After the Knicks expressed interest in trading for Warriors guard D'Angelo Russell, as sources told SNY's Ian Begley on Monday, another team had reportedly emerged with momentum to land the 2019 All-Star selection.
The Timberwolves entered talks with the Warriors in a potential four-team trade to land the 2015 NBA Draft's No. 2 overall pick, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday. But later on Tuesday night, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Warriors were moving on because Minnesota was not willing to meet price point.
Ultimately, the original three teams involved -- the Timberwolves, Rockets, and Hawks -- did find a fourth team -- the Denver Nuggets -- and reportedly agreed to a trade in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
In the deal, as reported by Wojnarowski, the Rockets acquired Robert Covington and Jordan Bell, Atlanta acquired Clint Capela and Nene, Minnesota added Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt and a first-round pick from Atlanta, while Denver landed Gerald Green, Shabazz Napier, Keita Bates-Diop and a Houston first-round pick. Former Knick Noah Vonleh also was involved, going Minnesota to Denver.
For the Warriors, Russell could be on the block because Golden State is trying to avoid being hit with the luxury tax, entering trade talks with the Knicks and others around the league to check interest.
What the Knicks ultimately do before the NBA trade deadline, with Russell or anyone else, remains to be seen after Tuesday's news shifted the front office. The Knicks fired president Steve Mills, as Begley confirmed, and tapped general manager Scott Perry to pull double duty in the interim.