Knicks Stand Pat on Deadline Day

What's old is new again for the New York Knicks.

With the NBA trade crackdown officially enforced at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, the Knicks stood on an otherwise busy day of wheeling and dealing in the Association. Several big names (i.e. Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, De'Aaron Fox) had moved leading up to deadline day while Thursday itself forced De'Andre Hunter, Brandon Ingram, Jusuf Nurkic, Marcus Smart and more to pack their bags.

The Knicks mostly viewed the deadline as spectators beyond trading redundant center Jericho Sims to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the larger deal that allowed the Bucks and Washington Wizards to swap Khris Middleton and Kyle Kuzma. New York got back Delon Wright, cash considerations and draft rights to French standout Hugo Besson from Milwaukee in return.

Even with such minimal activity, it stands to reason that the Knicks will look a little different once the push to the postseason begins in earnest after the All-Star break: an eventful week for center Mitchell Robinson ended with peace on deadline day, as the longest-tenured Knick is still on the team after some tense lead-up to Thursday.

Robinson, in essence, will become the Knicks' headlining acquisition of February (or beyond) if and when he finally takes the floor, filling the role that Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges (acquired in June for the services of last year's deadline yield Bojan Bogdanovic) took over in the last two years. That will be a godsend to a rollercoaster Knicks defense that has done decent enough with Precious Achiuwa backing up Towns, but one that will no doubt benefit from having one of the last tradition centers in the NBA back on the floor.

There's still a chance that a new face beyond Wright could join the Knicks roster through the buyout landscape that this deadline will create. Though they've stayed out of the highly restrictive second apron, the Knicks are still somewhat restricted in that regard, as their luxury tax status prohibits them from signing a player making more than $12.8 million prior to his buyout (i.e. Malcolm Brogdon, Bruce Brown,

Apr 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) warms up before game five of the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

There may still be wiggle room to make a move for the Knicks to make a move, especially with an open roster spot. Torrey Craig and Lonnie Walker might be worth a look, but the Knicks' rotation will already be packed with Robinson's return looming. Mo Bamba might've been an option if the Knicks traded Robinson but they just traded Sims for being redundant in their system and they'd be better off fostering a homegrown face like Ariel Hukporti or even, if they could work it out financially, G League standout Moses Brown.

The Knicks' relative silence at the deadline, in hindsight, should hardly be surprising: the bookends of the offseason more or less served as their deadline, as they obtained Bridges in the summer and Towns in the fall. The latter deal could've been a perfect deadline needle-mover — no one would've faulted the Knicks for running it back with Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle and perhaps building a nest egg atop the Eastern Conference standings — but things have worked out generally well in any event.

After the trades and before the buyout, the Knicks (34-17) have more immediate affairs to deal with, as they face an anticipated showdown with the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

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