Will give the knicks some veteran leadership.

I'm sure there must be some sort of reason why draft rights for long-ago drafted players get dealt on occassion? Are teams limited to how many draft rights they can hang onto?

Just filler to facilitate a trade especially if the other team doesn't have spare roster spots so don't want to take players back.

The Lakers wanted to dump Rondo's salary to reduce their payroll and luxury tax obligations so they could retain Stanley Johnson.

I'm sure there must be some sort of reason why draft rights for long-ago drafted players get dealt on occassion? Are teams limited to how many draft rights they can hang onto?

Los Angeles will send New York $1.1 million to take Valentine, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

By re-routing Valentine in this trade rather than taking and waiving him themselves, the Lakers reduce their luxury-tax liability by about $2.9 million. That's obviously worth sending New York $1.1 million.

Los Angeles will probably eat into that savings by signing another player - perhaps Stanley Johnson – into the cleared roster spot.

The Knicks get nearly free cash. They’ll have to pay Valentine for the time he spend on the roster ($11,146 per day). However, if not waived by Friday, Valentine will have the rest of his salary for this season guaranteed.

Its pretty nuts to be honest. According to that explaanation on consideration, the draft rights would have to be for a guy considered a "reasonable" chance of playing in the NBA. Given all the callups at the moment, this would probably be their last chance to make that case. He's clearly not going to the NBA, but its a fun footnote

Next headline... Ricky Sanchez is called up

Trades are for NERDS.

I've never heard of draft rights expiring. It's why so many players look dejected at the NBA Draft if they don't get picked in the first round, no one wants to be picked in the second round.

(1) the money is crap compared to being a first round pick along with less years, (2) the NBA team might never offer you a contract and (3) worst of all that team holds your NBA rights in perpetuity meaning only that team can sign you for the rest of your career unless they agree to trade your rights to another team or relinquish your rights which they usually won't do unless you as the player pay the team to do so.

Once the first round ends players would rather go undrafted than get picked in the second round because they as free-agents are then still able to negotiate with all 30 teams rather than just one team.

It was the Rockets with the dangling of a potential contract offer to Newley told him to back out of the deal he just signed with the 36ers and go play in Europe instead. He did as they asked and they still never offered him a contract.

The draft rights just mean that team has first dibs on a player. So for the sake of the argument, if Newley tried to sign with a team, then the Knicks would have the opportunity to match the offer and get him. Maybe they would only be required to pay the minimum, I don't know. But they cannot refuse him (or anyone else) signing a contract while not offering one themselves. Obviously completely irrelevant in this case.

I remember when Arvidas Sabonis was drafted by Portland. '1986 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24th overall' (wiki)

Being Lithuanian, (Iron curtain and all that, back then) he was not permitted leave Europe to go to the USA. Portland retained his rights. He played for Portland eventually between 1995 and 2001.

Still hope for Newls?

Newley somehow playing NBA would be a freak occurrence but one I am totally willing to happen lol

Newley on his NBA rights being traded to the Knicks:

"If the Knicks are rebuilding around a 36-year-old, I'm not sure...but I’m open to anything," Newley told The Athletic.

Knowing he won’t be donning a Knicks uniform anytime soon, Newley did have one hope if he ever goes to New York while the team still has his rights.

“My greatest request would be a courtside seat with Jerry Seinfeld. I’d happily take that one. Just one game-night experience. I’d definitely be happy with that one. Knicks-Warriors or something, that would be pretty cool,” Newley said.

In an interesting twist, Newley does have a connection to the Knicks. The club’s president, Leon Rose, represented Newley as his agent during the 2007 NBA draft.

Newley has never played in the NBA but has had a long and storied career in Australia and Europe, explaining how he opted for security over the sometimes fickle nature of the NBA.

“I played as an import in Europe,” Newley said.

“At the time this was before the (financial) crisis - the money was pretty good. The NBA wasn’t as much in your face as what is now.

“We were trying to all make it, I guess, but if I say no to a job in July to hang onto a roster, that job could be a quarter of what the job was by the time it rolls around in December.

“As an import, I didn’t want to risk losing that. That was the way I operated for the majority of the time.”