The New York Knicks have long been rumored to be a team that would push their chips to the center of the table soon. And the signing of Jalen Brunson all the way back in 2022 has unlocked the Knicks' willingness to go all-in, for championship windows don't last as long as one initially anticipates. This past offseason, the Knicks traded away their biggest assets to bring in Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, assembling one of the most talented cores in the association.
And apart from their performance against the top teams in the league, the Knicks have been as good as advertised — with their offense clicking at a high level, as was expected after trading for one of the most talented scoring big men in the association. But their struggles have been caused exactly by the main concern that many had for them after trading away a few pieces in pursuit of upping the team's talent ceiling.
Without further ado, this is the Knicks' fatal flaw that they must address prior to the 2025 NBA trade deadline, although it's not quite clear just how much they can do to help fix this.
Can the Knicks address their woeful depth?
The Knicks made a trade-off that many teams would if they were in their position. Sometimes, all it takes to compete for a championship is to grab the best talent available, with the goal of overcoming whatever problems that may arise along the way. But it is definitely a major concern for the Knicks that their wing depth is non-existent outside of Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, and they seem to be in short supply in terms of players who can contribute come postseason time.
Their trade for Bridges and Towns cost them the players that made them such a deep team last season, and now, from a long-term perspective, the Knicks will have to do whatever they can to keep their core players healthy, as an injury to one of their top five guys could make all the difference between a run to the NBA Finals and a flameout in the early postseason rounds.
Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, provided the latter comes back healthy later this season, are guaranteed to get some playoff minutes from head coach Tom Thibodeau. Perhaps Precious Achiuwa is as well. Cameron Payne is a bit of a question mark; Payne has some playoff experience after his stint with the Phoenix Suns, but relying on him to fill a huge role may be asking too much out of him.
There are never going to be any guarantees on the injury front. But the least the Knicks can do is protect Thibodeau from his worst instincts. Adding a bit of depth will do wonders in that regard. Alas, there isn't much the Knicks can do to solve this problem of theirs.
The Towns trade hard-capped the Knicks at the second apron, which means that their total payroll cannot exceed $190 million. This has done nothing but limit what New York can do in terms of improving the roster.
The rumor mill may have them as an interested team in a veteran piece that could help in their playoff run, such as Marcus Smart, but there isn't really much they can do without gutting their team even further. And it's not like they have the picks to swing anything major, considering that they lost a ton of draft capital in the Bridges trade.
The most logical thing for the Knicks to do is dangle Achiuwa and his $6 million salary, or perhaps even Robinson and his $14 million salary. One would imagine that they will want to hold on to at least one of them for some center depth.
Potential trades for New York to address depth issues
If the Knicks were to trade away Mitchell Robinson, perhaps they can get an additional scorer such as Jordan Clarkson. But with New York not needing any more scoring considering that they rank third in the league in offensive rating, maybe the acquisition of Josh Green, a 3 and D fill in the gaps kind of player, could be more useful.
Trading away Precious Achiuwa will make it more difficult for the Knicks to acquire a player who could help fill a role in the playoffs. Players making around the same amount as Achiuwa (or less) are on their rookie-scale contracts, and will be hard to acquire. Thus, it is not likely whatsoever that New York will be able to swing a worthwhile trade using only that contract.
