The New York Knicks’ active offseason continues with a shrewd move designed to shore up a key area.
New York’s official PR account on X announced Tuesday that the team had re-signed backup center/power forward Precious Achiuwa to a one-year deal. Achiuwa’s representative Raymond Brothers informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that he’ll earn $6 million in 2024-25. The Knicks have yet to divulge an official salary number.
Per Fred Katz of The Athletic, Achiuwa was eligible for a no-trade clause by re-signing with New York, but opted to surrender that option upon returning. Given the reasonable size of his non-minimum deal and his relative youth, he could easily become a nice trade sweetener in a larger exchange at some point this year — should New York team president Leon Rose choose to re-configure his roster.
Since being bounced in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs amidst a slew of injuries, the Knicks have enjoyed a busy run this summer. In its biggest transaction of the transaction period so far, the team offloaded Bojan Bogdanovic’s contract, six future draft picks, and one first round pick swap for All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges and a 2026 Nets second rounder.
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Adding Bridges gave New York the opportunity to reunite the core elements from one of the great college teams in recent memory, the Villanova Wildcats. He’s joining his former NCAA teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Following the Bridges acquisition, New York also went to work inking Brunson, its All-NBA point guard, to a fresh, below-market deal.
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Achiuwa’s former Toronto Raptors teammate OG Anunoby — added in the same trade midway through the 2023-24 season — also agreed to a lucrative five-year, $212.5 million contract extension with the team. Retaining the 3-and-D combo forward was a no-brainer for New York, though that sticker tag for an oft-injured non-All-Star is fairly hefty.
The Knicks also signed free agent point guard Cameron Payne, will bringing back bench guard Shake Milton.
On top of all this, New York decided to retain one of the winningest coaches in its history, Tom Thibodeau, on his own long-term deal. The Knicks have made the playoffs in three of his four seasons stewarding the franchise, including a pair of second round berths in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
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Bringing back Achiuwa is a sneakily imperative move. In the lone blemish of New York’s offseason, the capped-out club couldn’t afford to bring back starting center Isaiah Hartenstein on a long-term contract. The 7-foot big man instead jumped ship to the Oklahoma City Thunder on a three-year, $87 million agreement.
His primary backup, Mitchell Robinson, is now elevated into the team’s starting five spot. The 6-foot-8 Achiuwa, who thrived as a small ball center behind Hartenstein during the myriad games missed by Robinson, seems likely to become a full-time center now. He’s a terrific rebounder and efficient scorer around the rim.
Upon being traded to New York, he averaged 7.2 boards and 1.1 blocks a night, in just 24.2 minutes per. That translates to 10.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes. Achiuwa is athletic enough that he can also realistically be switched out onto power forwards and even small forwards in certain lineups, a defensive tactic Thibodeau has enjoyed using with this group.
Last year’s Knicks finished with a 50-32 record, good for the East’s No. 2 seed. But the team has not reached a Conference Finals in two decades. Now, New York has the depth to at least make a go of it.
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Michael C. Wright, ESPN Staff WriterNov 9, 2024, 09:39 PM ETCloseJoined ESPN in 2010 Previously covered Bears for ESPN.com Played college football at West Texas