According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Miami Heat are interested in signing Precious Achiuwa, who spent last season with the New York Knicks. Achiuwa began his career in Miami but was traded after just one season in the deal that brought Kyle Lowry to South Beach.
“A little more on Precious Achiuwa, per source: Heat has not made an offer but indicated an interest if they are in position to make an offer down the road (they're staying under tax at this time),” Jackson wrote on Twitter. “Achiuwa, who has a place in South Florida, would welcome Heat return. Several other teams have inquired. Heat and Achiuwa's camp will remain in touch.”
Though the Heat may be picking at the Knicks’ recent scraps, New York shouldn’t be too upset at the theft of Achiuwa.
Should Knicks let Precious Achiuwa go?
Last year, Achiuwa appeared in 57 games for the Knicks, playing 20.5 minutes per contest. He averaged 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 50.2% from the field and 27.8% from beyond the three-point line.
While dealing with Mitchell Robinson’s injury issues, Achiuwa proved very valuable, but the Knicks don’t really need him anymore as they prepare to head into next season.
New York inked Guerschon Yabusele to a contract earlier in free agency, giving them a guy who can replace most of the minutes that Achiuwa played. Plus, with the way Robinson played in the postseason, he’ll be eating up a ton of minutes (when healthy).
On top of that, the Knicks still have guys like Ariel Hukporti and (potentially, if they bring him over) James Nnaji. If Mike Brown wants to give some younger guys more opportunities, they could get some extra minutes.
Meanwhile, Miami would be bringing in another big body if it did end up signing Achiuwa to a contract. Obviously, Bam Adebayo is the star of the show, but on top of that, they also have Kel’el Ware and two-way big man Vladislav Goldin, who played well at Summer League.
Add in Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and Andrew Wiggins, all of whom can play the four, and adding Achiuwa could create a logjam. However, it would also allow Erik Spoelstra to roll out plenty of very sizeable lineups.
So, though Miami may end up stealing a rotation piece from last year’s Knicks squad, it’s not one that New York should be overly concerned about losing.