The Knicks and Nets, failing in their battle to dominate the Atlantic Division, are now in a struggle to land Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry, who is being shopped around the league.
According to sources, both clubs are in the mix, though the Knicks’ talks stalled Thursday when the Raptors insisted on either Tim Hardaway Jr. or Iman Shumpert to be added to the deal instead of Metta World Peace.
According to sources, Lowry’s New Jersey-based agency is trying to steer him to the Knicks and what better way to motivate team owner James Dolan than to get the Nets involved.
If the Knicks do land Lowry, starting point guard Raymond Felton will be on the way out as the mandatory piece in any deal. He is out two-to-three weeks with his latest hamstring strain.
The Knicks are worried Felton may never regain his form from last season because of the lingering hamstring woes. Felton, who missed four games last month with a pinched nerve/hamstring, reinjured it in Cleveland.
It set in motion the Knicks’ discussions with the Raptors over a deal for Lowry, with Toronto in fire-sale mode.
While an NBA source said the teams had “strong conversations’’ Thursday, things are on hold. Dolan believes Toronto’s asking price is too high but they do not consider the talks as dead.
The Knicks thought they had a potential for a deal in an offer of Felton, World Peace’s contract and a 2018 first-round pick, but the Raptors wanted Hardaway to replace World Peace. The Knicks feel they got a steal in Hardaway at No. 24 in the draft.
One source said Friday morning: “The terms were altered despite an explicit understanding.’’
Any deal couldn’t be consummated until Sunday when World Peace and Hardaway become eligible to be traded under league bylaws.
Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday Dolan appears worried about giving up too much to the Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, who netted a lot of pawns in the Carmelo Anthony deal in 2011 when he worked for Denver.
Ujiri’s success in the Andrea Bargnani deal has yet to be determined, however. Ujiri got the Knicks’ first-round pick in 2016, but Steve Novak has been a bit player and Bargnani has shown flashes, averaging 14.6 points.
The Nets have discussed acquiring Lowry, according to sources, with talks likely to center around a package featuring a couple of Nets going to Toronto to match salaries under the NBA’s salary cap regulations, along with the rights to Croatian swingman Bojan Bogdanovic, who the Nets took with the first pick of the second round back in 2011 and Ujiri scouted on Thursday in Europe.
However, it’s unclear how much Toronto would be interested in taking back salary for next season, with either Mirza Teletovic or Jason Terry — who will make over $3 and $5 million, respectively, next season — needing to be included to make the salaries work to take on Lowry’s $6.2 million expiring contract.
Bogdanovic, who plays for Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul, is averaging 17.3 points in 31.6 minutes per game through nine games in Euroleague action.
Felton was a terrific replacement for Jeremy Lin last season. He has slipped this season and he blames it on the injuries.
“I laughed at that trade stuff,’’ Felton said at the morning shootaround at TD Garden before the Knicks faced the Celtics. “I don’t talk about it. I’ve been in the league for nine years. That stuff is going to happen when you have a good season. I have nothing to do with it. I don’t deal with it. That’s why we have general managers.
“I won’t talk no more trade rumors, that’s the end of that.”
Asked to sum up his season in light of his hamstring woes, Felton said: “That sums it up right there. I haven’t been healthy since preseason once I pulled my hamstring. I’ve been kind of playing on it no matter what.’’
Coach Mike Woodson said of the swirling Lowry talks: “It’s a part of the business. We got a set group of guys. I’m not here to discuss trades. It’s the time of year you’ll hear it around the league.’’
Woodson hinted giving up all those pieces in a trade could be an overreaction to the Knicks’ 6-15 start because of their injured state highlighted by missing their top defender, center Tyson Chandler since the season’s fourth game.
“We haven’t had a chance to put this team together on the floor because of all the injuries,’’ Woodson said. “When you put a team together, you got to at least see if it works. We haven’t had that luxury of being able to do that.’’
Felton thinks he’ll be back sooner than two weeks.
“It’s what we’re saying just to be safe,’’ Felton said. “ I came back early last time and see what happened.’’