Now that the Knicks finally have a head coach, it may be time for the final trade move: moving Mitch. He’s the longest tenured Knick and just had a great playoffs. While the double big lineup looked pretty good, I still think the Knicks best option is the 5-out offensive lineup with Deuce starting. As long as both Brunson and KAT are starting, the Knicks are going to have weaknesses on defense. That’s not a criticism on them, they’re huge positives for the Knicks and they need to have a system that leans into their strengths. The other thing that Knicks fans have to get used to is that Mike Brown may have a completely different outlook on defense and lineups than the Thibs run team did. Basically, a rim protecting center isn’t the given that it once was. Brown did a great job of maximizing Sabonis at center, who also has weaknesses on defense, so the Knicks don’t have to only have that type of player on the team.

Knicks: As I said above, I’m not sure a rim protecting center is going to be a given for the Knicks, and getting a solid wing and reducing the payroll should be the goal going forward. Ayo is young, solid on defense and still improving. I’m not sure if he’s starter material but he’s definitely a role player in the NBA and on this Knicks team. This also reduces their payroll by $5.4 million, leaving them far more room to sign another veteran, perhaps Ben Simmons or a center who hits the buyout market (ironically Vucevic may be leaving the Bulls that way). They’d also have room to sign James Nnaji, Kevin McCuellar and Mo Diawara. Brown would be able to have a lineup full of young players to develop, a priority for the front office.

Bulls: I’ll be honest, I have no clue what the Bulls are doing. But they do seem reluctant to extend Ayo on a larger contract and if they lose Vucevic to the buyout market, they’ll need another center. They’ve also been willing to do trades without draft picks so who knows, they might go for it! Mitch at his best is an All Defensive class center, is still young and can be a game changer. With less pressure to contend right away, and another solid center in Jalen Smith, the Bulls could manage his health more than the Knicks could.

Thoughts?