Although the New York Knicks were largely applauded for their work at the NBA trade deadline, Ayo Dosunmu is currently delivering a potent, if agonizing, masterclass in what could have been.
Coming off an historical 43-point explosion in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 4 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the 26-year-old is leaving zero doubt that he would have been a Utopic fit in orange and blue. The Knicks know it, too. Dosunmu was among the names they sniffed around at the trade deadline.
New York instead landed Jose Alvarado, who despite providing a handful of electric moments has become more of a minor contributor in the playoffs. Not only is he behind Deuce McBride in the rotation, but he’s now trailing Jordan Clarkson, too.
The Knicks, in turn, are left to wallow among what-ifs, wrong turns, and most of all, a missed opportunity that could have changed everything.
Ayo Dosunmu may have been out of the Knicks’ price range
It initially looked like New York would be shut out of the Dosunmu sweepstakes because the Chicago Bulls wanted first-round equity the front office couldn’t offer. In the end, though, he got shipped to the Timberwolves for a package that did not include a first-round pick.
And it was still too rich for New York.
Minnesota shipped out Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, three second-round picks and one second-round swap in exchange for Dosunmu, Julian Phillips, and a second-rounder. Yes, the Knicks could have matched this draft compensation. They shipped out two second-rounders for Alvarado, and are still sitting on seconds from Washington in 2026 (No. 31) and 2027.
Things start to fall apart looking at the rest of the package. Dillingham has not lived up to expectations, but he has the cache of a top-eight pick, giving him the aura of a high-reward dice roll with two years left on his rookie-scale deal. Leonard Miller was viewed as a throw-in, but he turned heads after getting minutes in Chicago as a hybrid wing-big.
The Knicks do not have any prospects with the same repute. You can make the case that Tyler Kolek has shown more than Dillingham, and that Mohamed Diawara is more intriguing than Miller. Neither is viewed in the same vein as Dillingham him specifically, though. And perception matters in these cases.
What’s more, the Knicks did not have as easy of a path to matching Dosunmu’s $7.5 million salary. They were (and still are) toeing a fine line beneath the second apron, and their most expendable contract with any real money on it was Guerschon Yabusele—who ended up in Chicago anyway, but only because he declined his 2026-27 player option and wasn’t being treated as part of the outgoing value.
The Wolves, on the other hand, were able to use Dillingham as a salary-matcher who also counted as part of the valued head to the Bulls. Without including Deuce McBride, who was dealing with an injury at the time, New York couldn’t do the same.
Ayo Dosunmu is a symbol of what the Knicks needed most
To be sure, the Knicks could have made the math work. Yabusele and Pacome Dadiet would have met the requirements. But that would have resulted in the Bulls getting zero players they deemed to have value.
Bridging that gap could have been impossible. There’s no telling whether New York could have included enough second-rounders to offset the perceived value of Dillingham and Miller. Dangling McBride could have helped, but he’s older than Dillingham, with less time remaining on his deal. Chicago might have preferred the Minnesota package anyway.
The question of whether the Knicks were aggressive enough when targeting Dosunmu is nevertheless a good one. They might have been turned off by his impending free agency, and curbed their offers accordingly. That would have been a mistake.
Dosunmu checks so many boxes New York needed at the time, and continues to need now: secondary ball-handling, thirst for transition offense, perimeter defense that isn’t limited to just one position, and capable shooting. He isn’t the most talented playmaker, but if Mike Brown really wants to play lineups without Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns, Dosunmu would have come in handy during those stretches, too.
Think of what this Knicks rotation looks like if instead of Alvarado, they had Dosunmu, who just carried the Wolves to the brink of Round 2 despite the team losing Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) and Anthony Edwards (knee).
Actually, on second thought, maybe don’t do that. It’s too painful.
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