The New York Knicks are a great team but still have areas that they can improve on. The bench, in particular, has been the least productive in the NBA thanks to injuries and trading away core depth pieces in the offseason.
Mock trade has the Knicks landing two bench scorers from the Spurs
As a result, it is likely that New York will look to make upgrades in the second unit to complete their roster and compete for an NBA championship. Fansided’s Michael Saenz proposed a mock trade where the Knicks would part ways with big man Mitchell Robinson in exchange for two young bench players:
Knicks get: Tre Jones, Malaki Branham
Spurs get: Mitchell Robinson, Tyler Kolek, protected 2025 first-round pick (via DET)
The deal would move the Knicks off of Robinson,’s contract while brining in two cheaper players that can contribute right away. Robinson is a prolific big man defensively but has struggled to stay on the court, and is currently out as he continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery.
“Jones would give the Knicks another reliable guard in the backcourt and Branham has proven to be a quality off-ball shooter. 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,” Saenz wrote.
Jones and Branham could be promising bench pieces for the Knicks
Jones, 24, is in his fifth NBA season, all of which have been with the Spurs. He averages 8.5 points and 4.7 assists for his career, but struggles from beyond the arc as he shoots just 29.9% from three for his career. Despite that, he can give them additional facilitator off the bench and give depth alongside Miles McBride and Cameron Payne.
Branham, 21, is a lot less experienced than Jones as he is in just his third NBA season, though he has made 61 starts across 156 career games. He is efficient with his scoring, averaging 9.5 points for his career on 44% shooting from the floor. This season, he is shooting a career-high 43.2% from three with an average of 2.5 threes attempted per game.
Both players could fill out important roles off the bench right away and enhance the scoring in that unit. It also gives them players that can continue to grow under their wing and become high-impact players later on.
Bench depth will be a priority for the Knicks this season, and those two players could be on their wishlist as the season progresses.