The Knicks have been on fire lately, winning five straight games, including wins over top Western Conference teams Memphis and Denver before dropping a game at home to the Los Angeles Lakers. With the trade deadline approaching, the Knicks have one big question to answer: the depth behind Karl Anthony-Towns at the center position.
Many things are involved in any trades that the Knicks make because of their position in the salary cap apron. Any trade they make will include flipping Mitchell Robinson to make the money work because they will not be able to take on any more money than what they give in a trade.
Mitchell Robinson is the obvious first choice as he is the in-house option, understands the system, and is exceptional at defense and rebounding. He can offer an option as a start alongside KAT, moving Josh Hart to the bench, but he can also spell the All-Star allowing him to rest more down the stretch of the season. The question surrounding Robinson is the one that has followed him throughout his career, can he stay healthy?
He is currently out because of an ankle injury he suffered against Philadelphia in the playoffs last season. In 2023-24 he fractured his left ankle which caused him to miss 50 games, in 2022-23 a combination of knee and thumb injuries had him out for over 20 games. In 2021-22, he played the most games in his career at 72.
The Washington Wizards are clearly in rebuild mode. Valanciunas is a popular name in the rumor mill because he is a good rebounder and a versatile scorer. He is averaging 11.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.6 blocks for the Wizards this season while shooting 56.4% from the field, 28.0% from beyond the arc, and 89.5% from the free-throw line. He’s making $9.9 million.
The Toronto Raptors are an interesting team heading into the deadline, as they have a host of expiring contacts and are on the outside looking in on one of the play-in games. He is not the top name on anyone’s board, but he is a professional with playoff experience Olynyk is signed through 2025-26, which can still have him be a trade peace after the season is over for the Knicks.
Nurkic is the near-impossible option for the Knicks because of money and due to the Suns not viewing him as a salary dump, except as more of a valuable trade chip. Nurkic is owed $18.13 million and has averaged 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 23.7 minutes this season. The Suns seem likely to trade Nurkic because he is out of the rotation and fell out of favor with head coach Mike Budenholzer.
It will be interesting to see what the Knicks do at the trade deadline if they do anything at all. It will not be surprising if they wait for the return of Mitchell Robinson and maybe wait for the buyout market to form. The only difficulties will be the punishments caused by the salary cap aprons.
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