The New York Knicks’ flirtation with Portland Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez isn’t over just yet. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks are still interested in trading for the three-point marksman, but that they’re having trouble completing a trade because Portland isn’t interested in taking back Wilson Chandler, and because the Blazers want a first-round draft pick in any deal.
However, says Isola, the Knicks could have acquired Fernandez in a three-team trade recently, but it would have cost them Anthony Randolph, the centerpiece in the package they received from the Golden State Warriors in the sign-and-trade deal that sent David Lee to the Bay Area. In the nixed deal, New York would have sent Randolph to the Indiana Pacers and a first-round pick to Portland. In return, the Blazers would send Fernandez to the Big Apple. It would have been a steep price to pay. Seth Rosenthal of Posting and Toasting, SB Nation’s Knicks blog, suggested this creative way Knicks boss Donnie Walsh could have rejected this proposal.