MEMPHIS — Even if the Knicks do not do anything substantial at Thursday’s trade deadline to upgrade their point-guard situation, coach Mike Woodson still believes he can win with what he has.
Of course, he has not proven that yet as the Knicks reconvened Monday night at Rhodes College for their first post-All Star break practice with a 20-32 record and 2½ games out of the East’s eighth seed.
The Knicks, who face the Grizzlies Tuesday, have spent the last couple of months investigating point-guard upgrades, failing in attempts to land Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry. Now reportedly they have inquired about Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague, who once played for Woodson with the Hawks.
However, what makes such a deal a longshot for on-the-block Iman Shumpert is Teague has a long-term contract that would cut into the Knicks’ ballyhooed cap space for 2015 — the selling point they are using to convince Carmelo Anthony to re-sign.
The Knicks are expected to pass on Teague.
More than anyone, Anthony would have to had approve such a deal for Teague, who has been Atlanta’s starting point guard all season. He is very quick, but is not considered elite. Atlanta could have interest in Shumpert partly to attract more interest to its club as he was a high-profile player for Georgia Tech. The Knicks also have Beno Udrih and Metta World Peace on the trading block.
One scenario thrown out was a three-team deal that would have Teague going to Toronto with a draft pick, Lowry to the Knicks and Shumpert to Atlanta. One source said the teams had not discussed that scenario and the Raptors probably aren’t trading Lowry.
Regardless, it’s clear the Knicks would love to see Shumpert flipped for a point guard as starter Raymond Felton has regressed. Their attempts to gain a backup center (they tried to sign Andrew Bynum) have lessened with the emergence of Jeremy Tyler and improved health of Amar’e Stoudemire.
“I’m not going to sit here and jump on our team,’’ Woodson said. “I came into this season thinking I can win with this team. And I still feel that way based on all the injuries we had and the ups and down we’ve had with our team. For the most part, I like everyone on our ballclub. At the end of the day, [president] Steve [Mills] and I will sit down along with [Knicks owner Jim] Dolan and guys who make the decisions. If they feel it’s something worth it, I’m sure we’ll do something. If not, we’ll sit tight with what we got and try to figure it out from there.’’
Though Dolan is on the trip, it’s not a signal Woodson is in imminent danger. Ownership has shown patience in keeping Woodson around despite the failings that included losses to league-worst Milwaukee and Western Conference-worst Sacramento in a space of 11 days. It’s reminiscent of Dolan’s handling of Don Chaney during his three losing years.
“Guys, I’m not in that boat to sit here and talk about my job status,’’ Woodson said. “We had two pretty good seasons here [before]. Unfortunately things haven’t worked out the way I thought it should this season. I’m going to leave it at that. It’s not my decision.’’
Woodson preached a sense of urgency, saying they are “running out of games.’’
“I like to think everyone knows what’s at stake here,’’ Woodson said. “We got 30 games left, 2 ¹/₂ games out of the eighth spot — the seventh and sixth spot dangling out there. There’s still a lot of basketball but not a lot room for error for our team. It’s going to be important we play it’s like our last game. Games are coming at us and we’re running out of games.’’
The Knicks have few trade chips other than Shumpert since they can’t peddle a first-round pick until 2018 and consider rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. a virtual untouchable.
“We have no complaints with Tim,’’ Woodson said.
Regarding the onset of the trade deadline, Woodson said: “That’s a part of the business, man. I’m sure players always worry about that. When your name starts popping up about being traded, you’re still wearing a Knick uniform and can’t worry about trade rumors.’’