Following Mitchell Robinson’s season-ending ankle surgery, Utah Jazz center Kelly Olynyk became a possible trade target for the New York Knicks, whose center rotation was getting thin.
The Canadian center forward was connected to the Knicks by NBA expert Marc Stein in his Christmas Day substack email.
“With New York’s desperate need for size following Mitchell Robinson’s potentially season-ending ankle injury, the 6-foot-11 Olynyk, who turns 33 in April, would seemingly make sense as a trade target for the Knicks as well,” Stein wrote.
Though they are interested in a reunion, Stein also mentioned that Olynyk’s circumstances with the Jazz are being watched by the Boston Celtics, the Knicks’ division foe.
“Olynyk is playing this season on an expiring $12.2 million deal, which has helped propel him to the upper reaches of the list of Players Most Likely To Be Traded this season,” wrote Stein. “Olynyk played his first four NBA seasons in Boston.”
Both G League player Dmytro Skapintsev and veteran Taj Gibson were signed by the Knicks, but neither can perform as regularly as Olynyk can.
In March, Olynyk was described as the team’s “connective tissue” by Jazz coach Will Hardy in a Deseret News article.
According to Hardy, Kelly is connective tissue. “He is a great luxury for our personnel, but he doesn’t get talked about enough. I can guarantee that if you guys rewatch the games from this season when Kelly was injured and was unable to participate, you will see how much we missed him. When he returns, everything feels right once again, just as it did when you watched the movie and experienced it on the court. And we’re still not discussing Kelly after that.
This season, Olynyk might give the Knicks a temporary solution while Robinson recovers.
Even though Olynyk does not rebound as frequently as Robinson does, the Canadian pivot player can fill in for some of the defensive duties that the Knicks are currently lacking in the absence of their leading center.
Jazz beat journalist Sarah Todd of Deseret News stated in March that “he can change positions, switch between coverages and schemes, run sets from different spots, and he can do it all while staying effective, efficient, and solid.”
The Knicks can upgrade their roster during the season since they have a ton of second-round picks and protected first-round picks from other clubs.
