There were several reasons Luka Doncic’s trade was such a shocker. Among them, very few people knew he was actually available. But while there are always surprises at or before the deadline (though never at the level of Doncic), the majority of players who are moved were shopped prior and therefore less unexpected. Like, for instance, the Zach LaVine-for-De’Aaron Fox swap.
With the Knicks, we know Jericho Sims, now out of the rotation again, is being shopped. We know Precious Achiuwa waived his right to a no-trade clause before signing his current deal because the Knicks might need his $6 million salary to complete a trade. We know Mitchell Robinson is a wild card with fickle health. We know the Knicks’ assets are depleted because of offseason trades, leaving them with paltry draft capital to attract a trade. We know that they want to upgrade their frontcourt depth, whether that’s with Robinson because they’re confident he can return to form or with a deal by the deadline. We know that wing depth is also an issue. We know the Knicks, as a team operating above the first apron, cannot take back more salary in a trade than they’re sending out.
We also have a good sense of who is available for discussion around the NBA, based logic, talk around the NBA and logic. Those players are listed below:
Top tier (salaries of $20 million or more)
Bradley Beal (Phoenix), Jimmy Butler (Miami), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans), DeAndre Ayton (Portland), Julius Randle (Minnesota), Jerami Grant (Portland), John Collins (Utah), Kyle Kuzma (Washington), Bruce Brown (Toronto), Cam Johnson (Nets), Malcolm Brogdon (Wizards), Clint Capela (Hawks), Nikola Vucevic (Bulls).
The movement of this group, in a lot of ways, will dictate other deals before the deadline. Every team is watching its dollars now with the luxury-tax restrictions. However, the Knicks aren’t really candidates for these types of players. Assuming they don’t trade a starter, getting to at least $20 million in salary would require the Knicks to combine Robinson and Achiuwa. That isn’t a very compelling package for the other team to accept and also would further deplete the Knicks’ frontcourt.
The Mitchell Robinson trade
Isaiah Stewart (Detroit), Kelly Olynyk (Toronto), Jonas Valanciunas (Washington), Chris Boucher (Toronto), Simone Fontecchio (Detroit), Robert Williams III (Portland), Matisse Thybulle (Portland).
All these players could be swapped in a 1 for 1 with Robinson, who, given his injury history, isn’t an attractive asset in the market. To move Robinson, who has another year remaining on his deal, the Knicks might have to attach draft assets. Robinson, at full strength, is better than all these options (and some we inevitably failed to mention), which is why league sources believe New York’s preference is Robinson returns healthy. The “healthy” part is the big risk. I am intrigued by the Magic, who are freefalling and have Goga Bitadze but don’t typically partake in midseason trades.
The Jericho Sims trade
Daniel Theis (New Orleans), Javonte Green (New Orleans), Guerschon Yabusele (Philadelphia), Duop Reath (Portland).
There are many other potentially available players the Knicks can acquire with Sims’ salary. At a certain level, anybody can be acquired. However, these players make the most sense given Sims’ limitations and, in the case of Yabusele, a source said a high-ranking member of the Knicks organization is impressed. I assume the Sixers would require more compensation than just Sims to part with Yabusele, who is averaging nearly 27 minutes this season. Despite Philadelphia just trading starter Caleb Martin, a source said the team was being a little more financially responsible amid a disappointing season but not to expect a fire sale.
