The Knicks made their biggest move of the year right before the season began, acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns in a blockbuster at the start of training camp. That move has paid major dividends for a team that currently has its best regular season winning percentage since 1997.
Of course, making a move of that magnitude — Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo were sent to Minnesota — meant the Knicks were likely to have a quiet trade deadline.
New York did make one minor trade, sending Jericho Sims to the Bucks in exchange for guard Delon Wright. As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes, the Knicks have a history of sending players to situations where they can potentially thrive, like with Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, and this was the latest in the series.
The Mavericks, Spurs, and Pelicans were among the teams who had talks with the Knicks about Sims before he was sent to Milwaukee, according to Edwards.
As for Wright, he signed with the Bucks this past summer after closing out last season with the Heat. However, his role has been modest this season — he averaged just 2.5 points per game and shot 26.8% from the field across 26 appearances in Milwaukee.
There’s reason to believe Wright can turn his season around with the Knicks, according to the New York Post’s Bryan Fonseca. The veteran guard was a playoff contributor just last season with the Heat, and Fonseca notes that health issues affected him during his time in Milwaukee.
Knicks big men Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa stuck with the team through the deadline after both having their names floated in rumors for much of the season. Edwards writes that Robinson will be New York’s biggest midseason acquisition when he returns from injury, giving the Knicks a superb defender to add to the rotation. As a first-apron team, the Knicks won’t be eligible to sign anyone who made over the mid-level exception ($12.8MM) on the buyout market.
“You guys can read the tea leaves,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of the team’s quiet deadline, per the New York Post’s Peter Botte. “We like our team a lot. Obviously, we are excited about Mitch. But we also feel Ariel [Hukporti] has done a good job, and [Achiuwa] has done a good job. That’s really how we approach it.
“[Team president] Leon [Rose] and his staff, they are on it all year long. I think there’s a tendency to think this happens a couple days before [deadline]. They are always looking if they can improve the club. If there’s something that makes sense, they explore it. Then, you go from there. But we like our team a lot.”
As Botte opines in another story, it will be interesting to monitor whether the gambit of relying on health will pan out for the Knicks after a couple key East rivals made moves to shore up their teams, including the top-seeded Cavaliers acquiring De’Andre Hunter.
Sometimes the best move is no move at all
Knicks gonna need Mitch Robinson to come back healthy. KAT has been amazing offensively. He will be targeted in the playoffs defensively. Without Mitch shoring that interior defense up …… Knicks will be headed for another 2nd round exit.
Knicks can make ECF, lineups shorten in the playoffs and NYK players have played through those hard minutes last year.
Knicks have a few holes on the team. They need to be more healthy and players playing above their level to get past a cavs or celtics team.
You could say that about any team when it pertains to the playoffs.
I hope Hukporti gets a few minutes a night. He could develop into a solid player. Hukbois unite.
He is looking solid. Definitely can see him as a backup big for the next few years on this team.
First off I think the Knicks have a great roster. But the lack of moves had more to do with being hard capped at the 2nd apron and lacking assets to make moves. That isn’t an issue for a team this good imo but it is a more honest assessment than this article.