3 moves the Knicks need to make next after Mikal Bridges trade, OG Anunoby deal

The New York Knicks have had a busy few days, first trading for Mikal Bridges to complete their Voltron-esque lineup of former Villanova Wildcats teammates, then reportedly agreeing to terms with OG Anunoby on a massive new contract that will keep him in New York for the foreseeable future.

All of a sudden, the Knicks have a deep, versatile rotation with all of the pieces they'd need, in theory, to give Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics a run for their money next season. But the offseason is just getting started. The Knicks have two picks in the first round of the draft and plenty more priorities to address once free agency opens. Here are the biggest moves they still need to make.

3. Sign Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

As long as the Knicks are collecting Villanova alumni, they might as well snatch up Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, even though he didn't arrive on campus until the 2019-20 season and didn't overlap with Brunson, DiVincenzo, Bridges or Hart. Robinson-Earl is currently with the Pelicans who hold a relatively meager club option for him next season at just over $2 million. There's a decent chance they decline, making him an unrestricted free agent but he's irrelevant enough to their long-term plans that he could maybe be had in a trade.

Robinson-Earl is not a game-changer by any stretch of the imagination but he's a 23-year-old, 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per 36 minutes, and hit 34.3 percent of his 3s. He's a good and versatile defender and a smart finisher and connector on offense. He played two years with the Thunder but was overshadowed by their other talented young players and traded to the Pelicans where he couldn't break into the rotation ahead of Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III.

Robinson-Earl is younger and shorter, but he can do a lot of the same things as Isaiah Hartenstein and would be a decent end-of-the-bench option to guard against injuries during the season and potentially grow into a bigger rotation piece. And, again, he's got that Villanova pedigree.

2. Re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein

Hartenstein went from a capable Plan B for Mitchell Robinson to an indispensable piece for the Knicks. They're limited in how much they can offer him because of CBA rules and there have been rumors for weeks that competitive teams like the Thunder may try to swoop and out-bid the Knicks. But he clearly seemed to enjoy the vibes in New York, and became a fan favorite and there's a good chance he's permanently supplanted Robinson in the rotation if he does decide to come back.

Hartenstein is not an elite vertical spacer, he's not an outlier rim protector and he's not the kind of visionary elbow hub the Kings or Nuggets are working with in Domantas Sabonis or Nikola Jokic. But he does enough of all three to be incredibly valuable. He finishes around the rim and knows how to make himself available, he's a stout deterrent in the paint and can hold his own against some smaller players and his passing and awareness with the ball really helped the Knicks offense in the playoffs.

They'll have to convince him to take less and perhaps even clear space to make it financially viable. But the best version of the 2024-25 Knicks definitely has Isaiah Hartenstein on it.

1. See what they can get for Julius Randle or Mitchell Robinson

If the Knicks are able to re-sign Hartenstein they need to explore what else they can get in a trade for Randle or Robinson, even if freeing up cap space isn't the primary motivation. Randle has had some fantastic moments for the Knicks but he's also come up short in both playoff runs for which he was healthy and, for as much as he's sacrificed and adjusted offensively, he can still hijack too many possessions with his decision-making.

Robinson is a great rebounder, shot-blocker and finisher but Hartenstein's offensive versatility makes him slightly more valuable and the Knicks might be better off turning Robinson into a cheaper back-up big and adding another piece. There is something to be said for continuity and it has certainly benefited the Knicks over the past two seasons but if what if they could turn Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle and a first-round pick into Karl-Anthony Towns? Or Paul George? Both long shots, but they have to at least make those calls and find out if these two somewhat superfluous pieces can be used to make the team better.

If they don't find the right deal, just keep them both and no harm done.