Three days from the NBA trade deadline, and we’re still no closer to knowing what moves the New York Knicks will make, if any. A six-game winning streak, most recently a 112-100 win over the LeBron & Luka LA Lakers, has mildly complicated matters.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s struggles in coach Mike Brown’s system have seen his name mentioned in trade rumors, is suddenly on a unique hot streak. One day before the Knicks went on their six-game run, the former Kentucky Wildcat had been a net -66 since New Year’s Eve.
Since then, Towns has been on a unique type of hot streak. He’s posted a net +61, but averaging just 12.3 points compared to 13.3 rebounds per game. Towns hasn’t scored 20 points in any of the last six games, but did have back-to-back 20+ rebound games against the Raptors and Trail Blazers. Except for fouling out against the Sixers on January 24, he hasn’t committed more than three fouls in a game. Could it be that he sees his team’s need for more size and embracing being a star in a new role?
One way or another, it’s hard to imagine the Knicks trading Towns to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo at this point. Not only has he been a pivotal player during the Knicks’ winning streak, but Giannis is currently down with a calf strain and with no timetable to return. However, he wants out of Milwaukee badly enough that he could still be moved. It just might not be New York who lands him since the money involved would almost certainly require moving KAT.
Meanwhile, the only clear name to whom the Knicks seem linked is Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu. The 26-year-old has averaged 15 points per game off the bench in Chicago while shooting nearly 45% from three-point land. He’d be a nice 1-2 bench punch alongside veteran Landry Shamet. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic mentions Dosunmu may only cost someone like Miles “Deuce” McBride, who has blossomed from second-round pick and end-of-bench guy into a reliable three-and-D.
Quite the fair deal, especially considering Dosunmu is an unrestricted free agent in July. McBride, on the other hand, has one year remaining on a three-year, $13 million deal. Quite the trade chip as New York isn’t exactly overrun with draft capital compared to recent years. Even as they remain engaged in talks for Giannis, as Shams Charania mentioned on SportsCenter late Sunday night.
Thus is the Knicks’ paradox as the deadline nears. They need another consistent shooter off the bench as well as some more size behind seven-foot rim-protecting stalwart Mitchell Robinson. Even as he leads the league in offensive rebounding, his injury history is too lengthy to ignore. Guerschon Yabusele has also been that disappointing. Edwards proposed a hypothetical deal involving the Pelicans’ Karlo Matkovic and Jose Alvarado, but those are barely whispers in reality.
We’re nowhere near the eleventh hour yet, but the pressure is on for Knicks president Leon Rose. This is the first trade season he’ll have to navigate without significant draft capital. Could that see him move a key player like Towns? Or, in a more potentially blockbuster move, Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart?
He’s got three days to figure it out as the Knicks hold tight to the No. 2 spot in the East. Stay tuned.
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