With only two days left until the NBA trading deadline, the Knicks are still trying to pry Tracy McGrady loose from the Houston Rockets, according to Yahoo! Sports and the New York Post.
The deal would involve McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract going to the Knicks along with Joey Dorsey and Brian Cook in exchange for Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill and either Al Harrington or Larry Hughes.
The teams would also exchange 2011 draft picks and the Knicks would give up their first-round pick in 2012.
“They’ve made some progress,” one source told Howard Beck of The New York Times.
By shedding Jeffries’ $6.9 million deal for next year, plus a $2.5 million commitment to Hill, the No. 8 pick in the 2009 Draft, the Knicks would have another $9.5 million in salary cap space.
That would give the Knicks up to $35 million in cap space to pursue two free agents next summer.
The Knicks are targeting the big-name free agents, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
If they land one of them, they could still have enough money left to add a second free agent, with the New York Post pointing to Carlos Boozer as one option.
The Knicks have already surrendered their 2010 first-round pick, now owned by the Utah Jazz.
Should they surrender a 2012 pick for McGrady and then fail to make the playoffs, somebody else could once again benefit from their future lottery pick.
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