NBA Trades: The Knicks add Marcus Smart in a potential deal.
There have been rumblings that the Knicks may be interested in trading for Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart. If that were the case, then Robinson's contract would have to be included to make that deal work. Adding Smart to the Knicks would prove that they are comfortable playing Towns at the five and playing with four perimeter players at all times.
Moving Robinson, Deuce McBride, and Cam Payne for Smart would see them sacrifice depth but allow them to add another terrific defensive player that should help them on that the end of the floor. The Knicks also have rookie Tyler Kolek, who should be NBA-ready.
Having a rotation of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, Towns, Kolek, Smart, and Precious Achiuwa would be a strong eight-man rotation. However, they would be incredibly thin were they to make the deal. Coach Thibs is known to ride his starters by playing them big minutes so that might not be as much of an issue.
On the other hand, the Knicks fell apart in the NBA playoffs last season thanks to injury after injury to their rotation. If the Knicks are really interested in Smart, this is probably the deal that gets it done, but it's very risky.