LET THE SUN SHINE IN
Dissatisfied Phoenix PG rises on Knicks' wish list
The Knicks have inter-rest in disgruntled Sunsns point guard Eric Bledsoe,e, but they hardly are alone.e.
“It’s fair to say thehe Knicks are monitoringng the situation,” one NBAA source told The Post.
Jeff Hornacek coacheded Bledsoe in Phoenix. Thehe Post reported over thehe summer the Knicks hadd inquired about Bledsoe before signing veterans Ramon Sessions and Jarrett Jack.
The Suns reportedly would want Knicks rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina and young center prospect Willy Hernangomez, which would be too much if management is sticking to its rebuilding plan. According to an NBA source, the Knicks found the Suns’ asking price to be outrageous.
After coach Earl Watson, who replaced Hornacek, was fired Sunday after the Suns’ 0-3 start, Bledsoe tweeted, “I Dont wanna be here.”
Asked about the Bledsoe firestorm, Hornacek said after Monday’s practice: “Eric’s a great player. He’s had a lot of success last year. He had success with us. I’m not over there, so I don’t know what’s going on.”
Bledsoe was called in for a meeting with a furious Suns management. Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said he asked Bledsoe about the tweet during the meeting.
“He said he was at a hair salon. ... I didn’t believe that to be true,” McDonough told ABC15 Sports. “He won’t be with us going forward.”
The Knicks have a host of pawns to put together a package without Ntilikina/Hernangomez but aren’t willing to give up any future first-round picks and several playoffcaliber teams have called the Suns.
Bledsoe is only 27, and the Knicks still foresee Ntilikina as their point guard of the future — despite his injury issues.
The Knicks, in the Carmelo Anthony package, collected the Bulls’ second-round pick. Sports Illustrated predicted the Bulls to own the NBA’s worst record, meaning that pick would be a coveted 31st.
The Knicks have shopped big man Kyle O’Quinn for the past two years, and he’s expendable with their center glut.
The Knicks also are overloaded at forward. Mindaugas Kuzminskas is out of the rotation after a fairly promising rookie year, but he was a Phil Jackson guy. Kuzminskas, of Lithuania, just turned 28. Lance Thomas was did not play in the home opener.
Starting center Enes Kanter is their most tradeable asset if the Knicks still believe in Hernangomez, who currently is out of the rotation. Hernangomez, 23, has attracted interest in the past. A Bledsoe package would speed up their rebuilding process.