As the teams in pursuit of the Eastern Conference crown bolster their rosters ahead of Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline, the Knicks remain an active party in a number of discussions before the league’s deal-making window closes for business.
The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons each made rather significant roster upgrades on Tuesday, signaling an arms race in what was once perceived as a wide-open East prime for the Knicks’ taking.
Now, all eyes are on the front office at Madison Square Garden with time running out to improve around its core — or uproot it altogether in a deal for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Knicks might not need a seismic move to realize their potential and run the East, but their roster needs a marginal upgrade.
Especially after the dominos that fell in the conference on Tuesday.
The No. 1 seeded Detroit Pistons traded their promising young guard Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team deal netting them sharpshooting wing Kevin Huerter.
The Boston Celtics traded scoring guard Anfernee Simons to the Bulls for skilled floor-spacing big man Nikola Vucevic.
And the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team standing to improve the most through its wheeling and dealing at the deadline, are undergoing a midseason overhaul: They’ve already traded sixth man De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for a pair of dynamic guards in Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
Now, it appears Cleveland is moving on from former All-Star Darius Garland in a potential deal for former league MVP and ex-Brooklyn Net James Harden.
Those are moves made by teams going all-in. Meanwhile, the Knicks went all-in on bench depth when they signed Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson in free agency over the offseason. Neither are consistent fixtures in Mike Brown’s rotations leading into the All-Star break, which makes both expendable ahead of the Thursday deadline, especially Yabusele given the Knicks used their valuable mid-level exception to sign him.
Pacome Dadiet is another name to watch as a 2024 first-round pick who hasn’t shown much now with opportunities for two head coaches in New York. Between Yabusele ($5.5M), Clarkson ($2.3M) and Dadiet ($2.8M), the Knicks can create just $10.6M in outgoing salaries. The Knicks don’t have any tradeable first-round picks, but they can attach three or four second-rounders to create a compelling trade package for an impact player like Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall ($9M) or Bulls forward Jalen Smith.
And then there’s the Antetokounmpo question, a tough code to crack given the Knicks entered Tuesday’s matchup against the league-worst Washington Wizards red-hot riding a six-game winning streak. To acquire Antetokounmpo, who makes $54 million, the Knicks would need to trade Karl-Anthony Towns plus other key members of their core (Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Miles McBride) to recoup the first-round picks they gave up in the Bridges deal. The remaining Knicks would then need to change their identity and play style to fit around the Greek Freak, a one-man band currently out with a calf injury but averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.
The Knicks don’t have to trade for Antetokounmpo, now, either. He has one year left on his deal before he can opt out and test free agency in the summer of 2027, so they can wait for the offseason to improve their best offer.
They can’t afford, however, to punt on moving Yabusele, and if they can flip Clarkson and Dadiet into players who’ll actually see the floor under Brown, expect the Knicks to do that, too, as the competition stiffens in the East around them.
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