TORONTO _ The Knicks suddenly have a logjam at point guard. They acquired former lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay in a three-team trade Thursday, according to league sources.
The Knicks will send Doug McDermott to the Mavericks, Dallas will ship Devin Harris to Denver, and Mudiay comes to New York. The Knicks also are sending the 2018 Clippers' second-round pick to Denver, and the Nuggets are sending Portland's 2018 second-rounder to Dallas, a source said.
Now the Knicks have three point guards who are 25 and younger. They drafted Frank Ntilikina last year and signed another former lottery pick, Trey Burke, last month.
Reportedly, the Knicks could have acquired point guard Elfrid Payton from Orlando. But they didn't want to part with Ntilikina. Knicks GM Scott Perry was part of Orlando's front office when Payton was drafted.
Mudiay, 21, was the No. 7 pick in the 2015 draft. He was on the Knicks' radar then, but they chose Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth pick.
Mudiay's minutes and production have declined since his rookie season with the Nuggets. The Knicks will try to develop him and see if he can be a part of their long-term future. Mudiay is signed for the next two seasons, and will be a restricted free agent in 2019. He averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 assists as a rookie.
He started 66 of 68 games and earned All-Rookie second-team honors. Last season, Mudiay averaged 11 points and 3.9 assists. This season, those numbers have dipped to 8.5 and 2.9 in 42 games, including zero starts.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek will have to figure out how to play the three point guards. He has some experience. When he coached Phoenix, he had Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas on the same team.
The Knicks also have 34-year-old Jarrett Jack, who has started all but three games this season. It's expected he will play less so the Knicks can get a look at these young guards.
McDermott was acquired from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade. He appeared in all 55 games, and averaging 7.2 points, while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range.
