with the Kings or any other team was imminent. (Always worth noting: things can change quickly with any NBA trade discussion.)
The Knicks enter training camp with 16 players under contract and need to shed one player under an NBA contract before the start of the regular season. They have $18 million in remaining cap space. As of late last month, teams were under the impression that the Knicks remained open to using that cap space to take on an unwanted contract from another team.
New York completed such a transaction in the offseason. The club acquired and traded Ed Davis in two separate transactions, acquiring three second-round picks, Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans in the deal.
Hield, 27, is under contract through 2023-2024, earning $94 million over the next four years. So New York, or any other team that acquired Hield, would be making a significant financial commitment to the shooting guard.
There was some baseless speculation about New York including Frank Ntilikina in a trade because he removed the Knicks from his bio on a social media account. Ntilikina was asked about that on Friday and said that he’s solely focused on being a Knick.
“I heard about it. It’s been a while – a really long time. It’s nothing new,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m here. I’m happy to be a Knick. I’m working every day to represent this team the best I can. And I’m really happy to be here.”