Terrance Ferguson has been released after being sent to the New York Knicks in a trade which included Ferguson, center Vincent Poirier, the draft rights to guard/forward Emir Preldžić and two future second-round picks from the Philadelphia 76ers in a three-team trade that also included Oklahoma City.
New York sent guard/forward Ignas Brazdeikis to the 76ers and guard Austin Rivers to the Thunder.
The Knicks have waived Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 28, 2021
The Knicks acquired Ferguson from Philadelphia at the deadline but never intended to keep the athletic wing around long-term.
Ferguson, often credited as the player to kick start the NBL’s Next Stars program, chose to forego college in favour of a sizeable sponsorship deal from Under Armour and a contract to play for the Adelaide 36ers. Ferguson averaged 4.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game during his rookie NBL season before being drafted by his home team, the Oklahoma City Thunder the following season.
During his three seasons with Oklahoma City, the 198cm swingman had carved out a nice spot as a “Three and D” player. He stepped into the starting line-up at the end of his rookie season, lining up alongside Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony and remained there until his move to Philadelphia. As a second and third-year pro, he started 86% of his games with the Thunder (112 starts from 130 games) and averaged 4.8 points and 1.4 rebounds over 20.7 minutes as a member of the Thunder.
Ferguson hasn’t quite been able to find a fit since leaving Oklahoma. In December, he was sent to the 76ers as part of the trade which focused on Danny Green and Vincent Poirier being sent to the Philadelphia 76ers and Al Horford, Théo Maledon, Vasilije Micić and a 2025 1st round draft pick going to Oklahoma City.
Ferguson’s best game so far was a match-up against the LA Lakers in 2018, where he led all players in scoring with 24 points on nine from twelve shooting with the Thunder winning 133 to 96.
He appeared in 13 games for Philadelphia this season, logging two points, one rebound, two assists and a steal in 49 total minutes. Assuming he clears waivers, Ferguson will become an unrestricted free agent.