Hat tip to Citizen cabezadeknuckle for finding this story.
According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, the Knicks have an interest in Clippers second round pick (and ClipsNation favorite) Jared Jordan.
As one message board post astutely pointed out, Isiah may be a train wreck of a GM, but he does have an eye for talent. His draft picks over the years have been stellar. If he liked what he saw in Orlando, then I'm more sold on Jared than ever.
The Knicks have something like 16 contracts already, and that's not counting Demtrius Nichols who played really well for them in Summer League. Of course they also have by far the biggest payroll in the league. So I suppose 18 contracts, and paying guaranteed money to three guys that they waive, is no big deal to them. What's three extra contracts when you're already paying over $20M in luxury taxes?
Obviously, there's precious little to go on here. I'm sure Isiah would love to get rid of one of those extra contracts in exchange for Jared, but there's no way that's happening. Not unless he wants to give up David Lee. Why would Elgin take a guy off his hands who's going to be on waivers in October?
More likely, Isiah is looking for the exact same thing in the other direction. Just doing the roster math, he knows that either Jared or Diaz is going to be available when the rosters are pared down in late October. If Jared gets cut, he'll be ready. On the whole, this would seem to be good news for Jared Jordan fans - seems like he's more likely to find a home in the NBA this coming season. And FSM knows the Knicks could use someone who passes the ball with a backcourt that includes Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson.
I don't think it changes the Clippers situation. It's still going to come down to either Jared or Diaz. I'd feel better about his chances if I knew more about Diaz' contract (rumored to be partially guaranteed, but showing on HoopsHype as a guaranteed 3 year deal), or if there was any contract talk around Jared. But I suppose it's nice that SOMEONE is talking about him. Other than ClipperSteve, of course.