The decision from the New York Knicks to trade Willy Hernangomez was largely about deepening their pool of future draft picks. The Knicks acquired a pair of second round picks from the Charlotte Hornets for Hernangomez after they were unable to find a team willing to send a first round pick.

“I think the fact that we were able to get two in a deal like that and really kind of fit to our plan of acquiring picks in those years,” Scott Perry said. “Historically with this franchise there have not been a lot of picks involved, and we talked about wanting to build something sustainable and I think one of the most important parts of that is having a cupboard full of picks if you will. And I think this deal allowed us to do that. We have all of our picks in place, and we can add other young athletes or use the picks in other ways to obtain talent.”

New York owns two second round picks this June.

“The Knicks are trying to find a Terry Rozier before he becomes Terry Rozier,” one NBA scout said of the Knicks’ thinking entering the deadline.

Hernangomez was a first-team All Rookie selection last season.