The New York Knicks still have one glaring hole on their roster: backup center.
With Isaiah Hartenstein leaving as a free agent, the Knicks have just two experienced centers on their roster in Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims.
For a while now, when the free agent pool was depleted, it seemed like the Knicks’ best option would be to re-sign Precious Achiuwa to fill that backup spot. Achiuwa, who came to the Knicks in the OG Anunoby trade, ended up playing a lot of minutes for the Knicks due to a rash of rotation player injuries and played well.
Achiuwa is slightly undersized enough to be a full-time center and is still raw in some ways, but if Robinson stays healthy and the Knicks experiment with small-ball lineups, Achiuwa is a capable backup who can log 15 to 20 minutes per game.
However, with August approaching and Achiuwa still unsigned, it appears the Knicks are aware that Achiuwa’s contract could be their best bargaining chip.
As SNY’s Ian Begley previously reportedThe Knicks own the rights to Achiuwa and therefore could pay him more than virtually any other team. Begley reported that Achiuwa has offers from contending teams, but the Knicks’ ability to offer Achiuwa more money and a clear role in his hometown (Achiuwa played high school basketball in the Bronx) would presumably make the Knicks the favorites to land the 24-year-old center.
It appears the Knicks could be exploring the possibility of using Achiuwa in a sign-and-trade deal, possibly to land an even better center. This could explain why Achiuwa remains unsigned this late in the summer, even with offers reportedly on the table.
The Knicks can’t make a trade where they get more money than they pay. Since the Knicks aren’t willing to give up one of the core members of their team, they could potentially sign Achiuwa to a contract equal to another player’s salary to get that deal done.
As The Athletic article says Fred Katz explained it on the podcast “The Lowe Post”With this scenario in play, it would behoove Achiuwa to wait to sign.
“It’s actually advantageous for Achiuwa to wait to sign, and it’s advantageous for the Knicks to wait to sign Achiuwa,” Katz said, adding: “If the only offers Achiuwa has are just [veteran] “Right now, the minimum they could pay him is if they use it as a sign-and-trade because the Knicks need to use the money to make it work.”
For example, Begley reported that the Knicks had been in talks with the Atlanta Hawks about a trade for center Clint Capela. It’s unclear how far those talks went or which players were discussed, but with Capela making $22.6 million in 2024-25, one potential avenue for the Knicks would be to sign Achiuwa for a similar salary to use in the trade. (It’s worth noting that would be an overpayment for Achiuwa and likely not in the Hawks’ interest; it’s just one example of how a trade could go.)
As Katz noted, the Knicks could also involve a third team to make the finances work under this new, restrictive CBA.
If, at some point, the Knicks can’t find a deal that works this summer, they could also re-sign Achiuwa, sign a player under the $5 million taxpayer mid-level exception and look for deals during the season.
It’s a sign that the Knicks are still aggressively looking to build the best roster possible. While Achiuwa would be a fine backup center, the Knicks appear to be exploring every avenue to build a formidable center rotation, as they did the past two seasons with Robinson and Hartenstein.
