Knicks appear to be all in on Mitchell Robinson being back to help down stretch

For years, Leon Rose and the Knicks’ front office moved cautiously, accumulating assets, getting their salary cap in order and functioning like a well-run organization. They resisted the all-in-now inclinations that had marked the worst impulses of the organization for decades before Rose arrived.

That changed this past summer. The vault was opened and the surplus of first-round draft picks that had been seen as bait for the day that some superstar became available was sent to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges. And then, in a shocking — not Luka Doncic-to-the-Lakers shocking, but still shocking — move just before the start of training camp, the Knicks obtained Karl-Anthony Towns by sending out two key pieces to their ascension, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

So the decision to finally go all-in provided some intrigue to the trade deadline. Would they pull off another move that had the NBA double-checking the math to see how they managed to work the cap permutations, finding another standout rotation piece to raise their championship odds?

The answer to that was “no.” The Knicks’ only move was to send out third-string — maybe fourth-string — center Jericho Sims to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday in exchange for Delon Wright, a 32-year-old wing who is unlikely to push his way into Tom Thibodeau’s limited rotation.

The move instead was seen mostly as a way to satisfy Sims’ desire for an opportunity somewhere else. That’s a common move for Rose, who perhaps still has a little bit of the agent’s mindset in helping to find locations for players who don’t fit, a word that certainly filters out to other players.

At 34-17, it’s hard to argue with the approach, particularly when moving Sims and not chasing another center might be the clearest sign that the Knicks really do believe that Mitchell Robinson will be healthy enough to make a difference heading toward the postseason.

But there also is the risk of watching what happens around them. The Cavaliers, who are seven games ahead of the third-place Knicks in the Eastern Conference, swung a deal for De’Andre Hunter, perhaps a risk to the chemistry they’ve shown this season but a clear upgrade in talent and cap management. The Knicks are 1 1/2 games behind the Celtics, who stayed basically intact and will visit the Garden on Saturday night.

While the lack of urgency may have disappointed Knicks fans who scrolled through the trade machine, matching salaries and fits of potential deals, what the quiet passing of the deadline might portend is a measure of good news. Maybe this shows that Rose and company already had pushed their chips to the center of the table and believe that they have enough right now.

“The nature of our league — particularly now with social media and the popularity of our league, which is a good thing,” Thibodeau said Tuesday. “You get people talking about this stuff and the important thing is not to get distracted and understand that for every 100 trades that get talked about, one gets done, so just stay focused on the things you can control. Stay locked in.”

But in counting on their internal addition — Robinson — the Knicks are taking a risk, too.

Robinson hasn’t spoken to the media since before he was shut down last season in the playoffs, so the hints of his status come in cryptic deciphering of his social media missives and matching them up with updates from Thibodeau — often just as cryptic as Robinson’s messages.

But he was cleared for contact earlier this week after a long rehab period from his ankle surgery in May. Thibodeau has speculated that he could join the team in practice soon, and he has been accompanying the Knicks on the road for team meetings to be ready to jump into the game plan when he’s cleared to play.

That is not a small consideration, given that he has never played with Towns and Bridges and was on the floor for only six regular-season and six playoff games with OG Anunoby last season.

The Knicks almost certainly wouldn’t have moved Sims and not acquired insurance at center if they didn’t believe that Robinson could provide minutes this season. Towns has been a deserving All-Star this season, rebounding at a career-best rate while spending his minutes almost exclusively at center after playing alongside Rudy Gobert in Minnesota in recent seasons.

Thibodeau has experimented, particularly of late without Anunoby — who is nursing a sprained foot — playing rookie Ariel Hukporti alongside Towns.

Towns excitedly pointed out that he guarded Toronto’s Scottie Barnes at times on Tuesday. Robinson could either provide minutes off the bench in place of Towns or play alongside him at times when Anunoby is not on the floor.

“I’m hopeful,” Thibodeau said when asked if Robinson can practice this week. “ . . . He’s champing at the bit. So you just have to go step by step.”

That’s basically the explanation of the Knicks’ path right now — step by step.

The Knicks will monitor the buyout market, with one team source indicating that Wright is with the team “for now.” So it was just a minor deal on the fringes of the roster with the hope  that Robinson will provide the boost the Knicks need.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.