The Phoenix Suns are trying to trade point guard Goran Dragic before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline and the New York Knicks are one of the teams on his preferred list of destinations, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports. The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat are also “in the mix,” according to Stein.

This presents an interesting scenario for Phil Jackson and the Knicks’ front office. They can make a push to obtain Dragic in a trade, a move that would all but ensure that they can re-sign him in July, given that they would have his Larry Bird rights and be able to pay him more than any other team. Or they can hold off for now and hope that they can sign him as a free agent this summer.

Dragic is believed to be one of the players Jackson will target in free agency. But is he willing to pay the 28-year-old guard a four-year deal worth around $80 million deal in free agency or a five-year deal worth around $100 million if the Knicks trade for him?

If the Knicks signed Dragic to that type of contract in free agency, it would eat at a significant portion of the approximately $28-30 million they are expected to have in cap space this summer.

If New York wanted to trade for Dragic, it would likely have to send the Suns a package that included draft picks and young, cheap players. The one player to fit that description on the Knicks’ roster is Tim Hardaway Jr. The earliest first-round pick the Knicks can send out is in 2018.

If the team does trade for him, they’d be able to exceed the salary cap to sign Dragic to a max contract, and thus could potentially add another player in free agency in addition to Dragic.

All of these are interesting scenarios for New York. Scenarios that Jackson is likely pondering as the trade deadline approaches.

Harper says it’s not the triangle, it’s the talent: Derek Fisher said last week that the idea that the Knicks were 10-43 because of difficulty of the triangle offense is “patently ridiculous.”

Ron Harper, who played for Phil Jackson for seven seasons in Chicago and Los Angeles, agrees with Fisher.

“You’ve got to have enough basketball players to win games,” he said. “It’s not the offense that you run, it’s the players you have and they don’t have enough basketball players there.”