The New York Knicks are reportedly targeting Phoenix Suns small forward PJ Tucker before the trade deadline to improve the team's defense.

Tucker, 31, is a five-year NBA veteran who was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft. He spent his rookie season with the Raptors before playing the next five years overseas. He returned to the NBA in the summer of 2012, signing with Phoenix to a two-year, minimum deal before getting a three-year, $16.5 million contact in 2014.

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Tucker is now in the final year of that deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason.

There are rumors that Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek, who was the Suns' coach from 2013 up to the end of last season, is interested in getting his former player to solve a lot of his current team's defensive issues.

According to CBS Sports, the 53-year-old coach was irked by his team's defensive performance during their 115-103 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night, but was adamant that the coaching staff should "put players in the position to succeed on that end".

"I have to find someone to play some defense," said Hornacek after the game. "You can't come out beginning of the game - I think their first three or four baskets were 3-pointers. We've got to have better pride in that."

New York is currently ranked 26th in the NBA on defense and 27th on rebounding. Knicks superstar Derrick Rose has also previously criticized his teammates for seemingly not giving their full effort on the defensive end of the floor.

Hornacek had toned down in Tuesday, saying that he is responsible for "finding the right way" on defense.

"I wouldn't say it's necessarily that they (can't) play defense - we have to find the right way to have them play defense. I think these guys really are trying, but defense is tough. It's an all-out running into guys, hustling, not stopping. It's a lot harder than offense. So the effort they are giving is, I think, is good, but we got to get it to be great."

ESPN said that Tucker is currently ranked 22nd among small forwards in the league when it comes to defensive RPM. Tucker is averaging 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 36 games so far this season.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2017, PJ Tucker, phoenix suns, new york knicks