Insider Reveals Knicks Desperation Level at Trade Deadline

The New York Knicks have a mission ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

May 6, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) grabs a rebound against Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson (22) during the fourth quarter of game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are fielding phone calls as they get ready for the final days leading up to the trade deadline.

The Knicks are sitting comfortably at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, so they should look for ways to stay competitive with those teams.

ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst say that the Knicks are at a "medium" level of desperation as they look to acquire more depth.

"While the Knicks are on pace to win 50 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in 30 years and have their best chance in a generation to break a 52-year title drought, a season-long topic of conversation around the Knicks has been the heavy minutes for New York's starters. Four of them are in the top five in total minutes played -- Mikal Bridges (1st), Josh Hart (2nd), OG Anunoby (3rd), Jalen Brunson (5th) -- while Karl-Anthony Towns is 23rd. Part of that comes down to their availability: Bridges, Hart, Anunoby and Brunson have combined to miss two games, and Towns has missed only five," ESPN writes.

"But while that has reignited long-standing debates over coach Tom Thibodeau's penchant for leaning on his main players, it also has highlighted New York's lack of depth, something the Knicks were prepared to deal with when they chose to acquire Towns on the eve of training camp."

If the Knicks want to acquire depth, their best path towards that is by trading Mitchell Robinson, who has yet to play in a game this season as he has tried to recover from offseason ankle surgery.

Robinson's contract could help facilitate a trade for a player of a higher caliber, but it would be a risk to acquire anyone new at this point in the season.

That being said, the Knicks aren't where they want to be, and making some kind of change will help that.

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