Saturday's Late News & Notes: Bucks & Bulls Want To Trade Up In Draft, Knicks Interested In Derek Fisher, & More

 --  The New York Knicks are apparently interested in Oklahoma City Thunder reserve point guard Derek Fisher, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.


The 16-year NBA veteran has played extremely well for the Thunder in recent weeks and looks as though he has at least a couple more years left in the tank.

The Knicks could definitely use someone with Fisher's veteran experience and leadership to help create chemistry for a team that clearly lacked it for much of this past season.


While they will have major interest in the guard, they won't be able to offer him any major money if they do pursue him, as New York won't be able to offer him more than a $1.4 million veteran minimum contract.


After the way Fisher has played in the postseason, there definitely won't be a shortage of offers for his services, and if the Knicks want to convince him to come to the Big Apple, they will need to make a heck of a sales pitch.


One factor that may not work in their favor, if it plays a role at all, is the fact that Fisher's former head coach Phil Jackson currently appears to have a little bit of an issue with the team.


While Jackson recently said the Knicks roster was "clumsy" (verifying that he meant the chemistry between Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire wasn't there) and that he wouldn't have taken the teams' head coaching job even if it had been offered to him, the fact remains that team owner James Dolan apparently never even considered the thought of offering it to the Zen Master.


I highly doubt Jackson will play any type of role in where Fisher ends up signing in free agency, however, I still can't see Fisher going to the Knicks when he could stay with Oklahoma City, who definitely has better odds of seeing another Finals appearance over the next two years than the Knicks do.


Which team do you think would be the best fit for Fisher next season? Will he retire if the Thunder win a championship, giving him a seventh ring?
-- The Chicago Bulls are keeping their options open this summer when it comes to improving their roster, and according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, one of those options includes potentially trading up in this month's NBA Draft, possibly all the way into the lottery.

The Bulls won the Eastern Conference during the regular season, finishing with a 50-16 record, tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the NBA.

However, Chicago lost superstar Derrick Rose in the opening game of their first round series against the Philadelphia 76ers to a torn ACL and the Bulls went on to lose the series in six games.

Although the Bulls have some quality talent surrounding Rose already, including Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng, they could definitely use some more depth behind them.

Chicago currently owns the #29 pick in the draft so they would almost certainly have to include a player or two to make a deal to get them in the lottery.

Luckily for the Bulls, they have the contracts of Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver (both around $5 million) to offer in any potential trades, as both are valuable assets with expiring contracts.

According to sources close to the team, the Bulls are rumored to be interested in guards such as Austin Rivers, Dion Waiters, or Jeremy Lamb.

-- The Milwaukee Bucks are also moving up in the NBA Draft, although their climb won't be nearly as far as Chicago's if the Bulls can somehow make it into the lottery.

Milwaukee, who currently owns the #12 selection, is rumored to be interested in moving up into the top ten.

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times, the Bucks have spoken to the Charlotte Bobcats about acquiring their #2 pick, although Milwaukee doesn't have much to bargain with beyond Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis (neither of whom are going anywhere).

The Bucks are apparently looking for a big guard even though they already have one of the top backcourts in the NBA in Jennings and Ellis.

“They told me they could use a big guard like me,” said Will Barton, who played in college at Memphis and recently worked out for Milwaukee. “We’ll see what happens.”

Also of note, according to the same article, the Bucks and Jennings' agent, Bill Duffy, have yet to have any meaningful discussions about an extension for the team's starting point guard.

Could that be a sign they might consider taking another point guard with their lottery selection?


-- Which team do you think would be the best fit for Derek Fisher in free agency? Who should the Bulls target if they trade for a lottery pick? How far up in the draft will Milwaukee go if they can make a trade? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.