Knicks face questions at center position ahead of active NBA offseason

Mitchell Robinson is injury prone. Isaiah Hartenstein is due a lot of money. Precious Achiuwa is a restricted free agent, and there’s always Jericho Sims.

And then there’s the field, and with the laundry list of assets at the Knicks disposal, New York is in prime position to go big game hunting this offseason.

Provided, of course, there’s a target available worth the organization’s attention.

After injuries depleted a deep Knicks roster in another second-round playoff exit, New York has an active offseason ahead, and chief among the items on the to-do list for a front office hoping to improve the roster for a deeper run next year is shoring a center position set to become compromised this summer.

The questions unfortunately begin with Robinson, one of few homegrown Knicks draft picks on a roster set to undergo a makeover this summer.

Robinson has appeared in 60 games in a season just once over the last four years. This past season, he suffered a surgery-inducing stress fracture in his left ankle on Dec. 8, recovered in time to return for the end of the regular season, then suffered another surgery-inducing stress fracture in the same ankle to start the second round of the playoffs.

Robinson is a dominant offensive rebounder, shot-blocker and lob threat at the rim, and he is beloved by an organization that has watched him grow both as a player and as a man since they selected him 36th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.

His draft class, however, predates Leon Rose’s arrival as president of basketball operations by nearly two full seasons, and this front office has already proven capable of making tough trades with former draft picks.

Last season alone, the Knicks traded Quentin Grimes (No. 25 overall in 2021) RJ Barrett (No. 3 overall in 2019), Immanuel Quickley (No. 25 in 2020) and Obi Toppin (No. 8 in 2020).

While it would be difficult under normal circumstances to move on from a player who, when healthy, has been a dominant paint presence in New York for years, Hartenstein’s emergence as a starting center complicates matters given his pending free agency.

Robinson has two more years left on his contract worth roughly $27.2 million in total.

Hartenstein is entering unrestricted free agency this summer and is expected to command a long-term contract worth an average annual value north of $20 million.

Which puts the Knicks in a tough spot because they are over the salary cap and, with the roster as currently constructed, can only re-sign him to his Early Bird max of a 75 percent pay raise.

Hartenstein made $9.245 million last season and would be in line for a $16.178 million Year 1 salary from the Knicks with a $72.48 million salary over the life of a four-year deal.

That amount averages out to an $18.12 million average annual salary, which pales in comparison to what a bad team like, say, the Detroit Pistons could offer with a contract paying $25 million a year.

The NBA is a business, and the business goes both ways.

It would be difficult for the Knicks to re-sign Hartenstein using cap space given the team must re-sign OG Anunoby this summer, as well.

However, if they were to trade both Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, who is on a $19 million expiring contract, while taking an impact player on a smaller salary in return, they would be able to create just enough space to sign Hartenstein to a larger deal than his Early Bird rights would allow.

The Knicks, of course, also have to consider other extensions on the horizon.

After all, Anunoby could be looking at a contract in the $30-40 million per year ball park, Jalen Brunson could be looking at an extension in the $40-50 million per year range, and then there’s Julius Randle, and the Knicks will either have to sign him to a lucrative contract extension or trade him for another star who is due a max level salary.

Is there such a star at the center position available for the Knicks this summer?

Joel Embiid appears to be staying put in Philadelphia as the 76ers attempt to re-tool around the dominant big man and his co-star Tyrese Maxey.

Karl-Anthony Towns could also be off the table for the Minnesota Timberwolves, even though they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in disappointing fashion in the Western Conference Finals, given the Wolves were a dominant regular season team.

Perhaps a player like Houston’s Alperen Sengun could be made available. Or perhaps Hartenstein takes the Knicks’ best offer and sticks around with Robinson to keep one of the league’s best one-two punches at the center position intact.

The Knicks also have a decision to make on Achiuwa, who is from The Bronx and is entering his first-ever restricted free agency period.

The Knicks own first right of refusal on any competing offer sheet Achiuwa may receive this summer, meaning they can match another team’s offer to keep the versatile big man in New York if they so choose.

While retaining Achiuwa may not be top priority in New York, here are some notes:

• Achiuwa and Anunoby are good friends who arrived together in the trade with the Toronto Raptors
• Achiuwa and Anunoby had the best two-man net rating of all Knicks two-man units since the trade this season
• Achiuwa got better as the season progressed, proving capable of guarding multiple positions
• Achiuwa appeared in all but one regular season game after his trade to New York and can play both the four and the five
• Achiuwa also had sporadic performances on offense and fell out of the playoff rotation until Robinson went down in the first game of the second round

Decisions, decisions, and the Knicks have plenty to make if they hope to improve the roster enough to make a deeper playoff run next season.