A heavily buzzed-about, potential free agent target for the New York Knicks was just recently taken off the market.
Wednesday, it was reported that veteran big Jonas Valanciunas will forgo another go-around in the NBA and, instead, take his talents to Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas for the 2026-27 season.
Though there was much debate about whether he would have been a proper fit with the defending champions, with some claiming that his addition to the Knicks' roster would have been an "overkill" of adding sluggish, unathletic centers, their need for more depth at the pivot spot was a driving force in there being many links between New York and the 7-footer.
Now, with him officially out of the picture, Leon Rose and company must look elsewhere to fill out their center position behind the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and newcomer Andre Drummond.
Should they be hell-bent on adding such a player via free agency, Nick Richards could very well be their most obvious choice at this point.
Nick Richards an obvious alternative free agent target for Knicks
In many ways, Richards provides a similar archetype to that of the now departed Mitchell Robinson, as he's a lanky 7-footer who leans into his innate abilities to set hard screens, pull down rebounds, defend the paint, and run the floor for lob finishes at the rim.
Over the last four years of his career, the big man has posted solid averages of 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks on 61.8 percent shooting from the floor.
After getting out from a rather crowded center rotation in Phoenix by way of a mid-season trade to Chicago this past season, Richards reminded everyone of the kind of on-court production he can provide a team, as he dropped 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and just shy of a block in 20 games played with the Bulls.
The 28-year-old has long been rumored to be a player of interest for New York.
Should the Knicks still share this supposed interest in bringing on the soon-to-be seventh-year pro, and if they're hell-bent on adding another center in free agency before the start of training camp, Richards may be both a realistic and ideal target to scoop up.
Assuming he's willing to sign for a minimum-scale contract, there don't appear to be many more available options out there on the open market who fit the nitty-gritty needs of this Knicks frontcourt more than a healthy Richards.
Add us as a preferred source on Google