3 Critical things the Knicks still need to do after hot start to offseason

1. Sign/trade for center

New York lost Hartenstein in free agency after he agreed to sign a three-year, $87 million deal with Oklahoma City. The Knicks knew it was coming, as the most they could offer was a four-year deal worth $72.5 million.

Now that Hartenstein's gone, Mitchell Robinson's back to being the starter, and Jericho Sims is his backup. The front office hasn't signed another big off the free-agent market, signaling that a trade could be in the works. They haven't even brought back Precious Achiuwa.

HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that the Knicks have expressed interest in trading for Utah's Walker Kessler and Charlotte's Nick Richards. Both are good options.

While there's still the possibility that the Knicks will enter 2024-25 with Robinson and Sims, that doesn't seem likely for a team that's pushed in their chips to catch up with the Celtics. Robinson as the starting five isn't worrisome, but his injury history is a concern. Unless Sims makes a huge offseason jump, having him as the primary backup isn't a safe bet. A trade for Kessler or Richards would be massive.