Knicks Trade Rumors: Phil Jackson Won't Move First-Round Draft Picks

The New York Knicks could make a move at or before the NBA Trade Deadline, but Phil Jackson won’t part ways with a first-round draft pick.

The New York Knicks are beginning to surface in trade rumors around the NBA. From speculation that New York could get in on the Atlanta Hawks’ fire sale to rumors that it’s interested in P.J. Tucker, the madness is just beginning.

Though the Knicks are expected to be active around the deadline, team president Phil Jackson won’t risk the future for a short-term fix.

Jackson is running a Knicks team that has been criminally mismanaged over the past 15 years. Not only has the front office struggled to bring big names to New York, but it’s aimlessly traded draft picks without properly valuing the future implications.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Jackson and the Knicks’ new regime have informed teams around the NBA that they will not trade away a future first-round draft pick.

They also have draft picks, but Jackson and the Knicks’ front office informed teams last season that they weren’t going to part with future first-round picks.

Thank you, Phil Jackson.

The Knicks have a devastating and frustrating tendency to trade first-round draft picks in order to find the instant fix. Considering the Knicks have four postseason appearances since making the Conference Finals in 2000, one could easily argue that such an approach hasn’t worked.

Jackson himself experienced the results of that decision, as the previous regime traded New York’s first-round draft picks in 2014 and 2016.

The only first-round draft pick that’s been available to Jackson was in 2015, which he utilized to select Kristaps Porzingis.

It’s also worth noting that Jackson traded for another first-round selection in 2015. That draft pick was utilized to select Jerian Grant, whom Jackson flipped for Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday this past offseason.

Rose is averaging 17.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.0 rebounds on 44.6 percent shooting from the field, and Holiday has become one of Jeff Hornacek’s most reliable reserves.

Knicks fans can sleep well knowing that Jackson understands what the previous regimes failed to: first-round draft picks matter.