Will the New York Knicks’ make any moves before the NBA trade deadline?

More than a quarter of the way through the season, the New York Knicks are second in the Eastern Conference, reigning NBA Cup champions and on pace for their most regular-season wins in over a decade.

That doesn’t mean, however, that New York won’t re-shuffle the deck as it pertains to its roster.

We’re about 1 1/2 months away from the NBA’s trade deadline (Feb. 5, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET), and the league has been relatively quiet when it comes to serious trade talks, several league executives told The Athletic. Dec. 16 was the final date for a player to be traded and then be eligible to be re-packaged in a different trade at the deadline. Nothing happened.

The loudest league chatter about the Knicks is that they are open to trading Guerschon Yabusele, the team’s biggest free-agency signing last offseason. He signed a two-year contract that will pay him $5.5 million this season and has a $5.7 million player option for next season.

Yabusele hasn’t found his footing with the Knicks after an OK season with a bad Philadelphia 76ers team last season. The 30-year-old has struggled defensively while also shooting below 31 percent from 3 and less than 40 percent from the field overall and averaging under 10 minutes per game for head coach Mike Brown.

Given New York’s financial situation, it can’t afford to get nothing out of that salary slot.

Multiple league executives believe the Knicks would have to attach something to Yabusele in order to have a chance to move him before the deadline. Other than what New York does or doesn’t do with Yabusele, the franchise has long put out feelers about adding another ballhandler and/or frontcourt player, per league sources.

The Knicks don’t have a veteran, traditional point guard behind Jalen Brunson. Second-year point guard Tyler Kolek had a career week, followed it Friday with one of his poorest performances but then was solid against Miami on Sunday. Kolek has had flashes with his ability to run an offense, get into the paint and set up teammates. New York, though, has to figure out how real his incremental progress is and if he can become a legitimate backup point guard.

As for frontcourt depth, the Knicks may be in the market for another big man. Mitchell Robinson has been dominant on the glass, and he’s a weapon that many of the Knicks’ rivals don’t have. New York has a load management program for Robinson with hopes of getting the oft-injured veteran to the playoffs healthy. Behind Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, though, the Knicks don’t have any proven big-man depth. And if there were to be an injury to Robinson, New York would be in a bind.

Usually, the Knicks get business done well before the trade deadline. I wonder if that changes this year. With limited resources even to make moves around the margins, there’s a world where New York’s decision-makers wait until closer to the deadline and continue to evaluate the likes of Kolek to get a better idea of whether they need to prioritize a ballhandler, a big man or, possibly, nothing.

Last week, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie put out his trade big board with a list of players most likely to get dealt by February’s deadline. Of the names expected to be available, here are some who I believe make sense for the Knicks.

Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls

The 26-year-old guard is having a career season and would check a lot of boxes for New York, such as ballhandling and on-ball defense.

But he’s on the books for $7.5 million this season. To make the money work, the Knicks would have to package Landry Shamet, who was having a good season before his shoulder injury, or someone like Pacôme Dadiet or Kolek with one of Yabusele or Miles McBride. And given that Yabusele has a $5.7 million player option for next season, I can’t imagine that the Bulls would be interested in adding him.

That would leave McBride, who, before his ankle injury, was a lights-out shooter for the Knicks on high volume. It’s possible New York sees overlap with McBride and Jordan Clarkson as scoring guards and is more interested in adding someone closer to a traditional point guard. However, McBride is one of the best value contracts in basketball and, again, a premier shooter who is owed only $4.3 million this season and just $3.9 million next season. I wouldn’t move McBride for Dosunmu.

Maybe the Bulls would be intrigued by a package of lesser players — the Washington Wizards pick that the Knicks own and another second-round pick — but I wouldn’t be surprised if rival teams were able to outbid New York.

It should also be noted that if the Knicks were to make a two-for-one trade, they would only have 13 players on standard contracts and would need to get to 14.

Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans

Dosunmu is the better player, but Alvarado might be the more attainable guard.

The New York native provides maximum effort as a point-of-attack defender and is a more traditional point guard on offense. The Knicks’ already-small backcourt wouldn’t get any bigger by adding Alvarado, but he would check a box or two with his play.

Alvarado is on the books for $4.5 million this season and has a player option for the same amount next season. New York could get the money to work with Alvarado easier than with Dosunmu and has the second-round picks necessary to get a deal done if the Pelicans were interested in moving on from the veteran point guard.

Marvin Bagley III, Washington Wizards

The Wizards aren’t good, but Bagley has been solid. The veteran center, who is 26, can still score and rebound. If the Knicks wanted a little insurance behind Robinson and Towns, Bagley isn’t the worst option, given that he makes only $2.2 million and could probably be had for a second-round pick.

Bagley is not a good defender (he can occasionally block shots); however, his offensive skills and athleticism make him intriguing when Robinson can’t play. You know what you’re going to get with Bagley, and while you may want more at times, it’s good to know what you can expect night in and night out from your third center.