The New York Knicks spent most of the offseason searching for another center. The front office knew Mitchell Robinson wouldn't be ready to start the season. New York traded for Karl-Anthony Towns at the end of the offseason, which the Knicks tried to do as early as draft night.
The trade for KAT required the Knicks to lose depth. New York sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected first-round pick to Minnesota. The bench was thin before the trade, and the injuries that happened after didn't help. Precious Achiuwa and Landry Shamet got hurt in the preseason.
Jericho Sims is the Knicks' primary backup center with Achiuwa sidelined. He's had a couple of promising flashes but has struggled. Tom Thibodeau opted to play rookie Ariel Hukporti over Sims against the Cavaliers. It's encouraging that Hukporti has already played significant minutes, but it's also discouraging that Sims' play led to that.
Robinson will be out until January. When Robinson returns, Towns can slide back to the four (like he did with Rudy Gobert). A trade proposal is floating around that would give the Knicks another traditional center before Robinson gets healthy.
Knicks lose McBride and Achiuwa in mock trade for Jonas Valanciunas
Jonah Kubicek of The Sporting News created a trade that would help New York's rebounding woes.
Valanciunas and Achiuwa can't be traded until Dec. 15 because they signed free-agency deals over the summer. At that point, Robinson will still be out for at least a few more weeks.
Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Wizards but is expected to be traded because Washington is rebuilding. It wouldn't be surprising if he were traded before the February deadline.
Could the Knicks be one of the interested teams? Maybe. Should they be willing to trade their best bench player for Valanciunas? No. McBride is on one of the best contracts in the league after he signed a three-year, $13 million extension last season. He played a significant role in the second half of the season and excelled.
McBride is averaging 13.5 points on 58.8% shooting from the field and 55.6% from three. New York has played only five games, so the sample size is small but very encouraging. His best game of the season was on opening night in Boston when he scored 22 points on 80% shooting from the field and three.
Losing McBride would be detrimental for the Knicks. New York's depth is thin enough. Valanciunas' rebounding would be a plus, but not enough for the Knicks to pay that price.
Don't forget about Achiuwa, either. He's on a one-year, six-million deal. He's not a conventional center, but he filled in well for New York last season. If needed, the Knicks could flip him before the deadline, but it's too early to know if the team should go in that direction.
New York is still working on figuring out its identity. One of the biggest pluses of the season thus far is McBride. Fans don't want the front office to send him packing, for good reason.