The Knicks have looked great this year and the front office reportedly likes the roster and isn't interested in big changes (ie a Giannis trade). However, it does seem that once December 15th hit, Yabu's time in New York could be up and Dadiet is also probably partially out the door as he barely ever plays and is behind Diawara in the rotation. While there are players that Dadiet and/or Yabu could bring in (Alvarado, Kris Murray, Justin Champagnie, Westbrook, Landale, Ellis, etc), I just can't shake concerns over Mitch and that's why I included him in the deal as it opens up taking more players. Mitch has been improving both health-wise and performance-wise as the season goes on but I have trouble seeing him as someone who can be relied on come playoff time when minutes and intensity rise dramatically. He's still not playing back to backs and I wonder how his body will hold up to playoff back to backs. And he's free throw shooting has somehow gotten worse, going from around 50% (which is still really bad) to 20% this season which has seen the Hack-a-Mitch strategy deployed several times by opposing teams. That sends Mitch straight to the bench most nights and while his impact on offensive rebounding and rim protection are great, he needs to be on the floor consistently to make that impact which is suspect due to the reasons above. Team by team below:

Pelicans: The Pelicans are having a truly awful season but do have something in their young rookies Fears and Queen. They're reportedly looking to trade Zion and Alvarado may be available as well. Bey has been a great pickup for them but he's only on a 2-year contract so the Pelicans may want to capitalize on his value now. Missi has seen less minutes than last year and Hawkins has received even less, so I'm hoping that with the draft capital here, they would trade with the Knicks. They get the protected Washington FRP (although that's really going to be two SRPs), 3 SRPs and a first round pick swap in 2030 when the Knicks are projected to be worse and have a higher draft pick. Mitch would give them an expiring contract and a rim protecting center that would work well with Queen. He's also a former Louisiana high school basketball player so the homecoming aspect could be fun as well. Yabu is on a smaller contract and would likely get more playing time which would allow him to regain his shooting form. Dadiet is mainly here for salary purposes but he would give them a young wing to develop.

Knicks: I've covered the Knicks losing Mitch above so I'll focus on what this trade brings in. It gives them a legitimate backup PF in Bey who's been playing well for the Pelicans. He can score, rebound and play defense at a high level and for a lineup lacking quality wing depth (most of their players are 6'5" or shorter), this could be a really great thing. It would allow them to rest OG more, which given his injury history, should be prioritized. They also get Alvarado, a great backup PG who plays great defense. He's consistent and can score, provide assists and do a better job of organizing the offense while Brunson sits. Kolek has been much improved and a great story, but I'm not sure we want to count on him come playoff time. The Knicks replace Mitch with Missi, who is a solid replacement. He's not as impactful as Mitch, but is younger and can score and rebound well and is solid on defense. Finally, they get Hawkins, who's had some solid games but is mostly a throw in who at the very least can fill more minutes than Dadiet can. The other part of this is that each of these players has more contract years remaining which keeps the Knicks contention window open longer which is necessary in the current NBA where the Thunder are poised to contend every year for a while. I do think there are trades where we send Dadiet out to a 3rd team for another player (Kris Murray could be interesting) but I wanted to keep it simple as 3 team trades are more difficult to pull off and therefore less likely. The depth chart looks good and the Knicks would be 3 deep most positions with Diawara and Hukporti being the only ones who are more of a stretch.

PG: Brunson, Alvarado, Kolek

SG: Bridges, Deuce, Clarkson

SF: Hart, Shamet, Hawkins

PF: Anunoby, Bey, Diawara

C: KAT, Missi, Hukporti