The Knicks have had a rough go of late since winning the NBA Cup, losing 4 in a row and looking just terrible against the Pistons. I do think a lot of this is because Josh Hart has been out injured but it's also not encouraging to see how several starters have fallen off (that Pistons game was just brutal to watch as KAT, OG and Bridges were all pretty bad). I'll go into it more below, but the Knicks do need to get more out of Yabu's spot and also get a some more size into the second unit.

Finally. I'll note that this trade would only be possible if the Wizards trade for Trae Young (and even then I'll acknowledge that it's still a reach). This is because if the Wizards trade for Trae, then it becomes much more likely that the FRP the Wizards owe the Knicks conveys. This is because while Trae has his flaws, he also raises the floor of teams and this Wizard teams needs a good point guard. Trae has only played with one All-Star in his time but the Hawks offense has been good throughout his tenure because of his skill.

Wizards: Quick note that I'm taking the Wizards/Hawks portion from the ESPN story that came out today and proposed this trade so I won't go into too much detail. But the Wizards can audition Trae, help build winning habits with their young players who do seem to have turned a bit of a corner. But the big change would be the one I noted above, that the Wizards would be much more likely to convey their FRP as they would probably be more of a Play-In team than a lottery team. The Knicks also send Dadiet to the Wizards for Bagley as they would be losing a couple of wings and have the time to have a project like Dadiet. They also do get a SRP for their troubles as well.

Hawks: Again, I won't go into much detail since it's covered in the ESPN article, but the Hawks are doing this to open up cap space in the offseason.

Lakers: This is probably the hardest part as LaRavia has been a really great pickup for the Lakers. But, the Lakers are looking to build around Luka and this season is less important than the next few as they re-orient themselves around Luka. Basically, the Lakers should be doing whatever they can to build around Luka and while LaRavia is good and young, he's only under contract for this season and the next. And if that Wizards pick conveys, it'll probably be in the 9-14 range and in a deep draft, that could net them a really good prospect who'd be on a rookie salary for several seasons. Plus, they do reduce their salary for this year and I do think Yabu will improve when he's not on the Knicks. He's just not a good fit for Mike Brown's system but as his recent interview comments reveal, he's incentivized to make it work in the NBA as he's hoping to be in the NBA for 5 seasons so he can get the lifetime pension. But really, this is all about the Washington FRP. They also get the Knicks 2032 SRP which is when they project to be worse so it could be a pretty high second rounder.

Knicks: As I noted above, the Knicks really need some help right now and I think their second unit needs more size and defense. LaRavia gets them both, as he's 6'8", is a good shooter and a great defender. Plus he's under contract for next season which will help as the Knicks are likely going to have to break the 2nd apron after this season. The Knicks have a glut of guards and other than Deuce, their guards aren't defensive specialists (although McCullar and Diawara have shown promise) so LaRavia fills a need. Bagley also comes over to provide backup for their center rotation which is thin when Mitch is out (which is a fair amount). KAT and Hukporti often get into foul trouble so he can soak up some minutes and provide scoring and rebounding. Their depth chart would suddenly look much deeper, especially when Hart comes back (I'm putting him in the starting lineup depth chart but Deuce will probably take that spot while he's out) and they had space to fill one more spot. That spot would likely be McCullar as they can keep him on his two-way contract until they can sign him to a standard NBA contract. Depth chart below.

PG: Brunson, Kolek

SG: Bridges, Deuce, Clarkson

SF: Hart, McCullar/Shamet

PF: Anunoby, LaRavia, Diawara

C: KAT, Mitch, Bagley/Hukporti