The New York Knicks cashed in several first-round picks over the summer when they traded for Mikal Bridges. He isn't the star everyone thought New York would get, but that move came days before training camp when the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns in an even more shocking move.
The best player the Knicks sent to the Nets for Bridges was Bojan Bogdanovic, whom New York acquired before the February 2024 deadline. The Knicks traded Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier for Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, and neither player is on the roster anymore.
New York sent Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to Minnesota for KAT. The former was expected to be in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation in 2024-25 with the Knicks, but he left before the season started.
The team's depth looks much different than at the start of the 2023-24 season. Immanuel Quickley, who finished second in 2023 Sixth Man of the Year voting, was traded to Toronto alongside RJ Barrett in the OG Anunoby deal. Grimes, who Knicks fans thought was the next best thing, was replaced by DiVincenzo in the starting lineup last season before he was traded.
Knicks' thin depth could be what holds team back in the playoffs
New York has a high-powered starting five that averages a league-high 97.4 points per game, but its bench is one of the worst in the league. The bench averages 19.8 points per game, the worst in the league. The Lakers' bench averages the second-lowest points in the league at 24.7, a significant difference from the Knicks' average. New York's bench also averages 11.9 minutes per game, another league-low.
It's not like the Knicks have bad players in the second unit; the issue is that the team doesn't have enough players. Tom Thibodeau also doesn't turn to rookies like Tyler Kolek when necessary, particularly when the starting five is gassed. New York's starters average a league-high 36.3 minutes per game.
Fans could rant all day about Thibodeau running the starters into the ground. While that could become a problem in the playoffs after a long 82-game regular season, a lack of reliable depth could be the Knicks' demise in the postseason. Depth is a game-changer in the playoffs, especially in a series that goes to six or seven games.
New York has little flexibility to make a trade before the deadline, but a deal could be made. The front office may decide to move on from Mitchell Robinson, who has yet to play in a game this season after undergoing ankle surgery last May. Acquiring a quality bench player would likely require Precious Achiuwa to leave New York, too. Leon Rose and Co. will have to weigh the risk versus the reward of any potential deal.
Maybe Thibodeau will give players like Kolek and Ariel Hukporti more minutes. Maybe Robinson will return and be a plus off the bench. Or, perhaps the front office will take matters into their own hands and make a deadline trade.
New York is no longer short on star power, but Jalen Brunson and Towns can't do it all. It'd be disappointing if the Knicks didn't at least end their Eastern Conference Finals drought. Let's see how the next few weeks shake out.