{"id":587226,"date":"2026-02-07T00:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T00:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/587226\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T00:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T00:05:31","slug":"on-paper-the-east-is-catching-up-to-the-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/587226\/","title":{"rendered":"On paper, the East is catching up to the Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics<\/a> added two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic. The Detroit Pistons<\/a> brought in more shooting in a move for Kevin Huerter. The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a blockbuster deal trading one All-Star guard for another in the Darius Garland-James Harden swap.<\/p>\n

And the Knicks? The Knicks got Jose Alvarado. They also lost Miles McBride to a core muscle injury.<\/p>\n

The Feb 5 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. So have the Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> trade rumors \u2014 at least for now \u2014 with The Greek Freak, after all that, staying put in Milwaukee at least through the remainder of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Which means the Knicks, save for a last-ditch buyout market acquisition, are exactly who they are. This is the group ownership and the front office believes can compete for a championship in an Eastern Conference whose top seeds around the Knicks each made significant roster upgrades entering the NBA All-Star Break.<\/p>\n

The Knicks entered the trade deadline tied with the Celtics for the East\u2019s No. 2 seed behind the Pistons. Their movements, or lack thereof, will determine whether or not the Knicks can stay in the conference\u2019s top-four coming out of All-Star 2026 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

PHILADELPHIA (29-22)<\/p>\n

Paul George suspended 25 games for violating NBA\u2019s anti-drug policy<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART<\/p>\n

Guards: Maxey, Grimes, Lowry
Wings\/Forwards: Edgecombe, Oubre, Barlow, Watford
Bigs: Embiid, Drummond, Bona
Suspended: George<\/p>\n

No need to look too hard, here. The Sixers didn\u2019t do anything at the trade deadline. Addition by subtraction will be their best bet. Paul George was already mired in yet another regression before he got busted by the league\u2019s drug-use policy. What will be worth watching is whether or not the Sixers improve their level of play with the senescent, past-his-prime star out of the rotation.<\/p>\n

TORONTO (31-22)<\/p>\n

Traded G Ochai Agbaji, 2032 second-round pick to Brooklyn in three-team deal for G Chris Paul
\nTraded 2026 second-round pick (via LA Lakers) to Golden State for C Trayce Jackson-Davis<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART<\/p>\n

Guards: Quickley, Shead, Walter, Paul, Battle
Wings\/Forwards: Ingram, Barnes, Barrett, Dick, Murray-Boyles
Bigs: Poeltl, Jackson-Davis, Mamukelashvili<\/p>\n

A feel-good story in the NBA, the young and fun Toronto Raptors are all grown-up, and they\u2019ve added another adult to the equation dealing for the embattled Chris Paul. Time will tell what kind of role, if any, Paul will carve in the North, but the Raptors, long known to be a versatile defensive team, are beginning to find an offensive identity. Acquiring Jackson-Davis adds much-needed depth to the center spot behind Jakob Poeltl.<\/p>\n

DETROIT (37-13 at the deadline)<\/p>\n

Traded G Jaden Ivey to Chicago Bulls in three-team deal for Kevin Huerter<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART<\/p>\n

Guards: Cunningham, LeVert, Jenkins, Green
Wings\/Forwards: Thompson, Harris, Holland, Huerter, Robinson,
Bigs: Duren, Stewart, Reed, Saric<\/p>\n

The Pistons didn\u2019t need much. They could have pulled off a big-time trade for a player like Antetokounmpo or taken a swing at Anthony Davis or Kristaps Porzingis to boost their front court. In the end, they did what every team does in this hoops generation: add an aggressive sharpshooter while removing some clutter in the back court by shipping Jaden Ivey to Chicago. The Pistons are the best team in the East until the Knicks, Celtics or Cavaliers can prove otherwise. The Dario Saric acquisition, too, could be a sneaky-good add as a play-making big who can stretch the floor.<\/p>\n

