We all know the New York Knicks need to make a trade. The front office running the team knows it, too. Reading between the lines, it seems they’ll strike a deal in hopes of landing a backup point guard.
And that’s the wrong call.
Hints of New York’s trade-deadline intentions come to us from Ian Begley’s latest mailbag over at SNY. Asked whether the Knicks intend to add some rim protection ahead of the February 5 cutoff, he writes:
“If I’m making a guess today, I’m guessing that the Knicks look for veteran point guards on the trade market before they look for front-line help…The Knicks are getting by with a point-guard-by-committee approach. But I think there is still a desire internally to add a backup point guard behind Jalen Brunson.”
Which is all to say: The Knicks have their wires crossed, and may not understand what this roster truly needs
Another backup point guard would be nice, but…
…help on the wings is far more essential.
Losing OG Anunoby to a hamstring strain has completely gutted the defense. This in itself leads to questions about the bigs, and more specifically, about Mitchell Robinson. How much does he matter to New York if he can’t anchor the defense anymore?
More critically, though, Anunoby’s absence has exposed the Knicks’ glaring lack of wing depth. They do not have anyone Mike Brown trusts beyond Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, neither of whom has the combination of size, strength, and speed to cover up for New York’s brutal ball-containment issues and all things Karl-Anthony Towns.
This isn’t to imply the Knicks must somehow conjure another Anunoby from the trade market. They can’t. Defensive fulcrums who guard every position are incredibly rare. And even if one becomes available, New York doesn’t have the assets to land him.
Still, this isn’t a license to shift focus away from the wing rotation. Not when Pacome Dadiet doesn’t play, and when Mohamed Diawara is only allowed to log a few ticks at a time.
The Knicks’ real trade-deadline priority is crystal clear
The Knicks must acquire another wing, preferably with size, before it strikes 3 p.m. EST on February 5. No excuses.
They may not have top-tier assets, but they’re not starved of them. They do not have a ton of flexibility, but they’re not so rigid they have zero maneuverability. It doesn’t have to be a star, or even someone they envision being in the relative vicinity of the top-six players in the rotation. They just need someone who can eat up minutes at the 3 and 4, particularly on defense, without becoming completely unplayable in the playoffs.
Lasering in on someone who will inevitably get buried behind Jalen Brunson makes zero sense. Yes, backup point guard is a problem. But it is, officially, not the problem.
Even without a true floor general soaking up minutes behind Brunson, the Knicks will generally find ways to score. Mikal Bridges’ on-ball expansion helps here. If it doesn’t, then the onus should shift to Karl-Anthony Towns, the should-be-an-alpha-scorer who still isn’t.
Whatever you think of the offense so far, the lack of defensive malleability on the wings is a bigger issue. If the Knicks don’t view solving that problem as their utmost priority, they may live to regret it.