New York Knicks
Knee-jerk move: Trading Mitchell Robinson
As the New York Knicks begin to get more comfortable with their new roster, this is a team that is truly going to take off during the second half of the season. Assuming they can remain relatively healthy, we haven't even seen the best that this team has to offer. One big boost that the Knicks are expected to get at some point in the second half of the season is the return of Mitchell Robinson. For a team that is thin in the frontcourt, the Knicks should welcome Robinson back with open arms once he's healthy.
Because of their lack of depth in the frontcourt, it would be a bit foolish for the team to just automatically trade him once he becomes healthy. Even though there were whispers that the Knicks could go down that path, I believe this team might be better suited to keeping him and taking advantage of his presence in the rotation off the bench. Unless there's a move out there that would return a couple of rotation pieces, I wouldn't advise the Knicks to trade Robinson for any type of salary relief.
New Orleans Pelicans
Knee-jerk move: Trading Zion Williamson
Even though the New Orleans Pelicans haven't gotten off to the start they wanted this season, I still believe it would be pretty shocking to see this team throw in the towel right now. They may have one of the worst records in the league but there's still plenty of time left to turn things around. At the very least, the Pelicans should give this group the month of December to figure things out. At that point, the Pelicans could then make a decision about their future. But for now, the Pelicans shouldn't make any rash decisions.
One of those panic moves that the Pelicans could elect to take is trading Zion Williamson. At this point, that would be the one knee-jerk move that I would advise the Pelicans against. If New Orleans would trade Zion, it would indicate a huge pivot for the Pelicans and, quite frankly, a full-blown rebuild. I'm not sure the Pelicans are there just yet. The injury issues are certainly frustrating but Zion is just 24 years old. It would be foolish to give up on him right now.