The Knicks sit at 26-15, with fans feeling good about the team’s overall direction. But let’s be honest – this roster needs reinforcements before anyone can talk about true championship contention. Something doesn’t feel right when you watch them against the league’s top teams. That 0-5 record against the top two seeds in each conference tells everything you need to know. The Knicks just aren’t ready for those heavyweight battles yet.
The numbers back up what our eyes are seeing. If you look at the league standings, the Knicks currently rank fifth while being unable to snag a win against any of those teams above them. When they face the NBA’s best, the depth issues become glaring and it’s like watching the tires fall off in real time.
The good news? The trade deadline gives the front office a chance to fix these problems. Between potential trades, buyout candidates, and some creative cap management, there are paths to strengthen this roster. They have the assets to make moves; now it’s about finding the right pieces to push this team into true contender status. This opportunity to fine tune and tweak the roster will save the starters their health down the stretch and give themselves a better chance to title contend.
Running Their Starters Into The Ground
The Knicks might be winning games, but at what cost? Five players in the top 35 for minutes played league-wide is a recipe for disaster. These guys are logging serious miles before we even hit All-Star weekend. Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby hold the top three spots in minutes. Jalen Brunson currently holds the fifth spot, with KAT in the 15th spot. That’s the entire starting lineup horsing a big workload. You can see in some games the gas level dwindle in terms of their average 4th Quarter Margin.
The bench production is scarce – dead last in the NBA at 20.2 points per game. Even the Lakers’ struggling second unit puts up 24.6 points. The team cannot rely solely on Deuce McBride and Cameron Payne to provide the scoring spark off the bench. He has been carrying the burden lately in the new year, but it is not a sustainable solution. With barely $400,000 left under the hard cap and the second tax apron looming, Leon Rose needs to get creative. But something’s gotta give – these starters can’t keep playing these minutes all season.
this was the Knicks rotation on night 2 of a back to back…thibs is a menace pic.twitter.com/FoIlVEoMdW
— james (@jamestalkshoops) January 14, 2025
If the Knicks decide to trade Mitchell Robinson, Jonas Valanciunas would become a top target before the deadline, per @IanBegley (https://t.co/yAFFe2k178).
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) January 14, 2025
A straight swap of Robinson for Valanciunas works, because the Wizards have the necessary cap space. pic.twitter.com/auYQSsGu3h
The Money Game: Knicks’ Trade Options Looking Tight
The Knicks front office has their work cut out for them at the trade deadline. They’re sitting $10.20 million over the first apron, with barely $535,301 left before hitting the second apron. That’s not a lot of wiggle room when you’re trying to add talent. The NBA has made it real tough to operate if you’re over that second apron ($189.49 million). We’re talking:
No mid-level exception to work with
Can’t stack salaries in trades
Locked out of the buyout market
Kiss that 2031 first-rounder goodbye
Leon Rose still has three trade exceptions in his back pocket:
$6.80 million from the Obi Toppin deal
$5.24 million courtesy of the RJ/IQ trade
$3.87 million left from moving Malachi Flynn
Here’s the catch though – being over that first apron means dollar-for-dollar trades only. And no, you can’t combine these exceptions to land a bigger fish. That would be too easy, right? With a salary or two going out with limited options, the real treasure chest is those draft picks. It is not like teams are dying for Knicks bench players like Jericho Sims or Precious Achiuwa, but they are going to want something more in the deal.
The Knicks are loaded with picks at their disposale for teams to pick from:
Their own picks in 2029, 2030, and 2031
Detroit’s 2024 first (top-18 protected)
Washington’s 2024 first (top-12 protected)
Just watch that second apron though – stay over it too long and that 2031 pick drops to the back of the line. The front office needs to play this smart – one wrong move could mess up both today’s roster and tomorrow’s draft plans.
Three Big Holes The Knicks Need To Fill
It is hard to break down exactly where this roster needs help, as they know they need bench scoring, but at what cost? To zoom in on what would benefit this team is some wing scoring off the bench. An idea here is T.J. Warren, who might be the answer nobody’s talking about – dude’s putting up 25.1 a night in the G-League. Everyone remembers the electric NBA Bubble, but it has also been five years since fans witnessed his scoring spree. What’s holding this up is the Knicks can’t afford to sign TJ Warren until after March 2nd when they can prorate a minimum contract. So right now, this stint in Westchester is basically keeping him warm and playing.
The next critical issue is the lack of size. There are currently five guys listed 6’5″ or shorter in the nine-man rotation. That’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight in today’s NBA. When the team gets tired, they are letting teams shoot efficiently at the rim while getting bullied in the paint during their worst losses of the season. Only accumulating 3.9 blocks per game as a team, they ranked 28th in the NBA.
The third and final piece of this puzzle is kind of an enigma. The team ranks seventh in three-point percentage but can’t crack the top 20 in attempts. That’s like having a Ferrari and never taking it out of second gear. Karl-Anthony Towns is cooking from deep, hitting 44.9% and making 2.2 threes a game. Fix these three things, and maybe they’ll formulate themselves into an even better contender. But that’s a big maybe – and the clock’s ticking toward the trade deadline.
Three Ways The Knicks Can Get Help
The Knicks have options to beef up this roster before the playoffs, but none of them are perfect. Here some paths Leon Rose might take – some more exciting than others. A few big men out there could fix our rim protection real quick. Isaiah Stewart has limited shooting just 47.5% inside six feet – that’s the kind of defense we need. As fun as that sounds with the Pistons playing well, they wont depart from Stewart. Walker Kessler’s swatting 2.8 shots a game, and has been identified as a target for Leon Rose. Many fans argue that the roster already has a high energy big like that with Ariel Hukporti. In the small amount of work he made the most out of his minutes against the Nets earlier in the season. Fans loved his high energy and tenacity. It is something worth a look with the Mitchell Robinson injury uncertainty.
Three centers that could help tomorrow:
Jonas Valančiūnas (shooting 56.9% – can’t teach size)
Nick Richards (sneaky good with 7.9 boards)
Robert Williams III (when healthy, dude changes everything at the rim)
The next strategy to boost the bench would have to be the buyout market. Being under that second tax apron is so critical and could be the Knicks saving grace. Now they would have the opportunity to grab guys who were making $12.40 million plus – that opens some doors for some established vets who want to title content. It may be too early to identify buy-out candidate targets but fnas will have to watch where the crumbs fall after all the trades occur before the deadline. Just remember – gotta get these deals done before March 1 or they can’t help in the playoffs. That $400,000 left under the hard cap doesn’t give us much room for error though. One wrong move and they’ll be stuck watching other teams load up for the playoffs.
Time To Make A Move
The Knicks are sitting in the third spot of the eastern conference, but let’s not kid ourselves – this team could not take down a Boston, Cleveland or OKC in a seven game playoff series. Those losses against the league’s elite tell us exactly where they stand. The money’s tight and the options aren’t perfect. But between those trade exceptions and that stack of first-round picks, Leon Rose has some cards to play. Just gotta play them right.
Maybe Mitchell Robinson’s gets healthy and locks down the paint. Maybe they move on from him to acquire that scoring punch inside. Or maybe they finally give those in the G-League a chance. But sitting still isn’t an option – not when we’re this close to something special. The window’s open right now. Smart moves at the deadline could turn these Knicks from a nice story into a real problem in the East. But one thing’s for sure – doing nothing means watching their starters efforts go to waste come playoff time.
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