{"id":95870,"date":"2024-09-15T11:44:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=95870"},"modified":"2024-09-15T11:44:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:44:11","slug":"two-options-emerge-as-knicks-could-add-a-veteran-center-before-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/15\/two-options-emerge-as-knicks-could-add-a-veteran-center-before-training-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Options Emerge As Knicks Could Add a Veteran Center Before Training Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, the New York Knicks<\/a> have had a successful summer. The Knicks kept the players they wanted to, with the exception of Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a>, although the 26-year-old’s departure was expected. They acquired Mikal Bridges<\/a> in a surprising move. However, the loss of Hartenstein is a concern, and the Knicks have not done anything to fill the spot.<\/p>\n

To make things even more pressing, starter Mitchell Robinson<\/a> is still recovering from ankle surgery on May 13. Robinson, who has been injury-prone throughout his career, may not be ready for training camp. SNYtv.com’s Ian Begley<\/a> said that even if Robinson is cleared for the start of training camp, he’ll still need time to get up to speed with his conditioning.<\/p>\n

Julius Randle<\/a> may also not be available at the start of training camp<\/a> but is expected to be a “go” when the Knicks open the season. Randle is expected to play the five more often than he has with the franchise, but there is no indication how much Tom Thibodeau<\/a> will put him out there.<\/p>\n

Two Options Emerge As Knicks Could Add a Veteran Center Before Training Camp<\/h2>\n

With Randle starting at power forward, Precious Achiuwa<\/a> is technically Robinson’s primary backup. Achiuwa, a little undersized at center, played well on both ends of the floor for the Knicks last season and brings the energy that Thibodeau loves.<\/p>\n

According to Begley, the bigger question is Jericho Sims.<\/a> If there were an injury, Sims would be thrust into action.<\/p>\n

Sims is a serviceable end of the bench big as he is athletic, plays hard, and is a solid rebounder and defender. Here was Begley’s thoughts on Sims:<\/p>\n

“As far as Sims goes, I don\u2019t have much insight into how the front office and Tom Thibodeau view him.\u00a0 “As noted above, the Knicks have been gauging their options at center. So that could give you a little insight into where they are on Sims. Unless I\u2019m reading too much into it, the Knicks\u2019 actions suggest that they\u2019re not fully confident with Sims as a second or third center at this point. Maybe Sims changes their mind with a strong training camp\/preseason.”<\/p>\n

I know the Knicks talked to Atlanta this offseason about a deal involving Capela. The Rockets want to win so if they are in a good place heading into the trade deadline, I\u2019d be surprised if they moved Adams.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d keep an eye on\u00a0Nik Richards<\/a>\u00a0in Charlotte<\/a> as a possible trade candidate<\/a>. Same goes for\u00a0Walker Kessler<\/a>\u00a0in Utah. As ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst noted,\u00a0Robert Williams<\/a>\u00a0is a name to monitor. Maybe\u00a0Jonas Valunciunas<\/a>?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a little surprised that the Knicks haven\u2019t signed a veteran backup center at this point. They have opened a championship window here with the Bridges trade. It would surprise me if they waited until the trade deadline to address the center position.<\/p>\n

As noted last week, there was some\u00a0internal interest in signing\u00a0Bruno Fernando\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Omer Yurtseven<\/a>\u00a0earlier in the offseason. But both players have signed elsewhere. You have to think the Knicks are at least considering veteran bigs like\u00a0JaVale McGee\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Bismack Biyombo<\/a>. Maybe they sign a veteran before the start of training camp.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

New York Knicks Training Camp<\/h3>\n

McGee is the perfect third-string center. He is a 36-year-old veteran who is willing to fill any role. McGee has played sparingly in the last two seasons, though he has been great on the glass and efficient around the rim.<\/p>\n

Biyombo, 31, was terrific with Memphis<\/a> at the start of the season. Biyombo was strong on the defensive end and glass and efficient around the rim offensively. He averaged 5.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 56.3% from the field in 30 appearances for the Grizzlies, including 27 starts.<\/p>\n

With the signing of Landry Shamet<\/a> to the veteran minimum<\/a> yesterday, New York has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts and is around $3 million below the second apron, where the Knicks are hard capped. The Knicks also have all three two-way spots filled, including 7-foot 2024 second-round selection Ariel Hukporti<\/a> and two open training camp spots.\u00a0Power forward Chuma Okeke<\/a> is currently the only player on a training camp deal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, the New York Knicks have had a successful summer. The Knicks kept the players they wanted to, with the exception of Isaiah Hartenstein, although the 26-year-old’s departure was expected. They acquired Mikal Bridges in a surprising move. However, the loss of Hartenstein is a concern, and the Knicks have not done anything […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":95927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,12],"tags":[49059,129,993,601,1616],"class_list":["post-95870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-knicks","tag-2024-nba-free-agents","tag-bismack-biyombo","tag-isaiah-hartenstein","tag-javale-mcgee","tag-mitchell-robinson"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}