SH Blog: Lowry wanted to be traded for much of the season, Woodson says he can win with any team

With the New York Knicks struggling to find any sort of consistency at the point guard position this season, they have reportedly been looking to trade for Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.

That would be a fantastic addition, as his presence would provide some toughness and generate some easier baskets for a team that relies so much on isolation plays. But what is the price of acquiring a guard of his caliber? Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has the details on that below:

The New York Knicks are pursuing Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry with a package of Raymond Felton,Metta World Peace and a 2018 first-round draft pick, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Knicks refused a Raptors proposal that would’ve included Iman Shumpert and Felton, sources told Yahoo Sports. Without a first-round pick or Shumpert, there is no traction for a deal. The Knicks have no appetite for including Shumpert or rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. in a package.

Knicks owner Jim Dolan is sensitive to the public perception that Toronto general manger Masai Ujiri bamboozled New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and the chance of getting panned for giving up too much in a deal for Lowry has become a hurdle in these talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

[…]

Lowry has wanted a trade for most of the season and the Raptors became more motivated to move him after acquiring point guard Greiveis Vasquez in a deal with the Sacramento Kings.

If you were wondering why the Raptors are so interested in moving Lowry, the last paragraph is your answer. Perhaps understandably so with a team that had no interest in moving the ball, the guard has apparently been wanting out of Toronto for some time. You wonder if he still wants out with Rudy Gay off the team, but a move to New York would certainly give him a shot in the arm.

[Related: Chris Sheridan breaking down the Kyle Lowry trade rumors]

The question now is, can or will the Knicks make this work? If Dolan is sensitive to the perception that his team got bamboozled by Ujiri on the Anthony deal, he certainly must feel the same about landing Andrea Bargnani – another masterful job done by Ujiri. The last thing he wants is a third deal with the general manager who already got him twice, right?

THE WILLIAMS AND BLATCHE SHOW:

Something about playing against Chris Paul always seems to bring out the best in Deron Williams. Coming into Thursday’s contest, Williams’ career record against Paul was 14-5. He has shot 50.4 percent in those games to Paul’s 43.6 percent. The trend continued when the Brooklyn Nets blew out the Los Angeles Clippers 102-93 (the starters sat out the fourth quarter for both teams). Along the way, Williams and Andray Blatche managed to put on quite a show:

It’s good to see the Nets show a sign of life after being embarrassed over the past couple of weeks due to an assortment of injuries. Unfortunately, Brook Lopez suffered what appeared to be a minor sprained ankle in the third quarter and had to go back to the locker room.

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