Precious Achiuwa, who spent last season with the New York Knicks, has signed with the Miami Heat. Letting Achiuwa go was a mistake for the Knicks, however, especially considering their overall lack of center depth. If they wanted to part ways with Achiuwa, they should have done a better job of replacing him.
New York signed Guerschon Yabusele, who will undoubtedly play a crucial role in their center rotation, but that’s not enough. They should have done way more to secure big-man depth heading into next year, especially with their injury history at the position. Losing Achiuwa could prove more brutal than it looks.
The Knicks need more centers on the roster.
Why should the Knicks have kept Precious Achiuwa?
Achiuwa was far from perfect last season. He doesn’t provide much on the offensive end, but his athleticism makes him a useful tool to deploy on defense, especially in double-big lineups.
He only played 20.5 minutes per contest last year, but when Mitchell Robinson was hurt, he came in and played a role for New York. That’s the situation the Knicks should be scared of.
Robinson has been unable to stay on the floor throughout the course of his NBA career. Injuries have unfortunately been a constant, and if he gets hurt again this season, the Knicks’ center depth would get shaky very fast.
Karl-Anthony Towns would still be fine leading the way, but Yabusele would immediately be propelled from solid third string and occasional four-man to the full-time backup center.
He can play that role, but behind him, the only other center on the roster is Ariel Hukporti. And though he looked okay in very limited minutes last season, New York probably doesn’t want to have to use him too much.
Then, what if Towns gets hurt? He played in 72 games last year, but the year prior, he only appeared in 62 contests, and the season before that, he played in 29.
Any game that Towns or Robinson has to miss could put the Knicks in a very delicate situation at the center position. Rather than signing guards like Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet to training camp deals, they should have been testing out centers.
Achiuwa himself may not have been the solution the Knicks wanted heading into next season, but his departure is a symbol of a larger potential issue. New York is playing a dangerous game with its center depth, and it could come back to bite them.