Can Knicks fix defense internally or do they need to make move before NBA trade deadline? – The Athletic
If you needed a reminder about the expectation for the Knicks this season, the man who writes the checks recently laid it out in his own words.
“Yeah, we want to get to the (NBA) Finals and we should win the finals,” owner James Dolans said during a radio interview earlier this week with WFAN Sports Radio, his first since January 2023. “This is sports, this is business and anything can happen, but getting to the finals, we absolutely got to do. Winning the final, we should win.”
Got to do. Should. The verbs are loud and clear from the man steering the ship. Dolan has brought what he’s told those behind closed doors to the light. Now, the pressure to make it happen weighs heavily on the front office.
The Knicks are in the midst of their worst stretch of basketball in two seasons. They snapped a four-game losing skid Wednesday night with a 123-110 win over the Clippers, which is a step in the right direction but doesn’t erase what’s happened over the last two weeks. They’re 5-6 over their last 11 games. Going into the game against Los Angeles, New York had the NBA’s 28th-ranked defense over a 10-game span. Even before then, while the Knicks were winning more regularly, the defense was nothing to celebrate. The Knicks and Pelicans are the only two defenses in the NBA to rank in the bottom 10 in both 3-point frequency and rim frequency. Defenses usually are OK giving up one of those things, not both.
This rough patch comes at a complicated time for the front office. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5, and those in charge have to decide if this is just a blip in a long season or something that could deter the team from doing what the boss expects. Dolan also added in that interview that he doesn’t anticipate any major moves before the deadline. “This is the team,” he said. All of these comments, though, were made before a 31-point loss to Detroit earlier this week.
Per league sources, before this skid, any move the Knicks made — if they made one at all — would be around the margins. Again, though, that was before this drop in play and the players’ need to address one another behind closed doors. Things can change quickly in the NBA, especially when expectations are as high as they are in New York.
The Knicks’ financial situation makes it so that some trades, not just a big one, could be difficult. New York is close to operating as a second-apron team, meaning it can’t take in more money than it sends out in a trade. It has 14 players on standard contracts. However, the Knicks do have one of the best salary-cap strategy groups in the NBA, led by Brock Aller. So, if anyone could pull off a surprise, it’s them.
New York’s decision-makers have to evaluate and comb over everything between now and the deadline to better understand if the defense actually can improve internally or if they need to look elsewhere.
The point-of-attack defense has been disappointing for quite some time. Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride haven’t consistently been the best versions of themselves on that end of the floor. OG Anunoby is at his best off the ball. Before getting hurt, Landry Shamet, in the eyes of head coach Mike Brown, was the team’s best on-ball/screen-navigator defender. His return from a shoulder injury could be soon, but that’s a lot riding on a player who made the team in training camp. Josh Hart has been solid defensively this season, but he’s also another player whose best attributes shine off the ball as a defender.
Brown’s base defense hasn’t worked consistently. He’s tried zone and that hasn’t worked. The one thing the Knicks could try more of over the next few weeks is switching at a higher rate than they have been, particularly with Karl-Anthony Towns. Last playoffs, Towns was at his best defensively in the Boston series, when he was switching on 31 percent of picks, per Second Spectrum. This year, so far, Towns has only switched on 7.7 percent of picks. Maybe Brown and his staff can explore that more over the next two weeks, but Towns’ knack for fouling surely makes that a slippery slope to go down.
If the Knicks decide that a trade is necessary to improve the defense, here are some smaller names/salaries who could make a difference:
Jose Alvarado, Guard, New Orleans Pelicans
New York, per league sources, has shown interest in the feisty guard.
Alvarado really applies pressure on ballhandlers night in and night out. He’s one of those infectious players, similar to Hart, whose plays radiate throughout the rest of the group.
The only downside to adding Alvarado would be that the Knicks’ already-small backcourt would get even smaller. With big, lead initiators like Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Franz Wagner and Scottie Barnes in the East, I’m not sure how much Alvarado would truly be able to deter those level of players. He’d make them work, certainly.
To make the money work for a trade, the Knicks could send out just Guerschon Yabusele and a few second-round picks. That might not be enticing enough for the Pelicans, though, as other teams have also shown interest in adding Alvarado.
Keon Ellis, Wing, Sacramento Kings
Ellis hasn’t had a good season in Sacramento, but maybe a change of scenery could help him turn back into a promising 3-and-D wing.
The 6-foot-4 guard is skinny but plays with great energy defensively and has good hand-eye coordination. New York could use a bigger guard in its rotation.
Offensively, Ellis should be able to survive as a catch-and-shoot option as he doesn’t have a great handle and creation on the ball, which is another weakness on the Knicks’ roster.
From a money standpoint, Ellis would be easy for the Knicks to take on. He’s only making $2.3 million this year. Ellis and Doug McDermott for Yabusele and some second-round picks would get it done on paper, but it takes two to tango. Yabusele has a player option for next season that Sacramento might not be interested in and I’ve heard the Kings are currently interested in a late first-round pick for Ellis, though that can change as the deadline inches closer.
Also, Brown coached Ellis. His intel could certainly steer the decision-makers in a certain direction.
Ochai Agbaji, Wing, Toronto Raptors
The 25-year-old’s minutes have dipped significantly this season in comparison to his first 1.5 years in Toronto. Part of that is due to the Raptors being wing heavy and Agbaji dealing with a back issue this season.
However, Agbaji might be a nice gamble for a team like the Knicks, who could use a little more athleticism on the roster. Agbaji competes hard and has good size at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds. Last year, he was a knockdown shooter (39.9 percent on 4.0 attempts per game) for Toronto but that has plummeted this season as he’s making just 17 percent of his 1.4 attempts per game.
He’s a low-risk, medium-reward option for New York and could provide some more positivity on the defensive end. If he finds his shot again, Agbaji could be able to play in critical moments depending on matchups.
Now, would the Raptors help the Knicks, given their beef over the last few years and the fact that Toronto is on the heels of New York in the standings? Probably not. Yet, the Knicks do have second-round picks they can offer up to the Raptors.
However, logistically, a deal for Agbaji would be a bit tougher than a deal for Ellis or Alvarado. Agbaji makes about $800,000 more than Yabusele, so another Knicks player would have to be involved. The Knicks currently only have 14 main-roster players, making a two-for-one-type deal a little trickier.
