The Knicks opened up a championship window when they traded five first-round picks and one first-round pick swap to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges.
They pushed the window open a little higher when they re-signed OG Anunoby to a $212.5 million contract.
They may not say it publicly, but those two moves made it clear: the Knicks are all in on trying to win an NBA title in the near future. That’s why the rest of the summer is so critical for New York.
After losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, the Knicks have to fill a void at center. They need to find a big man to play behind Mitchell Robinson.
Given Robinson’s injury history, you’d think New York needs a center capable of starting 30 games if necessary.
Can they find that center via free agency? Precious Achiuwa is available. He’s received interest from several contending teams but, as of Tuesday afternoon, remained open to a return to New York.
Achiuwa is an unrestricted free agent but the Knicks have his Bird Rights. So they can offer him significant money (if they get out from under the first-apron hard cap).
Outside of Achiuwa, there aren’t many options at this point.
New York has considered its options on the trade market – including trading for an established big man.
A report from HoopsHype stated that the Knicks engaged with the Jazz about a trade for 22-year-old Walker Kessler. Entering the draft, they also had Charlotte’s Nick Richards on their radar. Richards is under contract through 2024-25.
No matter who they acquire, the Knicks will need a big season from Robinson in 2024-25 to get where they want to go.
Robinson is back on his feet while rehabbing his surgically repaired ankle. He’s said publicly that he’s motivated to get back on the court after some questionable fouls by Joel Embiid aggravated his ankle injury.
Those aren’t just empty words in a social media post. It’s real motivation for Robinson.
“One of the things I learned about Mitch, he’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met,” Donte DiVincenzo said on Monday at a meet-and-greet in Soho to highlight a partnership with Revo Sunglasses. “He has a social media post…everybody follows that but behind closed doors, he’s working really hard.”
Last season, Robinson was the NBA’s top offensive rebounder before he suffered a foot fracture. That offensive rebounding is a key component in the Knicks’ offense. With a healthy Robinson, they should be able to lean on that again to produce second-chance points.
The narrative in some corners of social media is that New York should trade Robinson. That it’s too risky to bet on Robinson’s health when the stakes are this high.
“I think he sees all the outside noise from everything. I think he’s going to use it as motivation,” DiVincenzo said Monday. “But ultimately, I think the beautiful thing about Mitch is, he knows the team’s goal. Not once this whole past year has Mitch ever got in the way of anything that we were trying to accomplish. He’s always cheering with everybody. So I think nothing of that nature will change.”
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