Ian Begley shoots down Mitchell Robinson & Deuce McBride trade rumors

The whispers following KAT’s arrival have been put to rest… for now.

Are the New York Knicks still thinking about trading more of their pieces… and more importantly, the current longest-tenured Knickerbocker!?

Turns out, that might not quite be the case, not at this point in time at the very least.

“Because of his talent and team-friendly contract, there will be a market for (Mitchell) Robinson. I just don’t think moving him could bring back a player like Trey Murphy III.” — Ian Begley

SNY’s Ian Begley quickly put the rumors of a Mitchell Robinson trade—one reported earlier this week linking Mitch to a transaction with the New Orleans Pelicans in which the Knicks would receive Trey Murphy III in exchange for the big man—answering a reader’s question in a mailbag published on Oct. 4.

According to Jakoba Reynolds, quoting an earlier message posted by Knicks beat reporter Kris Pursiainen, the Clippers, Hawks, and the Pelicans are “teams that have made calls” Robinson.

Reynolds went on to highlight the Pelicans as the team “that has pursued Robinson the most.”

In the full write-up about the rumor posted by Reynolds on Medium, he mentioned Pelicans forward Trey Murphy as the main targeted player by the Knicks in the potential trade.

“There has been an increase in the communication between the Knicks and Pelicans just in the recent twelve hours or so, per league sources.

“It seems like the Pelicans are desperately trying to look to get this deal agreed upon.” — Jakoba Reynolds

Begley didn’t sound convinced at all about the veracity of this “report,” which he absolutely refuted in his latest post over SNY.

“I don’t think it is (a possibility).

“The Pelicans have been signaling for a while that they value Murphy III highly and see him as a vital part of the future.

“It would be surprising to see New Orleans move Murphy III for a package involving Mitchell Robinson.” — Ian Begley

According to Begley, Robinson is still a valuable player for both the Knicks and other NBA franchises, which could lead to an eventual trade before the deadline. That, however, will have to wait for now as it doesn’t look like New York is actively looking to move Mitch.

“Robinson is on a team-friendly deal (making $14.3M this season and $12.9M in 2025-26, the final year of his contract).

“If you look at the current Knick roster, Robinson and Miles McBride are probably their best (realistic) trade chips.

“I would assume there is not much support for moving McBride. The Knicks, as currently constituted, will need him on both ends of the floor.” — Ian Begley

Interestingly, Begley mentioned McBride as the other most valuable trade chip the Knicks have in tow following the trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

No need to double down on how Begley—and the Knicks, by extension—perceive McBride and how hard it’d be to find a valuable trade package New York would like in return for the two-guard.

Pursianen, however, reported late Saturday that New York’s brass has “had internal conversations” about “a potential deal” for Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart.

“No deal is imminent,” Pursianen reported on X, although he went on to acknowledge that “the Knicks are willing to be active on the market.”

Once again, it looks like Begley’s report conflicts with any potential package the Grizzlies could demand in exchange for Smart, one that would most probably include Deuce.

Memphis is coming off drafting their new long-term starting center in Zach Edey and has other solid players in the paint including Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. It’s hard to envision Memphis demanding the Knicks to include Mitch in a trade for Smart instead of McBride.

That said, and I’m no expert, it’d take aggregating Deuce and Mitch’s salaries, as well as another near-minimum salary (aka Jericho Sims’ or rookies Pacome Dadiet or Tyler Kolek’s) to land Smart.

Anyway, and in Begley’s words, “I would assume there is not much support for moving McBride.”