Report: Knicks Plan to Keep Trade Deadline Acquisition

There's a new member of the New York Knicks in town after the NBA trade deadline.

Nov 13, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Delon Wright (55) during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks found the Wright stuff and they reportedly intend on keeping it, at least for now.

Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the Knicks plan to keep Delon Wright on their roster "for now" after obtaining the 32-year-old's services in exchange for those of Jericho Sims in a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks less than 24 hours before Thursday's trade deadline.

New York also obtained cash considerations from Milwaukee while also swapping the rights of French prospects (Mathias Lessort for Hugo Besson).

The well-traveled Wright —the Knicks are set to be his 10th team in as many NBA season —certainly isn't lighting it up on the statsheet from a conventional sense but has been lauded for his defense.

"(There are) small things that he does on the court that’s really smart," former Knicks Kristaps Porzingis, then Wright's teammate with the Washington Wizards, said in 2022 (h/t Josh Robbins of The Athletic). "He’s just an experienced player. It might not show up on the stat sheet, but he really does help us a lot, and I think people are a little bit underestimating him.”

Feb 4, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) controls the ball against Washington Wizards guard Delon Wright (55) and center Kristaps Porzingis (6) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

"He does a lot of good things out there, and some of them that don’t fall into the box score," then-Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. added, per Robbins. "But there’s a presence, and I think guys (on the other team) are kind of looking over their shoulder because they know he has a defensive feel to him.”

Even so, it'll be difficult for Wright to make any sort of immediate headway in the Knicks' rotation: watching head coach Tom Thibodeau expand his eight-man set to nine no doubt took some convincing, as Landry Shamet starting to get minutes amidst the Knicks' winter prosperity. Shamet, Miles McBride, and Cameron Payne are the first backcourt men off the bench and things will only get more crowded once center Mitchell Robinson is ready to return.

Provided Wright stays, however, the Knicks would have a reserve almost tailor-made for a Thibodeau system. He's certainly worth keeping an eye as New York continues to navigate the delicate OG Anunoby situation, as the two-way threat has missed each of the Knicks' last two games with a foot sprain.

Wright is set to be on the bench when the Knicks (34-17) return to action on Saturday for a bout with the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

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