3 emergency trades to fix shockingly bad Knicks defense

The New York Knicks are 21st in defensive rating through their first 14 games after being a top-10 defense last season.

For a team coached by Tom Thibodeau, who is widely known for being a defense-oriented coach, it has been a disastrous start. An entirely new roster, injuries and one of the best shooting performances of the season by the Boston Celtics on opening night are all factors but the roster has issues.

Some may point to the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns, but he hasn't been the only issue. Mikal Bridges, a former All-Defensive member, has been their second-worst defender and has played a bigger part in their defensive woes.

The Knicks are currently a top three offense, if they can improve slightly on defense, they're one of the best teams in basketball. Here are three trades that can fix their defense.

3. Isaiah Stewart

Outside of Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks have two players currently active who are taller than 6-foot-7 — Jericho Sims (6-foot-10) and the 58th pick in the draft, Ariel Hukporti (7-foot). The other two big men they have, Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa, are both hurt. Their lack of size has hurt their rim protection and rebounding which was so crucial for them last season. 

Isaiah Stewart, despite being an undersized big, would fix a lot of the Knicks size problems off the bench. He's currently averaging 1.3 blocks per game and 6.9 rebounds while playing in 22.1 minutes per game. Those numbers would lead the Knicks bench and would be first in blocks.

In order to get Stewart, the Knicks would have to center their trade around Robinson, as both players are making roughly $15 million for this season. Due to Robinson's injury, Stewart’s availability would be an upgrade and would help with the Knicks defensive woes. However the Knicks would probably have to include another asset to entice the Pistons who have been competitive so far this year.

Just to add on, Stewart has shown in years past to be an effective scorer and shooter, shooting 38.3 percent from 3 last season and currently shooting 84.6 percent from the free-throw line. Both are things none of the Knicks’ centers can do outside of Karl-Anthony Towns. 

2. Derrick Jones Jr.

The Knicks have some of the most talented wings in the NBA, but they also lack wing depth. Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby lead the team in minutes. All are top 15 in the NBA in minutes per game with Bridges leading the entire league at 38.5 minutes per game.

Not only could adding someone like Derrick Jones Jr. help with their wing depth, but it will also help with their wing defense. Anunoby is one of the best defenders in the league and Bridges was supposed to be, but has been their second-worst defender, just narrowly beating out Jalen Brunson.

Jones has been a strong wing defender throughout his career. His defense shone during the Dallas Mavericks playoff run last year and is a big reason why the Los Angeles Clippers have a top-seven defense through their first 15 games.

The Knicks would have to wait until Dec. 15 before they could propose a trade that involves Jones but one, they should try to pull off when they can. If they decide their big depth is good enough, then getting more wing depth will help them in the long run.

The Boston Celtics are the team to beat and the more switchable wing defenders a team has, the better chance they must beat them. Jones played against them in the finals and to pair alongside other great wing defenders would greatly improve the Knicks mediocre defense. 

1. Walker Kessler

Walker Kessler is one of the biggest trade targets for a lot of teams, but the Knicks have been interested since they lost Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Since his rookie season, Kessler has been one of the best rim protectors in the NBA.

Through his first three seasons, Kessler is averaging 2.4 blocks per game while averaging 23.4 minutes per game. So far this season, he's averaging 2.8 blocks and 10.7 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game. 

A trade for Kessler would be centered around Mitchell Robinson, who has a similar playstyle but is not healthy. If he were acquired, Kessler instantly becomes the best defender the Knicks have. He would give the Knicks a different type of flexibility in their lineup. Like with the Pistons, the Knicks would to include additional assets and probably a future first-round pick to get the Jazz to the table.

The Knicks current starting lineup would likely not change if they were to trade for Kessler. His minutes would not go down because Tom Thibodeau could have a double big lineup with him and Karl-Anthony Towns. This was a lineup that was seen in Minnesota with Towns and Rudy Gobert, which resulted in them being the best defensive team in the NBA last season and could see a similar result in New York. 

A big plus of having Kessler is that he's less injury prone than Robinson, and would immediately fix a big hole on the Knicks roster. Their big depth is not great, and Kessler adds to their rim protection and rebounding which has been subpar to start this season.