2012 NBA Trade Deadline: Should the New York Knicks Push the Panic Button?

At the start of this season, the New York Knicks had high expectations. They were seen as a potential NBA championship contender. However, in 2012, they have struggled so far and are playing their way out of the playoffs.

With the NBA trade deadline approaching, do the Knicks need to push the panic button and make a trade?

They started off the season without a true point guard and that was an issue. Carmelo Anthony had to play more of a point-forward and it did not fit him well.

The Knicks would then lose Anthony for some time because of an injury and Amar'e Stoudemire because his brother passed away. They were 8-14 going into their game against the New Jersey Nets on Feb. 4.

That was the game that "Linsanity" started and the Knicks won 10 out of their next 13 games. They seemed to have the point guard they were looking for in Jeremy Lin and looked like a complete team. However, questions began to rise on whether he would gel well with Anthony when he returned.

So far, they have not gelled well. Since Anthony returned from injury, the Knicks are 2-7.

It appears that there is no chemistry with the team and something is off. Anthony is playing his worst basketball since entering the NBA, J.R. Smith has been very inconsistent and Lin has come down to Earth.

The Knicks are currently in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, but there are two teams one game out and four teams within five games out. The Knicks could either take a shot with what they got or try and make a move.

Who would they move and for what?

They are not going to trade Lin because the amount of backlash the team and Anthony are already getting will triple. They can't get rid of Anthony, after all they gave up last year to get him and he is still one of the top players in the league. There are no players that they could bring in that will make a big impact.

There are no moves that make any real sense, so they are stuck trying to figure out what they can do with the team they have.The stars and role players are going to need to figure out how they can be effective together.