Even before the New York Knicks took the floor on Monday night against the Mavericks at Madison Square Garden, there was a sense of desperation brewing around the team. They had lost eight of their last 10 games, including three in a row, and had registered the second-worst defensive rating in that span–121.0, after having a defensive rating of 115.2, which was 16th in the league, before then.
An Eastern Conference executive was asked if there was a move to be made that could fix the Knicks, some sort of tinkering that could address the deficiencies of this team. Another big man. Another ball handler.
Heck, a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade?
“I am not sure that looks like a place Giannis wants to be,” the exec said, laughing. “Maybe next year.
“They’re active and looking to add. But I think what they see is that they have what they need to fix what’s going wrong. It’s chemistry, it’s playing with heart, playing with an edge. It’s the coach a little bit, I think Mike Brown needs to meet these guys where they are. He is not doing that. It’s heart and pride and all of that stuff that they sure looked like they had last year. But there is not some easy fix trade sitting out there. If they can’t fix it from the inside, it’s unfixable.”
Knicks Suffer ‘Worst Loss of the Season’
And then the Knicks took the floor and looked even worse on Monday against Dallas than they had throughout the eight-Ls-in-10 run. The Mavericks won, 114-97, but the game was not nearly that close–Dallas was ahead, 75-45, just before halftime, and the Knicks were booed by fans throughout the game.
Veteran Knicks beat reporter Ian Begley wrote on Twitter/X: “Hard to overstate how bad this loss was for Knicks. They’d lost 8 of 10 coming into DAL game. They had Jalen Brunson & Josh Hart back from injuries. And they were playing a shorthanded Dallas team. They trailed by as many as 30 in 2nd half. Starters had 13 turnovers. Brunson missed 15 of 24 shots. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges combined for 16 points in 64 minutes. NYK defense was abysmal.
“Worst loss of the season and arguably worst loss of the Brunson era.”
Knicks guard Josh Hart, speaking after the game, said he had no answers for what went wrong. “I don’t know why. I wish I did. We’ve got to have a better sense of urgency. All of us,” he said.
GettyJosh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks.
No Wiggle Room for a Knicks Trade
So what’s next? The Knicks are not in a great position to make a trade, as they are a whisker below the NBA’s second apron and can take in no additional salary. There’s one true center on the roster, Mitchell Robinson, and he could be a trade chip as an expiring contract, except that he is a part-time player who has not generated much interest.
They’re committed to their core, so you’re not likely to see a big-salaried player–OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns–on the move. The Antetokounmpo talk is still lingering, but the wisdom around the NBA holds that nothing will happen with Giannis until the offseason. Maybe desperation (in Milwaukee, and in New York) changes that.
Hot Seat for Mike Brown?
Still, for now, someone has to be on the hot seat with the way the Knicks have played, and it is Brown, who is just a half-year into his first season replacing Tom Thibodeau. Remember, the Knicks sought out a handful of other coaches before finally settling on Brown last summer. Firing him does not make a lot of sense, except as a way to kickstart a moribund set of players.
Otherwise, the Knicks will ride out the run until things turn around. There is no magic trade coming at the NBA deadline.
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