Riley Gets Wish: Knicks Obtain Suns’ McDaniel : Pro basketball: Phoenix gets Mustaf, Tucker and second-round draft picks in 1992 and 1994 for 6-7 forward.

Six-foot-7 forward Xavier McDaniel was traded by the Phoenix Suns to the New York Knicks on Tuesday for forward Jerrod Mustaf, guard Trent Tucker and second-round draft picks in 1992 and 1994.

“I was shocked when I heard,” McDaniel said. “I thought something might happen, but I didn’t know when. New York was one of the places I wanted to be traded to if I was traded.”

McDaniel averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in 66 games for the Suns. For the entire season, he averaged 17 points and 6.9 rebounds and has career averages of 20 points and seven rebounds.

“We’re excited about obtaining a front-line player, a legitimate 20-point scorer and a go-to guy,” said Ernie Grunfeld, Knick player personnel director. “He’s a tough, physical player.”

“I’ve been working on my X’s and O’s, and we just took care of one of the X’s,” Knick Coach Pat Riley said.

“It was a trade we had to make. We needed to complement the outside shooting of Kiki Vandeweghe and bring in a post-up small forward. It’s a great trade for the Knicks because it brings in one of the best small forwards in the league, a real front-line player.”

“We are pleased to obtain a quality young power forward,” Sun Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said of the 6-foot-10 Mustaf, 21.

Mustaf, the 17th pick in the 1990 college draft, entered the draft as an undergraduate after two years at Maryland. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Knicks in 62 games last season.

The 6-5 Tucker averaged 7.1 points in 65 games last season.

The Knicks gave up their signing rights to guard Greg Grant and center Eddie Lee Wilkins.