The New York Knicks need another center and their options are running low.
Mitchell Robinson will start, but who will be his backup? With Isaiah Hartenstein moving to Oklahoma City, here's a look at the list of candidates.
Free agents Moe Wagner, Goga Bitadze and Jonas Valanciunas are now out of contract and were outside New York's budget anyway, and the Knicks, who still have Jericho Sims playing behind Robinson, don't have much money to add to their lineup.
If they follow through on the Mikal Bridges trade as currently planned, sending Bojan Bogdanovic and a draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets to acquire the 27-year-old wing, they would be hard-capped at the first apron but only $5 million short. The Knicks could find a way to fix the trade, which is still not finalized, and give out more than they receive, which would put them at the hard cap at the first apron. Number 2 This gives the team an additional $11 million in headroom.
That would allow the Knicks to use their $5.17 million taxpayer mid-level exception to sign someone, and they could also bring back one of their own free agents.
As of now, one player who is already familiar with this group could be the front-runner to start next season as New York's backup center.
Precious Achiuwa remains an unrestricted free agent, and league sources say the team is open to bringing him back. Achiuwa has been a favorite of head coach Tom Thibodeau since his December acquisition from the Toronto Raptors. While he may not be the traditional shot blocker Thibodeau prefers in the middle of the defense, the Knicks could use Achiuwa on the perimeter and in a more switch-heavy scheme than other big men. Thibodeau believes in rim protection, but if the team can't find a 7-footer to anchor the defense, he'll deploy other blueprints. Achiuwa and Sims will both be guarding out of the paint.
If the Knicks were to bring Achiuwa back on a modest contract, they could use the spongy 6-foot-8 New York native behind Robinson. If Robinson were to miss a game, Thibodeau would be forced to use a smaller player, given that he has only played more than 66 games once in his six-year career.
Beyond Achiuwa, there aren't many promising free agents left. Daniel Theis isn't on a team, as is Thomas Bryant, but neither are shot blockers. JaVale McGee is unsigned but is near the end of his career. The Philadelphia 76ers could waive Paul Reed to create cap space to sign a non-big man after acquiring Andre Drummond to back up Joel Embiid. But they could also keep Reed. His contract isn't guaranteed until January, and his $7.7 million salary could give Philadelphia a trade asset to use during the season.
The trade market is presenting more attractive options for the Knicks, but as punitive rules from the new collective bargaining agreement are phased in, trades aren't as straightforward as they once were, especially for this team.
The Knicks aren't going to revisit the Bridges trade just to avoid the hard cap on the first apron, but they're going to engineer another trade that would put them at the hard cap at the same position. Also, any team that makes more salary than they would pay in a trade would be hard capped on the first apron. That's the situation New York finds itself in now.
Financially, the deals to get a higher salary become more complicated.
The Atlanta Hawks may appear to have too many big men after acquiring Larry Nance Jr. in a trade and retaining Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela in the process, but Capela is making $22.3 million this season, meaning the Knicks would have to include at least one key rotation player to acquire him. Of the Knicks players in trade targets making more than Capela this season, only Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and Bridges would be excluded in a trade for him. Offensive big man Nikola Vucevic makes a similar amount and doesn't fit the model of the player the Knicks are looking for.
It would be difficult to acquire a player with a salary just below that range.
The Portland Trail Blazers are deep in centers, and they have Robert Williams III on the payroll at $12.4 million a year. If he plays in 82 games, he would be an ideal fit for the Knicks. He could fill in the gaps they are missing in Hartenstein's absence, diving in from the weak side to block shots and assist with elbows. But Williams hasn't played since November, and there are concerns he may not be ready by the start of next season.
Robert Williams III missed most of last season due to injury. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The Knicks would have to include Donte DiVincenzo or Josh Hart in a trade to get ahead of his salary, which isn't realistic, and they could trade Robinson, but they would still have no backup center on the roster and injury concerns among their starting pitchers.
A similar story could be said about a hypothetical attempt to acquire Wendell Carter Jr. from the big-man-strapped Orlando Magic. Carter would make $12 million next season.
The Detroit Pistons will likely answer the call about Isaiah Stewart, whose four-year, $64 million extension is up for grabs this season. But as with Williams and Carter, the Knicks would have to give up a valuable starter to acquire him. Stewart plays hard, is physical and played out of his natural position for much of last season, but New York may not want to give up a core player for him.
The same goes for Richaun Holmes, who just signed a contract extension with the Washington Wizards and is generally considered a better trade candidate, but probably not for the Knicks.
The cheaper centers make the most sense.
Perhaps the Knicks will find a way to negotiate Brooklyn's Day'Ron Sharpe (quite quietly one of the league's best rebounders) into a trade for Bridges, but that would require adding more salary.
