Knicks Notes: Valanciunas, Anunoby, Offense, Lessort

Mitchell Robinson‘s ongoing recovery from a May ankle procedure initially described as minor has led to speculation that the Knicks will be seeking frontcourt help ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Examining a few potential targets who could appeal to New York, Bondy zeroes in on Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, who played well off the bench in a loss to the Knicks on Monday, putting up 22 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.

Speaking to Bondy on Monday, Valanciunas suggested the Knicks had some interest in him in free agency, though the three-year, $30.3MM deal he signed with Washington likely would’ve been out of New York’s price range based on the team’s cap limitations.

“I don’t know how serious that was,” Valanciunas said of the Knicks’ interest. “My agent was handling. I heard something from that side. But there’s a lot of X’s and O’s. Salary cap issues, this and that. Strategic stuff. Every team does what they think is the best for them.”

Asked about the possibility of being dealt before Feb. 6, Valanciunas made it clear he’s focused on helping the Wizards, not trade rumors: “What can happen in the future, maybe tomorrow, maybe even today, I don’t know. If it happens, it happens. It’s a young team still putting the pieces together. Everything can happen. They wanted me, they showed some trust in me, so I’m happy here.”

In addition to exploring whether a Valanciunas trade would make sense for the Knicks, Bondy identifies Nick Richards, Robert Williams, Kelly Olynyk, and Daniel Theis as other centers on lottery-bound teams who will likely be available via trade this season.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

• New York’s win over Washington on Monday came on the one-year anniversary of the OG Anunoby trade and improved the team’s overall regular season record in games Anunoby has played to 43-13, Bondy writes in another New York Post story. The club gave up two quality players (RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley) in the trade and had to offer $212.5MM in guaranteed money to re-sign Anunoby, but the move has been a “home-run deal” for president Leon Rose, according to Bondy, given how well the forward has performed – and fit – since arriving in New York.
• Jalen Brunson‘s 55-point game in Washington on Saturday made the Knicks the first team in NBA history to have four different players score at least 40 points in a game before January 1, according to Bondy. While head coach Tom Thibodeau laughed at the “qualifiers” included in that stat, he acknowledged that it reflects his team’s well-balanced offensive attack and willingness to make the right play. “It’s a testament to all those guys because it’s all about their willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the team,” Thibodeau said. “And so one night, someone has it going or one guy has a better matchup, whatever it might be. And then the game oftentimes dictates who’s gonna get the shot. So just make the right play. Make winning plays. And if we do that and prioritize the team and winning, good things will always come from that.”
• French big man Mathias Lessort, whose NBA rights are held by the Knicks, has signed a three-year extension with the Greek club Panathinaikos worth approximately 2.75 million Euros per season and is now under contract until 2028, per Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops. It’s unclear what sort of NBA outs might be included in Lessort’s new deal or whether eventually coming stateside is still in play for the 29-year-old.