The Knicks have only lost two players thus far in the offseason that were members of their championship team. They just happen to both play center as Mitchell Robinson signed with the Celtics, and Ariel Hukporti agreed to a deal with the 76ers.
New York has since signed Andre Drummond to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal. The need for a third big on the roster is still there, though.
Many have talked about adding Jonas Valanciunas (waived and stretched by the Nuggets) or Nick Richards to the team. Is there a possibility that the Knicks instead sign Trey Jemison III to a standard deal after he spent all of last season on a two-way contract?
Jemison has qualities that will help the team as a depth piece
Now, Jemison is two-way eligible for one more year. That could be the route that the Knicks take with the 26-year-old. Since he was on a two-way, he wasn’t eligible to participate in playoff games during their championship run, and he only saw action in 13 regular season games for New York.
Jemison looks the part as a 6-foot-10, 270 lb. chiseled big, and he’d probably be the best shot-blocker on the team if signed to a standard deal. Even though Karl-Anthony Towns improved his interior defense greatly as last season progressed, Jemison would have the argument of being the team’s best rim protector as well.
Offensively, Jemison is clearly limited. With that said, he’s also averaged four offensive rebounds per 36 minutes over his 1,047 career minutes. He averaged 4.1 per game over 31 appearances in the G League last season for the Westchester Knicks. That’s an aspect that the Knicks have thrived at and focused on excelling at in recent years. Now, with Mitchell Robinson now on the Celtics, having Jemison around can keep it a focus when he’s on the floor.
Undrafted in 2023 out of UAB, Jemison went on to start the final seven games and 13 in total for the Grizzlies towards the end of the 2023-24 season. In those starts, he put up solid averages of 10.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 29.6 minutes.
Look, Jemison isn’t going to be part of a Knicks rotation where everyone is healthy. That shouldn’t be the expectation from a third-string center. It’s still important to have that third big in case of injury, and New York at least knows what they have in Jemison.
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