Knicks Trade Pitch Lands $33 Million Duo to Bolster Bench

Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks

While the Knicks have one of the best starting units in the league, their bench scoring is a problem too big to ignore. Through the first 20 games of the season, the Knicks ranked dead-last in bench scoring, averaging just 20.8 points per game from 12.3 minutes per night.

In comparison, conference rivals such as the Cavaliers (37.5), Bucks (32.3) and Celtics (29.9) had benefitted enormously from their deep second and third units.

In light of those struggles, many analysts urged the Knicks to shore up their bench. Sir Charles’ Charles Michael Saenz floated a Knicks trade pitch that would send injured center Mitchell Robinson to the Spurs in exchange for two quality role players.

Knicks would get: Tre Jones, Malaki Branham

Spurs would get: Robinson, Tyler Kolek, Protected 2025 1st Round Pick (via DET)

Should Knicks Trade Robinson?

Brancham, a third-year forward with upside, averaged 7.2 points for the Spurs through his first 16 games. He shot 42.1% from three. As for Jones, the veteran guard enjoyed four productive seasons in San Antonio but was seemingly lost in the shuffle in 2024-25 due to the additions of Chris Paul and Stephon Castle.

The writer explained why Jones and Branham would instantly shore up the Knicks’ bench scoring.

“Jones would give the Knicks another reliable guard in the backcourt and Branham has proven to be a quality off-ball shooter,” Saenz wrote. “If he can bring that to the Knicks, he could emerge as a key part of their struggling bench unit. The big question is whether this move would move the needle enough for the Knicks. To be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure. However, adding two potential rotation pieces would make a lot of sense for a team that desperately needs to find some added depth before the stretch run.”

Saenz further argued that the Knicks would be better off trading Robinson, who missed 51 games in 2023-24 due to injuries and another 23 in the 2022-23 season. It also doesn’t help that Robinson, who is expected to rejoin the team in January 2025, isn’t a threat on the offensive side of the ball. Robinson averaged 8.0 points through his first six seasons as a Knick and produced most of his offense via lobs or in transition.

Lack of Bench Cost Knicks in 2023-24

It’s important to highlight that the lack of bench scoring was a big issue for the Knicks in the 2023-24 season, too, when they ranked No. 27 (28.4 points per game) in the league. Things got even worse in the playoffs when New York lost several key starters to injuries and was forced to play 6- or 7-man rotations.

As a result, the Knicks’ starters were consistently forced to play 42-45 minutes per night, which led to further fatigue and injuries. After the Knicks were bounced out in the second round by the Pacers, Celtics legend Paul Pierce blamed head coach Tom Thibodeau for not trusting his bench players and running his starters into the ground.

Pierce made the comments after OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson both got injured in Game 2 versus the Pacers. Pierce referenced the Chicago Bulls teams of the early 2010s while holding Thibodeau accountable.

“And Thibs is known for this,” Pierce said on “The Facility” via Basketball Network. “When you look back at Derrick Rose’s career, he had Derrick Rose playing high minutes. He just kept getting hurt, kept getting hurt, like you said, Jimmy Butler playing so many minutes. I really do think it has a factor in all of this.

“Look at all the injuries they [Knicks] have, you go down the line. They’re probably the most injured team in the NBA right now — Mitchell [Robinson], [Bojan] Bogdanovic, [Julius] Randle. I have no other way to explain this…he runs them to the ground in the games, in practice.”

Through the first 20 games of the 2024-25 season, three of the top 12 players in minutes per game were Knicks starters — Mikal Bridges (1st: 38.0), Josh Hart (6th: 37.1) and Anunoby (12th: 36.5).