ORLANDO — Iman Shumpert avoided a trade and a serious knee injury at Thursday’s trade deadline.
The 21-33 Knicks stood pat at the deadline and announced just after it passed Shumpert’s MRI exam showed he had a sprain of his left MCL and would miss “approximately two weeks.’’
Shumpert sprained his MCL early in his 2011-12 rookie season and returned in two weeks. Still, the uncertainty surrounding the most recent injury may have been a factor in the Clippers passing on Shumpert Thursday despite serious talks with the Knicks, who were hot after point guard Darren Collison.
Now they are stuck with each other. And the Knicks also are stuck with point guards Raymond Felton and out of-the-rotation Beno Udrih, and Metta World Peace. The Knicks failed to deal Udrih despite coming close with Denver.
The Knicks were hoping to upgrade the point-guard position by flipping Shumpert. It will be interesting to see if the post-deadline Shumpert is better than the pre-deadline version.
Shumpert has been on the trading block since November and hasn’t thrived under the scrutiny after an impressive first two seasons as a Knick.
However, according to a person familiar with the guards thinking, Shumpert feels he can be used better by coach Mike Woodson.
Shumpert, according to the source, prefers not to play the small-forward position in the team’s two point-guard alignment. But especially with Andrea Bargnani injured, Woodson wants to roll with a three-guard unit to keep Carmelo Anthony at power forward.
First-year Knicks general manager Steve Mills wasn’t made available to comment Thursday, with his prolonged silence a reflection of how miserable this season has gone. He hasn’t made a move or given an interview during the regular season after being hired to become a more visible executive along the lines of past Garden president David Checketts. Instead, owner James Dolan has kept Mills hidden, just as he did former GM Glen Grunwald, although even Grunwald spoke hours after last year’s deadline passed.
Shumpert’s trade value in the league is a matter of taste.
“Not a big fan,’’ said one NBA executive. “He’s not a good shooter. Is he a stopper or just a good defender? His performances are all over the place. He’s an OK rotation player on maybe a playoff team, but on Indiana or Miami, he wouldn’t even play.’’
Clippers coach Doc Rivers is a fan. But the Clippers weren’t overwhelmed with the package of Shumpert and Felton for Collison. Reportedly, Matt Barnes, who the Knicks tried to sign as a free agent last July, would have also been part of a deal.
Shumpert hobbled grimly off the court Wednesday night in New Orleans after his knee buckled when he pulled up on a drive. The Post reported first in Thursday’s editions Oklahoma City had made an inquiry about Shumpert but nothing materialized.
One NBA scout said of Shumpert’s disappointing third season in which he is shooting 37 percent and averaging 6.9 points: “He’s average. He plays very hard, but he’s average.’’
While Mills couldn’t pull off anything Thursday, he better have a big plan in place for Anthony after the season as the tam’s star is on record saying if the plan doesn’t sound kosher, he’ll try to sign elsewhere.
The Knicks general plan is gearing up for the summer of 2015 when they will have the cap space necessary to sign another superstar. The Post reported first they would pass on Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague because his contract would cut $8 million into the cap space. With no draft picks to pawn, the Knicks were also at a disadvantage Thursday.
Of the past three campaigns, the Knicks have made just one in-season deal — trading Ronnie Brewer at last year’s deadline for a second-round pick.
The only move the Knicks have made during the season was signing Jeremy Tyler after they had to trade for his D-League rights. Mills attempted to sign Andrew Bynum this month but the center chose Indiana.