The buzz leading up to the trade deadline wasn't about the New York Knicks. They made their splashy moves over the summer. The Lakers stole the show by trading for Luka Doncic and acquiring Mark Williams a few days later.
New York's lone move was sending Jericho Sims to Milwaukee. The Athletic's James L. Edwards III reported that the Knicks spent the last few weeks exploring options for Sims (subscription required). They thought the Bucks would be Sims' best opportunity for a second chance. The Knicks received Delon Wright in the trade, but odds are he won't be a rotation player.
The front office didn't rely on the deadline for an upgrade. They knew they couldn't find someone better than the player already on the roster — Mitchell Robinson. He was cleared for contact earlier in the week and should make his long-awaited 2024-25 debut after the All-Star break.
He'll help boost New York's defense and rebounding. His return will also help with one of the Knicks' weaknesses: their lack of depth.
Knicks' lone trade deadline move didn't address lack of depth
New York ran with an eight-man rotation for a chunk of the season, but Tom Thibodeau has since gone back to his nine-man rotation. The decision has paid off.
He played rookie Ariel Hukporti in the Knicks' wins over the Rockets and Raptors earlier in the week (including first-quarter minutes in Toronto!). Expect the young center to continue to receive minutes, at least until Robinson returns.
Nobody should've expected New York to make a significant trade to bolster its depth. The Knicks reportedly were open to listening to offers for Robinson, but SNY's Ian Begley reported a few days before the deadline that the front office wasn't discussing a Mitch trade. Trading Robinson's salary was the team's best chance to get a solid role player, but again, keeping him was the better alternative.
There will always be chatter about the number of minutes Thibodeau plays his starters. Sometimes, it's warranted (like when the Knicks are up 20 points with five minutes left to play), but it's turned into a tired narrative. He wasn't responsible for New York's slew of injuries last season or this season, but you'd think he was if you listened to everything you heard.
The Knicks are the third-best team in the East. It wasn't as if they needed to make a trade to save their season (like the Warriors). Nobody is pretending New York is perfect, but expecting them to turn nothing into something was unreasonable.