The New York Knicks could be one of the more active teams at the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 7, but that does not mean they are going to be getting rid of valuable assets.
According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, rival teams have inquired about Knicks guards Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee, but New York is not willing to attach assets to either player to help soften the blow of their salaries.
Hardaway is in the second year of a four-year deal, with the fourth year being a $19 million player option.
This season, Hardaway is making $17.3 million, and he is on track to make $18.2 million next season.
Is he an albatross? No, but he has a 15 percent trade kicker, which, coupled with the fact that he is shooting just 39.3 percent from the floor and 35.2 percent from 3-point range this season, could turn off some teams from acquiring him without getting something else in return.
The same goes for Lee, who is in the third year of a four-year contract. The difference is Lee doesn't have any opt outs, so his four years are a firm four years. He is making $12.3 million this season and is scheduled to make $12.8 million in 2019-20.
Now, that is obviously not nearly as much as Hardaway, and Lee does not have the trade kicker, but Lee has scarcely even gotten off the bench for New York this season.
The Knicks' goal is clearly to open up more cap space to hit it big in free agency this summer without sacrificing any draft picks or any of their young talent.
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