Another Knicks Center Trade Option Has Seemingly Gone Up in Smoke

With the Knicks' potential center trade options dwindling throughout this offseason, attention had turned to how the team could acquire Ryan Kalkbrenner from the Hornets. Given that Charlotte needed a backup point guard and New York has Tyler Kolek, the fit for a deal was obvious.

However, any hopes the Knicks had of landing Kalkbrenner took a turn this past weekend, as the Hornets traded for Dennis Schröder. This represents a legitimate upgrade for Charlotte and adds a proven veteran initiator in the second unit, which it previously lacked.

Just in: The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading Dennis Schroder and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for Tre Mann, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/MNhjejPxJQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 14, 2026

As a result, Kolek is no longer that enticing to the Hornets since they don't have a pressing need at PG. This, in turn, severely diminishes New York's chances of pulling off a Kolek-Kalkbrenner swap before the start of the season.

Ryan Kalkbrenner trade for Knicks seems unlikely anytime soon

Charlotte certainly had leverage over the Knicks when theorizing possible talks between the two sides. Though the Hornets needed a backup PG, they didn't have to rush to offload Kalkbrenner, even with Moussa Diabate (whom New York reportedly also looked into this offseason) and promising rookie Hannes Steinbach on the roster.

Additionally, Charlotte knows that any deal it makes with the Knicks will only make the defending champs better. While the Hornets are a ways away from true contention, they surely don't want to make their life in the East any more difficult by giving New York a quality option in Kalkbrenner to fill its dire hole at third-string center.

That being said, point guard help being of use to Charlotte gave the Knicks hope to at least work out a deal. Kalkbrenner is third on the totem pole, and it'd be good business for the Hornets to swap him for multiple future draft assets, as they have no way to feature all three young bigs.

Leon Rose could've thrown several second-rounders on the table after his savvy work in this year's draft, which Charlotte could use in a number of ways after reshaping its roster earlier this offseason. Plus, they'd also get Kolek out of it, who's only entering Year 3 and seems ready for a jump and to be a featured part of a bench unit.

All of this made a trade seem like a strong option for both sides, but it failed to materialize. That could be chalked up to the Hornets liking Schröder more than Kolek in the short-term, or Charlotte simply not wanting to sell on Kalkbrenner so soon since the rookie Steinbach is still an unknown.

The Hornets have added something they haven’t had in quite a long time: Players with playoff experience 👀

Dennis Schroder: 91 games
Rolls Royce: 52 games
Naz Reid: 48 games
Grayson Allen: 28 games pic.twitter.com/rSi8vynCO9
— Charlottehornetsonly (@ChaHornetsOnly) August 19, 2026

For whatever reason a deal didn't come to fruition, this pushes New York closer to approaching Plan Z in its center search. Failed trade attempts with the Pelicans, a similar experience with the Hornets, plus the ultimately failed signing of Moussa Cisse have taken numerous top targets off the board for the Knicks behind Andre Drummond.

The fact that trades for low-on-the-depth-chart bigs like Kalkbrenner and New Orleans' Karlo Matkovic didn't happen shows how rough the market is for New York, which has been active trying to probe deals but has found no willing partners.

With Kalkbrenner also off the table now, it adds to the belief that the Knicks will use patience and preseason cuts to address the third-string center hole. There are a few players, like Christian Koloko or Micah Potter, who could be waived by their teams, giving New York big-man help without requiring an actual trade.

That said, the Knicks also have a mission not to sign any third center, but truly raise their ceiling at the position as they look to defend a title. That means keeping tabs on trade targets like Kalkbrenner in the months ahead, just in case situations change. But for now, there appears to be little hope for a deal of that nature before opening night.

Get Knicks On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google