The Knicks have started to look like a solid team and you can see the vision coming together. Despite the losses of OG and Shamet, they're getting wins and different players are really stepping up. Brunson is playing at his usual All-NBA level, Bridges is playing much better on offense and defense, Deuce is growing into his role and has been shooting incredibly well and KAT is finding ways to impact the game even with his underachieving shooting. The bench has stepped up as well, Mitch has been great as a substitute and is grabbing a ton of offensive rebounds, Clarkson is bringing shotmaking and gritting defense and Hart has really turned things around, shooting incredibly well while being everywhere and disrupting offenses and grabbing boards. Kolek is even getting in on the fun and has showcased his great passing and has also been much improved on defense. Yabusuele is probably the only underwhelming player, but he's showed flashes of the effective player he was last year with the 76ers and I think is worth waiting on. He's had to learn a new system on a new team and all of this after logging just an insane amount of minutes between the NBA and representing France.

Still, it would be nice to get one of the end of roster spots filled with a player who can actually see the floor and the only candidate is Pacome Dadiet. He hasn't gotten much opportunities, but he hasn't really showed that he deserves them anyways. Still, you can see the vision with him and he's still only 20 years old. Unfortunately, since the Knicks are so close to the apron, they have no flexibility when it comes to salary. So if you're not trading Mitch or Yabusuele (which I think should probably be avoided due to both of their potential impacts and upsides). Since Dadiet is making only 2.8 million, there aren't a ton of players who both make lower than that, but would also fill a need of the Knicks and that the team would actually want to trade.

Keon Ellis would be great, but if the Kings do trade him, they can get far better than what the Knicks can offer. Same for Moussa Diabate on the Hornets, Jaylen Wells on the Grizzlies, Jay Huff on the Pacers, Brandon Williams on the Mavs, you get the idea. I still think Justin Champagnie on the Wizards would be good but I've covered him before. Tyrese Martin on the Nets has been mentioned too but the Knicks and Nets never make a trade (the Bridges trade was literally the only one for like 30 years).

So here we are with GG Jackson of the Grizzlies. He's reportedly available to trade and is getting little to no game time. Still, it was only 2 years ago that he was playing pretty well and the Knicks will hope a change of scenery will make the difference. It's a pretty underwhelming trade but again, the Knicks just have very little assets and salary room to work with. So the Knicks could roll the dice on Jackson and hope he turns back in the player he showed he could be. At the very least, he's a larger wing who has seen real NBA playing time and could hopefully fill in a few minutes while OG and Shamet are out. As for the Grizzlies side of things, they'll be hoping for much of the same. Dadiet is also only 20 years old but is under contract for an additional season than Jackson is. The Grizzlies also wouldn't be able to get much for Jackson and would hope that a change of scenery will do Dadiet good. The Grizzlies are having a rough season and are also dealing with injuries so he'd likely get more time on the floor to see if there's anything there. And if it doesn't work out, he's not taking up much room on their cap sheet and they retain other assets for other moves.

Finally, the last benefit for the Knicks is that this reduces payroll by 625k which would allow them to fill their 15th roster spot in early/mid February instead of just a few days before the end of the season. They could look to the buyout market for another impact player at PG or Center and hopefully be the last bit that puts them over the top for a Finals appearance and a Championship.