As the New York Knicks find themselves dealing with their own pivot problems, a castoff from the ball club finds himself stabilizing this very position for a direct conference rival.
Jericho Sims, the 58 pick by the Knickerbockers back in the 2021 NBA Draft, was shipped off to the Milwaukee Bucks mid-way through last year's campaign in exchange for Delon Wright, the draft rights to French baller Hugo Besson, and cash considerations.
Needless to say, to date, these returns have had little to no benefit to New York. For Milwaukee, however, the exchange has given them a major boost in both the payroll and on-court production departments, with Sims specifically playing a major role in the latter.
Former Knicks center playing a key role in Bucks' recent surge
Despite residing on the same roster with more well-known, household-name big men like Myles Turner and Bobby Portis, as of late, Sims is the one that the Bucks have leaned on at the five the most over the past several weeks.
Here in his first full season with the ball club, the 27-year-old is posting career-highs all across the board with averages of 4.0 points and 4.7 rebounds on a ridiculous 82.8 percent shooting from the floor.
However, his recent play has been what's really stood out, as he's been dropping 7.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting a truly absurd 81.4 percent from the field in 26.5 minutes over Milwaukee's last 10 games (the fourth-highest over this span).
On top of this, during this same stretch, Sims has ranked second on the team in offensive rating (125.9), net rating (10.3), and plus-minus (plus-6.2).
The Bucks have been one of the more surprising teams since the calendar page officially flipped to February, for, with superstar cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with a nagging calf injury, they've managed to rattle off the fifth-best record at 8-3 and have won five of their last six contests.
While many may look to the likes of point guard Kevin Porter Jr. and fourth-year pro Ryan Rollins as the primary catalysts in the team's recent surge, it's been the invaluable, nitty-gritty play from Sims that's been a major influence and has flown well under the radar.
Considering the struggles of Karl-Anthony Towns and the always concerning injury woes of Mitchell Robinson, amid his breakout, the Knicks are likely kicking themselves for giving up on the former second-round pick so easily just one year ago.