The New York Knicks still have one glaring hole on their roster: backup center.
Following the free agency departure of Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks only have two centers with experience on their roster in Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims.
For a while now, as the free agency pool dried up, it seemed as if the Knicks' best option would be to re-sign Precious Achiuwa to fill that backup spot. Achiuwa, who came over to the Knicks in the OG Anunoby trade, ended up playing big minutes with the Knicks because of a rash of injuries to rotation players and played well.
Achiuwa is slightly undersized to be a full-time center, and he's still raw in certain aspects, but if Robinson stays healthy and the Knicks experiment with small-ball lineups, Achiuwa is a capable backup who can provide 15-20 minutes per game.
However, with August approaching and Achiuwa remaining un-signed, it appears the Knicks are aware that Achiuwa's contract could be their best trade chip.
As SNY's Ian Begley previously reported, the Knicks have Achiuwa's Bird Rights, and thus, could pay him more than virtually any other team. Begley reported that Achiuwa does have 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 favorite to land the 24-year-old big man.
It seems as if the Knicks may be exploring the possibility of using Achiuwa in a sign-and-trade, potentially to land an even better center. This could explain why Achiuwa remains un-signed so late into the summer, even with offers reportedly on the table.
The Knicks cannot make a trade where they take in more money than they send out. With the Knicks unwilling 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 make that deal happen.
As The Athletic's Fred Katz explained on "The Lowe Post" podcast, with this scenario in play, it behooves Achiuwa to wait to sign.
"It's actually kind of 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 that Achiuwa has out there are just [veteran] minimums right now, the way that he could actually end up getting paid is by getting used 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 trade discussions with the Atlanta Hawks for center Clint Capela. It's unclear how far those talks went or what players were discussed, but with Capela making $22.6 million in 2024-25, one possible route for the Knicks would be to sign Achiuwa to a similar salary to use him in the trade. (It's worth noting that that would be an overpay for Achiuwa and likely not of interest to the Hawks; it's just an example of how the trade could get done).
As Katz noted, the Knicks could also involve a third team to make the finances work under this restrictive new CBA.
If, at a certain point, the Knicks can't find a deal that works this summer, they could also re-sign Achiuwa, sign a player with 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 fine backup center, the Knicks seem to be pursuing all avenues to build a formidable center rotation, as they had the past two seasons with Robinson and Hartenstein.
