Knicks made push for Alex Caruso before Bulls traded him to Thunder

The Knicks seemed to have a better deal on the table for Alex Caruso, but instead, the Bulls went for the one-for-one deal with Oklahoma City.

A league source told NBC Sports Chicago that the “Knicks and Sacramento Kings both offered draft capital to the Bulls in packages they felt were superior to the one-for-one deal.” 

The Athletic had previously reported the Kings deal included the 13th overall pick in the NBA draft being held at Barclays Center on Wednesday. 

The Knicks own the 24th and 25th picks in the first round of this year’s draft.

It isn’t entirely clear what the exact specifics for any Knicks deal would have looked like. 

It was reported last week by Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer that the Knicks had been contacting opposing teams about moving center Mitchell Robinson. 

The deal that eventually got done for Caruso was a straight trade for guard Josh Giddey from the Thunder. 

Caruso brings depth to the Thunder’s defense and he has been a two-time All-Defensive player in the past. 

He is on the final year of his four-year contract that he signed with the Bulls which is worth $9.9 million in the final season. 

Caruso averaged 10.1 points per game while averaging 28.7 minutes per game. 

The report is the latest rumor that involved the Knicks and Thunder. 

Oklahoma City has reportedly been eyeing Isaiah Hartenstein for a short-term contract in free agency, The Post’s Stefan Bondy had said on the “HoopsHype Podcast.” 

“There’s speculation OKC would offer him something in the realm of two years, $50 million with an opt-out in the second year, which is something like Bruce Brown got,” Bondy said during the episode released last week.