The New York Knicks are still in the market for another center.
The Knicks were already thin at center, and now it’s been reported that would-be starting center Mitchell Robinson will miss the start of the season as he recovers from May foot surgery. Robinson is targeting a December or January return.
Robinson’s absence will be a major test of the Knicks’ big man depth, thrusting Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims into big roles from get-go.
According to The Athletic’s James Edwards III, the Knicks have been “scouring” the market for centers and have shown interest in Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart.
The Pistons have a crowded center rotation with Stewart, promising third-year big man Jalen Duren, as well free agent signing Paul Reed, who was once thought to be a Knicks target.
The 23-year-old Stewart has averaged 9.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and a block per game over four years in the league. He is just beginning a four-year, $60 million contract with the Pistons.
Stewart is slightly undersized as a center, listed at 6-foot-8, which is similar to Achiuwa. However, Stewart is listed at 250 lb, giving him the weight to handle bigger, more physical centers.
Interestingly, Stewart is also a solid three-point shooter, hitting 35% on four attempts from deep per game over the past two seasons. Stewart would give the Knicks a spread five option that they have never had under Tom Thibodeau.
Of course, this being the second-apron era of the NBA, constructing a trade for the Knicks is difficult. They would need to send out more money than the Pistons in the deal to avoid being hard-capped at the second apron.
For this reason, lower-salary centers might make more sense as Knicks trade targets.
Assuming the Knicks don’t want to move any of their top six players (Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo), that leaves only Robinson ($14.3 million), Achiuwa ($6 million), and Miles McBride ($4.7 million) as non-minimum salary trade pieces. It’s unclear if a deal could be made.
Trading Robinson for an undersized center like Stewart would leave the Knicks very small and might be something of a lateral move.
Achiuwa is not trade-eligible until January. Even when he’s eligible, the Knicks would have to add salary in the deal to match Stewart’s contract.
Unless the Knicks front office finds other ways to add a higher-salary player to a deal, landing Stewart without hurting the Knicks’ depth would be difficult.
