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One of the few predictable outcomes in an otherwise erratic NBA trade deadline week was that the New York Knicks would be relatively quiet.
The Knicks, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and winners of eight of their last 10 games, did their work this offseason. New York gave up a handful of first-round picks to add Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn and then, right before training camp, moved Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick to get Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The series of events pushed New York right up against the second apron and stripped them of most of their meaningful non-player assets. It was always going to be a challenge for the Knicks, given their financial situation and the health of Mitchell Robinson, to make yet another splash at Thursday’s trade deadline.
New York did do something, albeit very minor, by moving center Jericho Sims to Milwaukee in exchange for veteran guard Delon Wright and cash (there were draft rights swapped in the deal for overseas players because the Knicks enjoy creating difficult trivia questions), league sources confirmed to The Athletic.
If you’ve spent the last 14 hours trying to make sense of this deal and how it benefits New York in a purposeful way, let me help you: it doesn’t.
New York’s front office has a history of trying to get players to situations where they can potentially thrive and get paid. They’ve done it with Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Sims is the latest. The 2021 second-round pick has been out of Tom Thibodeau’s rotation for most of the season. The franchise has spent several weeks trying to find a landing spot where Sims, who is on an expiring deal, could get a meaningful opportunity. League sources told The Athletic that New York had conversations with Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio, among others, about Sims in the weeks and days leading up to Thursday’s deadline but settled on the Milwaukee Bucks, who were in need of an athletic, rim-running center.
New York getting back Wright for Sims is just the cost of doing business — both players have a nearly identical cap hit — and helping Sims get somewhere he can get his career jump-started. The Knicks were unable to take in more salary than they sent out because of being a first-apron team. Ultimately, with Robinson’s contract being the only hefty one outside of the starters, New York just didn’t have much optionality to bolster its bench in a meaningful way without giving up several players in the second unit.
As for Wright, he is a 6-foot-5 combo guard who, for a good chunk of his 10-year career, has been recognized as an instinctual and competitive perimeter defender. Will he play in New York? We’ll have to wait and see. Wright struggled to play in Milwaukee this season and also struggled when he did play. He’s shooting 30 percent on 2s and under 30 percent on 3s this year. However, the Knicks are lacking size on the perimeter off the bench and were in need of a productive wing behind the starters. With that said, I’m not sure Wright will address the “productive wing” part at this stage in his career.
It appears New York’s big deadline acquisition will be the return of Robinson — who I’m anticipating being back after the All-Star break, with the long shot he plays sometime next week as he was just recently cleared for contact. As I reported last week, league sources who spoke to The Athletic got a sense the Knicks were willing to entertain the idea of moving on from the oft-injured Robinson. However, New York never showed a willingness to attach assets just to dump him. As the dust settles and the trade deadline has passed, that proved to be true.
Precious Achiuwa became the human trade exception last offseason when he signed a one-year, $6 million contract and waived his no-trade clause to return to the Knicks. In the offseason and early on in the year, it felt likely that New York would move on from him to bolster its bench. Yet, Achiuwa has played well for the last several weeks and the team needs some insurance in the event that Robinson’s return from ankle surgery doesn’t go as planned.
The Knicks remain $535,000 from the second apron and still have an open roster spot. They have to wait until March 1 to sign a buyout-market player in order for the prorated veteran minimum to not exceed the hard cap. The caveat is that New York, as a first-apron team, can’t sign a player on the buyout market who made more than $12.8 million before being bought out. For example, if the New Orleans Pelicans were to buyout the newly-acquired Bruce Brown, the Knicks are unable to sign him.
Players will get waived/bought out in the coming days once trades are finalized, so more targets will be available to New York. Names like Chris Duarte and Torrey Craig, assuming they’re around by March 1, make sense given New York’s need for a fourth wing.
Ultimately, the Knicks could stand pat and still accomplish their goal of being a championship contender this season. They’re one of the best five teams in basketball with an elite offense. Defensively, they still have work to do, but adding Robinson, if he can stay on the floor, will be a plus.
New York didn’t have to do anything at the deadline. Its record speaks for itself and it has more flexibility this offseason. For the fans, though, I understand that trades are fun, exhilarating. The thrill of your team making a trade is similar to the adrenaline rush when Stone Cold Steve Austin’s glass breaks in the Royal Rumble. But the Knicks are in a good place.
(Photo of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns: Cooper Neill / NBAE via Getty Images)
