The New York Knicks had interest in trading for Terry Rozier before the 2020 trade deadline.

The Knicks had support internally for a deal that would have sent Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr. and a future first round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Rozier and Malik Monk.

It is not known how close a deal came to being executed.

The Knicks also had interest in trading for D'Angelo Russell.

Both Rozier and Russell were free agents last offseason.

The New York Knicks have interest in re-signing Maurice Harmless this offseason.

Harkless was initially considered a makeweight for the Knicks' trade of Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers for a first round pick.

Harkless grew up in Queens and would like to remain with the Knicks.

“It was a chance for him to showcase to the Knicks and to see if he wanted to be here,’’ one NBA source told The Post. “He always wanted to be a Knick.’’

The NBA was already expected to have a bear market this offseason due to the lack of teams with functional cap space, but the anticipated lowering of the cap for 20-21 due to COVID-19 will make the use of exceptions even more invaluable for teams to sign free agents.

"The mid-level exeception is going to be like the priority exception," said Bobby Marks on The Hoop Collective Podcast. "With so few teams with cap space, these numbers might go down a little bit further. Teams that have that $9.8 million exception... you might be able to go get a guy that's looking for $15 million to $16 million. Or you might be able to split that up among two guys getting $10 million each."

The NBA sent out an estimated cap number for 20-21 at the end of January at $115 million, which was down from $116 million.

Tom Thibodeau is expected to be a candidate for both the head coaching vacancies of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.

"Thibodeau, I believe, is going to be a candidate for the Knicks' job as well," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. "He has long been represented by CAA, who Leon Rose ran the CAA basketball division. Wes Wesley, one of his first clients was Tom Thibodeau. 

Thibodeau was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the middle of the 18-19 season.

"He's got a really good working relationship with Leon Rose and Wes Wesley. I know Wes hasn't been named anything official with the Knicks, but trust me, he will be involved. That connection will matter."

The Brooklyn Nets fired Kenny Atkinson in early March, elevating Jacque Vaughn to interim head coach. There is an expectation that the Nets will hire a head coach with a proven track record as that's the preference of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

"One of the things that has been expressed sort of the grapevine, that's the way I'm going to say it to protect myself from the aggregators, is that Durant and Irving would like a blue chip coach," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. "I don't know what this says about the way they thought about Atkinson, but they want a big name coach."

Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy, Stan Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are some of the available head coaches who would fit that description. 

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to continue to reshape their roster around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

"I believe they have telegraphed they intend to use some of their young talent to acquire a third star along with Kyrie and Durant," said Brian Windhorst. "Now, we can get enter a healthy debate here about whether Caris LeVert is that third star and they make the decision that he is. But my feel reading the tea leaves, paying attention to what Sean Marks has said and also being aware of some conversations they had at the trade deadline, which was sticking the toe in the water on some things, I think they're going to swing for the fences whenever the season comes. They're going to have to potentially hire a coach that is going to help them do that."

The Nets' two biggest trade chips are believed to be LeVert and Jarrett Allen, though Spencer Dinwiddie could be another player they can trade to acquire a third star. Dinwiddie has been a solid backup for Irving, who has also filled in due to injuries. 

Bradley Beal and Jrue Holiday are two players mentioned by Windhorst as possible targets as they're a pair of players who could become available on the trade market.

New York Knicks president Leon Rose is reportedly impressed with how Mike Miller has handled the team since taking over as head coach, league sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

SNY adds that several members in the organization want to keep Miller around the team next season, regardless of who they hire as head coach.

Miller has a 17-27 record since taking over from David Fizdale.

Tom Thibodeau has been widely linked as the next Knicks head coach due to his prior relationship with Rose. 

The New York Knicks are looking to add a shooter in the backcourt to help complement RJ Barrett, sources told Ian Begley of SNY.

Former Knicks coach David Fizdale appeared on ESPN Radio and said that the Knicks needed to add more shooting to help Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.

"I love Elfrid (Payton), Frank (Ntilikina) and Dennis Smith Jr. -- but all of them have something in common in that they're not consistent 3-point shooters coming off the pick-and-roll. And if you have a super talent like Mitchell -- and I think Mitchell can end up being one of the best centers over the next ten years -- you have to have a guy coming off that pick and if you have to fight over that pick and roll. ... Like I've always said, the key to player development is spacing. You want to see players look better on the court, spread the floor," said Fizdale.

Fizdale added that Barrett's personality was built to succeed in New York City.

"I think RJ Barrett embodies the type of player who can play in New York City. Just straight hard worker, tough, talented, doesn't get rattled, knows how to deal with the press and all of the lights and things like that."

Donovan Mitchell can sign a contract extension with the Utah Jazz this offseason, something Tony Jones of The Athletic expects to happen.

"I can say with confidence that Mitchell loves Utah, has embraced the community and genuinely loves playing for the Jazz," Jones writes. "I can also say that the Jazz have Mitchell under team control for the next (two) years. As a result, worrying about Mitchell’s unrestricted free agency is not worth worrying about..

"Mitchell will sign a max contract extension at some point before next season. That extension will kick in for him in year five, and he will be here for the length of his second contract. Again. Anything can happen. But, I can certainly say with confidence that Mitchell loves it here."

Pau Gasol has been hoping to return to the NBA at some point, but he's now considering retirement.

“With this recovery process and the injury that I have been dealing with for more than a year, it’s undoubtedly inevitable to think about retirement,” Gasol said. “Also taking into account that I will be 40 years old in a few months. So it’s definitely in my mind.”

Gasol was released by the Portland Trail Blazers in November as he was unable to work his way back from a foot injury.

“It’s something that will come one time, sooner or later. We hope that time hasn’t come yet. But I also take the opportunity to focus on the Gasol Foundation and other off-court projects. And also think of what my next professional stage may be, my next challenges. All this while I’m still recovering, trying to give myself a chance to keep playing. Now, the priority is to overcome this pandemic among all. Everything else is completely secondary.”