New York Knicks: 3 trades to replace Mitchell Robinson

I think Mo Bamba’s days in Orlando are numbered.

Similar to a trade my colleague Jeremy wrote about here at Daily Knicks, Mo Bamba is surely to be on the move but this time, instead of to Cleveland, Bamba is coming home to New York City!
Born and raised in Harlem, the former Texas Longhorn was held in high regard coming into the 2018 NBA draft. Known for having the longest wingspan in the NBA, breaking Rudy Gobert’s record at 7’10 paired with great athleticism and size, Bamba seemed like he’d be a surefire NBA contributor. The fit in Orlando was questionable from Day 1 as the Magic already had a superstar manning the 5-spot in Nikola Vucevic. Some thought the all-star big Vucevic would be moved sometime after Orlando drafted Bamba but unfortunately, Mo never lived up to his expectations. While he has shown flashes over the last 2+ seasons, Bamba has fallen entirely out of Orlando’s rotation in favor of overseas journeyman Khem Birch.

The Magic have shown interest in Frank Ntilikina before, so adding him to their already weak guard rotation could help them out a lot in their rebuild to-be. After losing Markelle Fultz to a season-ending ACL tear, Orlando was forced to feed rookie Cole Anthony to the wolves and has started the season as the leading point guard. Coach Steve Clifford is similar to Coach Thibs as he’s an old-school, defensive-minded guy, so a player like Ntilikina may flourish under his tutelage.

Bamba would do well learning from guys like Taj Gibson and Nerlens Noel, while also under a revamped developmental staff here in NYC. This trade would relegate Taj Gibson to the end of the bench and would act as more of a coach than a backup. Bamba would be injected into a competition for minutes at center, and whenever Mitch returns, either Noel or Bamba would have sole possession of the backup job.