The New York Knicks have had a better offseason than any other NBA organization, simply because they've been the team with the most to celebrate. Despite some intermittent turbulence, they eventually followed up their 2025 Emirates NBA Cup victory in Las Vegas with a historically dominant playoff run that culminated in a championship. The team's front office was also able to keep the vast majority of their title-winning roster, too.
They did lose Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics, but Leon Rose signed Andre Drummond, known for his rebounding ability, to replace the center. The one player the Knicks have yet to replace on their regular roster, though, is third-string big man Ariel Hukporti. The 24-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers for more than the minimum, effectively taking New York out of his market.
Almost two months later, the Knicks are still without a backup for Karl-Anthony Towns' backup. And Nick Richards, viewed as the best remaining option, just signed a deal to help support Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo's quest to dethrone New York. Unless the Knicks commit to one of the remaining free agent big men on the fully-guaranteed contract that no one else in the league seems to want to sign, it seems like a lock that they'll turn to a training camp battle between veteran big men — on non-guaranteed deals — to decide who to add to their title defense.
Knicks have plenty of options — and they all have plenty of experience
Mike Brown has some intriguing young talent on his Knicks roster, but is ultimately coaching the NBA's reigning champions. At the end of the day (or, rather, end of the game), New York is looking to win basketball games.
That could make it somewhat of a positive that the vast majority of the remaining centers on the free agent market are tenured NBA veterans. Bismack Biyombo, Mason Plumlee, and Kelly Olynyk, three available centers who played for the San Antonio Spurs last season, have 41 years of experience in the league between them as a trio.
The Knicks are no longer trying to end a championship drought that stretched across six different decades. They've gone from the hunters to the hunted, metaphorically speaking. And while they'll certainly still give young players like Mohamed Diawara the room they need to grow, they do need to accept the reality that a better center option may not arise during the regular season.
It's likely that, if New York really needs to upgrade their center depth, one or more of the center rooms across the league will wind up being superfluous. If it doesn't happen ahead of the trade deadline, someone usually shakes free on the buyout market.
However, the Knicks aren't excused from winning games at a high rate to start the season. Homecourt advantage will be as important as ever in a hyper-competitive Eastern Conference Playoff. And while Towns is one of the NBA's best players at any position, he's also led the league in offensive fouls for three years in a row. New York needs the proper support behind him to ensure they don't get caught off-guard at the wrong moment.
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