Blockbuster Knicks Trade Pitch Lands 2-Time All-Star

The Knicks are rumored to make a big splash ahead of the February 6 trade deadline to improve roster depth at the center spot. As of January 15, the Knicks had only Precious Achiuwa as a reliable backup to starting center Karl-Anthony Towns, largely due to Mitchell Robinson’s injury.

In light of those reports, Yahoo Sports’ Morten Stig Jensen proposed a trade that would see the Knicks land two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic.

Knicks would receive: Nikola Vucevic

Bulls would receive: Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson

The writer argued that the trade would be a low-risk move for both parties. While Vucevic’s current deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 season, both Achiuwa and Robinson are on budget-friendly deals the Bulls could easily move on from.

“Vucevic adds a legitimate floor-spacing component from the bench unit, which the Knicks currently do not have. He’ll help New York’s starters ease back on the scoring, keeping their legs fresh for what the organization hopes will be a deep playoff run,” Stig Jensen wrote on January 14.”

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Report: Knicks Shopping Sims

“For Chicago, it’s all about the Benjamins,” he continued. “Vucevic’s deal runs another year after this season, but Achiuwa is coming off the books after this campaign. Robinson’s deal, which runs the same length as Vucevic’s, declines in value, meaning the Bulls save even more money and can go into the 2025 summer with more financial flexibility.”

Stig Jensen further argued that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau may not be compelled to play Towns and Vucevic together due to their defensive challenges. As such, he felt Vucevic would be the ideal scoring punch the Knicks could use off the bench.

“The idea wouldn’t be to pair them [Towns and Vucevic], but simply let them overlap for about a quarter per game,” he wrote. “Every minute Towns isn’t playing at the five should go to Vucevic, and by the end of a game, the 34-year-old center should be sitting at close to 30 minutes per game.”

While the Yahoo Sports report calls for a Knicks trade involving Achiuwa, it’s worth noting the franchise was said to be shopping Jericho Sims, as of January 15.

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Realistic Knicks Trade Targets

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Sims “is being shopped ahead of next month’s trade deadline” after falling out of Thibodeau’s eight-man rotation.

“It’s unclear what the Knicks can retrieve for Sims, but a source said a second-round pick was one ask. The 26-year-old has garnered some interest around the NBA,” Bondy wrote on January 13.

The report added that Thibodeau was hopeful to have Robinson back in the rotation at some point in early February. If the Knicks do plan to move Robinson — as proposed in the aforementioned trade — they’d ideally need the big man to get healthy again. Robinson’s injury history has already made him a less-than-desired asset around the league, per several insiders. The defensive-minded center missed 51 games in 2023-24 and another 23 in 2022-23 with various injuries. In 2024-25, he had already missed 41 as of January 15.

While Vucevic isn’t an unrealistic Knicks trade target, some of the other names linked with the franchise include Jonas Valanciunas, Walker Kessler, Kyle Kuzma, Isaiah Stewart and Nick Richards.

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