With the NBA trade deadline passed, the Rockets have agreed to a buy out former
Knicks forward Jared Jeffries, according to two sources.
The sides were working on the arrangement. Jeffries' contract expires after this season.
The Knicks, desperate for a big man after the Carmelo Anthony trade cost them 7-1 Timofey Mozgov, see 6-11 Jeffries as an option. Mike D'Antoni said he thought Jeffries fit in as the perfect defensive glue-guy last season.
Jeffries was traded by the Knicks at last year's deadline to open up more salary-cap space in the Tracy McGrady deal. Jeffries fell out of the rotation in Houston this season.
The Knicks made no more trades and are waiting to scour the waiver wire to see which big men pop up. It's a long shot Marcus Camby will be bought out by Portland. One NBA source said center Earl Barron is "their ace in the hole.''
The Knicks will have to cut a player to make room for Jeffries or Barron; that likely would be Renaldo Balkman, who is in his second stint with the Knicks after the 'Melo trade.
"A big man, yeah, we'll see if there's a big man out there, which is hard because people who have good big men don't trade them,'' Knicks president Donnie Walsh said.
Jeffries and David Lee were the Knicks starting forwards last season.
I'd still like to add Barron even if this happens. jared has height and length, but isn't really a presence inside. IIRC a lot of the time he was guarding perimeter players here and just kind of playing a 'center field' role in our zone D.