It was a quiet trade deadline for the New York Knicks. They stood pat after making a trade for Cam Reddish nearly a month beforehand. New York's failure to tinker with their roster was a huge mistake, as they now have to hope for the same band of disappointing players to get them back in the playoff picture.

Although they missed the chance to make a move, the offseason could be where they pull off something big. Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and the Knicks have been linked together in the past. He would be the best player the team has had since Carmelo Anthony and their first truly great point guard in decades.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reported some good and bad news for Knicks fans. The good news is that Knicks assistant coach Johnnie Bryant is a longtime friend of Lillard. The bad news is that it would take RJ Barret, who has arguably been New York's best player this season, to land Lillard. Berman added that the Knicks could have made their situation more appealing had they added DeMar DeRozan over Evan Fournier this past offseason.

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“If they’re going to be in the hunt for Lillard, they’d have to have a good lottery pick this year,’’ one NBA executive said. “Because they’d have to give up RJ Barrett. I don’t see how they get him otherwise.’’

One NBA source said the Knicks’ best chance of attracting Lillard’s interest would’ve been signing swingman DeMar DeRozan in the offseason instead of Fournier.

The Knicks, even with Lillard, may not even be a top-tier playoff team in the Eastern Conference. This will surely hurt their chances of attracting Lillard and building a title contender.