Knicks need their next center acquisition to address an issue flying under the radar

Staring down the barrel of a second-apron crunch, the New York Knicks did a good job covering up for the loss of Mitchell Robinson with Andre Drummond. As far as functional facsimiles go, the latter’s career-long dominance on the glass jibes with a lot of what the team needs from its secondary big-man minutes. 

Still, there is one hole Drummond’s arrival doesn’t begin to plug: the ability to rack up tandem center reps alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. 

Sure, the 33-year-old’s burgeoning three-point volume from the corners suggests the duo could complement one another on the offensive end. But Drummond doesn’t touch Robinson’s defensive mobility on his nimblest nights. 

When the Knicks trade for another big man—and rest assured, they will—the ability to play beside KAT should be one of their non-neogtiables. 

The Knicks need the option of playing two bigs  

Many will be quick to point out that New York never once treated Robinson-KAT pairings as a lineup staple. The two played just 278 minutes together during the 2025-26 regular season, and saw fewer than 30 minutes of court time with each other in the playoffs. 

Sparing usage isn’t tantamount to a lack of importance, though. Merely the option of being able to play two bigs at once is a luxury. It can help spare the Knicks’ wings from guarding fringe or actual centers when facing teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and (apparently) the Washington Wizards, among many others. 

Running dual-big combinations also gives New York the capacity to navigate a surprise injury. Its true-sized wing depth outside the starting five is virtually nonexistent. If OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, or Mikal Bridges ever misses time, head coach Mike Brown must turn to Mohamed Diawara, Pacome Dadiet, or undersized units with Landry Shamet. Whether that’s tenable depends almost entirely on the sophomore development of Diawara. 

Beyond inoculating the rotation against nightmare injury scenarios, the KAT-plus-another-big minutes are just another way of pummeling opponents into submission. 

During their two years together, Robinson and Towns tallied 518 minutes together across both the regular season and playoffs. The Knicks outscored opponents by 7.4 points per 100 possessions through these stretches, while grabbing a whopping 75.2 percent of defensive rebounds, as well as an ultra-dominant 43.3 percent of their own misses. 

This increases the importance of an Andre Drummond alternative

There is no replicating any of these benefits with Drummond. He played just nine minutes alongside Joel Embiid in Philadelphia over the past two seasons. 

Before that, during his two-season stint in Chicago, Drummond logged 259 total minutes with another big on the court. The Bulls defense was, predictably, a disaster across those stretches.

The Knicks need to make note. Drummond’s arrival should not preclude them from chasing names who can soak up time beside Towns when the situation calls for it. 

On the contrary, if New York wants the option of fielding two bigs at any point next season, the Drummond arrival necessitates the front office making another frontcourt move.

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