NEW YORK (33-18)<\/p>\n

Traded F Guerschon Yabusele to Chicago for G Dalen Terry\\
\nTraded G Dalen Terry, 2 second-round picks to New Orleans for G Jose Alvarado
\nG Miles McBride (core muscle) potentially out remainder of regular season<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART<\/p>\n

Guards: Brunson, Alvarado, Kolek, Clarkson
Wings\/Forwards: Anunoby, Bridges, Hart, Shamet, Diawara
Bigs: Towns, Robinson, Hukporti
Injured: McBride<\/p>\n

The Knicks needed to make a move. They didn\u2019t know it would be a compensatory decision. Losing Miles McBride to what could be a season-ending core muscle injury robbed the Knicks of their best point-of-attack defender, and instead of trading Guerschon Yabusele to fill another need\u2013like play-making in the back court or depth in the front court\u2013the Knicks moved Yabusele to acquire Jose Alvarado, a player who brings many of the same traits as the team\u2019s injured pesky defender McBride. It\u2019s a good fit. Alvarado is from Brooklyn and his play style will quickly make him a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. This move, however, is marginal \u2014 as expected \u2014 and pales in comparison to the moves made by two teams who find themselves jostling with the Knicks for championship positioning.<\/p>\n

BOSTON (33-18)<\/p>\n

Traded G Anfernee Simons to Chicago for C Nikola Vucevic<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART<\/p>\n

Guards: Pritchard, White
Wings\/Forwards: Brown, Hauser, Scheierman, Gonzalez, Walsh
Bigs: Vucevic, Garza, Queta
Injured: Tatum<\/p>\n

When the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and let Al Horford leave for the Golden State Warriors in free agency without replacing either over the summer, they entered the regular season with a gaping hole at center to be plugged by committee. Trading for Vucevic fortifies Boston\u2019s front court\u2013and provides a valuable play-making skill set to complement Jaylen Brown in a season worthy of MVP consideration. It\u2019s remarkable the Celtics are hanging at the top of the East given this was what many considered a lost season after Jayson Tatum\u2019s Achilles injury in the second round of last year\u2019s playoffs. If Tatum returns \u2014 and he\u2019s already dunking and doing 400-pound deadlifts \u2014 the Celtics could be right in the thick of the Finals run come May, though they are delusionally confident enough under head coach Joe Mazzulla to believe they can win with Brown as the main act.<\/p>\n

CLEVELAND (31-21)<\/p>\n

Traded Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the LA Clippers for James Harden
\nTraded De\u2019Andre Hunter to Sacramento for Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis
\nDumped Lonzo Ball\u2019s salary<\/p>\n

DEPTH CHART
\nGuards: Harden, Mitchell, Schroder, Ellis, Porter Jr., Proctor
Wings\/Forwards: Tyson, Strus, Merrill, Wade
Bigs: Allen, Mobley, Bryant<\/p>\n

The only team that can stop the Cavaliers are the Cavaliers themselves. Pairing Harden and Donovan Mitchell possibly gives Cleveland the best back court duo in all of basketball (yes, better than Brunson and Bridges, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, rivaling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams in Oklahoma City). It also puts a firm second-round ceiling on a Cavs team now built upon the shoulders of two elite regular-season performers who haven\u2019t quite lived up to the billing in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Mitchell has never made it to the conference finals, and Harden hasn\u2019t made it to the conference finals since 2018 despite pairing up with Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kawhi Leonard.<\/p>\n

Now, Cleveland\u2019s new duo will have to defy its own self-imposed odds, though they\u2019ve raised their ceiling more than any other team in the East with the trade deadline stunner capable of complicating New York\u2019s championship pursuit. Adding Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder gives the Cavs the deepest back court in the East, and if Harden\u2019s play-making can elevate Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen as pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop bigs, the Cavs could be the team best positioned to spoil New York\u2019s championship run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Boston Celtics added two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic. The Detroit Pistons brought in more shooting in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,304,6,2828,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-587226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-bostonceltics","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-knicks","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nba-trade-deadline","16":"tag-sixers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116026430593388558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}