They can blame the Dallas Mavericks, who currently have Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford, for Dwight Powell, or the Charlotte Hornets for Nick Richards, a promising lanky big man making $5 million this season. But if they spend more than they take in (as they did in the Bridges deal), they might have to trade Miles McBride, who is too good (and has too good a contract for the team) to give up for a player like Richards.
The Knicks could use a sign-and-trade to send free agent Achiuwa or Alec Burks without subtracting salary, but that's easier said than done. The opposing team, say the Hornets, would have to be willing to sign either of those players to a contract for at least three years, the minimum for a sign-and-trade acquisition. Charlotte could choose not to guarantee the final two seasons of the contract, but the players would have to agree to that. Would Burks approve of such a team-friendly structure?
New York could offer the Blazers another center, second-year big man Duop Rees, who is making $2 million a year. Rees can attack up to the 3-point line, but it's unclear whether he can fill a consistent role on a championship-contending team. Would the Knicks prioritize Achiuwa, who they already know would fit their culture and system and wouldn't have to sacrifice anything to acquire?
You could also call the Thunder and ask about Jaylin Williams, who may be out of Oklahoma City's rotation with Hartenstein's arrival. Williams is not a typical Thibodeau big man. He's far from a rim protector, not even jumping up to block shots at the rim, instead only taking eager charges. But he plays energetically and has some ball skills. The Knicks could sign one of their 2024 second-round draft picks to a four-year, second-round exception contract. The contract would start at $2.1 million, just $70,000 more than Williams' salary next season. Then trade him, along with the draft capital, to Oklahoma City, a common trade partner for the current Knicks front office.
You could also look at Utah Jazz's Walker Kessler. Kessler is a big 23-year-old who is already one of the league's best rim protectors. Utah already has two big men this summer, drafting Kyle Filipowski and signing Drew Eubanks. Despite his late-season decline, the Jazz started John Collins over Kessler. But that doesn't mean they're going to let a promising player go.
Kessler has two years remaining on his rookie-scale contract, which will pay him $3 million through the 2024-25 season. The timing is perfect for the Knicks, who could move Robinson, who is two years away from becoming a free agent, if Kessler asks for a raise. The Jazz have indicated they'd be open to moving Kessler ahead of the draft, according to a rival front-office source. Utah was seeking a top-10 draft pick in the trade, but it's unclear whether that would be enough to make the deal happen.
The Knicks could offer McBride and the Pistons' 2025 first-round pick in exchange for Kessler. They could also offer a first-round pick swap. But would that be enough to interest the Jazz? Not a team like Utah, after all. Have Trade Kessler. Kessler has about seven more years of team control. McBride's three-year, $13 million contract is a bargain, but it's more appealing to a championship contender like the Knicks than a team starting over like the Jazz. By the time Utah is competitive again, McBride will be ready to become an unrestricted free agent.
And from the Knicks' perspective, would they want to offer that much?
Walker Kessler has two years remaining on his contract (David Berding/Getty Images)
This next trade, if it goes through, will likely be the last for the Knicks for a while, as they are strapped for cash after the Bridges trade, have no unprotected first-round picks to give up, have a couple of first-round pick swaps to make, and are without any pre-prime players except for McBride.
They have the Pistons' protected 2025 first-round draft pick, the Wizards' 2025 first-round draft pick that will probably never be transferred and traded in 2026 (which may not be worth much since the Knicks will likely be championship contenders again a year from now), and 2030… that's it. Other than that, they're trading away a contributor to the starting rotation.
If the Knicks were to sign a center now and uncover unexpected deficiencies during the regular season, there would be no realistic way for him to be improved by the deadline, so the Knicks might as well be on the safe side.
Of course, acquiring a player like Kessler would not just be a short-term move given his age, his profile (he's the ideal Thibodeau center) and his contract.
But the status quo is likely to remain.
If the Knicks execute a Bridges trade without a hard cap on the first apron, they would have enough room to bring back Achiuwa, they could retain Alec Burks, another unrestricted free agent, and they could get creative with who plays behind Robinson.
If necessary, he could have Ornoby, Bridges and Randle in the frontcourt. Thibodeau has frequently moved away from lineups with Randle at the 5, but has tended to favor a small court when Ornoby is on the court, most notably in Game 4 of their first-round series in April, when the Knicks had neither Hartenstein nor Robinson. Thibodeau was the closer with Achiuwa at the 5 but never actually played center. Instead, he protected the perimeter while Ornoby, a wing who can guard anyone, was assigned to former MVP and current Giant Joel Embiid.
The Knicks could try these tactics with their second unit during the regular season, using Anunoby to guard the big men, but the addition of another wing-stopper, Bridges, could push the strategy further.
But they may still need a physical presence down low, whether it's because of their style of play or because they need insurance for Robinson.
Now they just have to find someone.
(Top photo of Clint Capela and Isaiah Stewart by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
