Heat Big Man Could Become Knicks Target

The New York Knicks are seeing their options at the center position thin with teams hopping on to signing big men early in free agency.

It all started when Isaiah Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million deal to leave the New York Knicks to join the Oklahoma City Thunder, setting a high market value and a domino effect in place.

Soon, big men started flying off the open market yesterday. The likes of Goga Bitadze, Mo Bamba, Mason Plumlee and others soon found teams, leaving the Knicks with the leftovers in free agency. Among the potential players for the Knicks to possibly sign is Miami Heat big man Thomas Bryant.

Bryant, who turns 27 later this month, is looking for potentially his fifth different team in five years. But, as a Rochester native, Bryant could look to return to his home state.

He was involved in a draft day trade with current Knicks forward Josh Hart to the Los Angeles Lakers, where the pair began their NBA careers. Bryant then began to bounce around the league after being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2018. He played four seasons for the Wizards, struggling to find consistency, before signing back with the Lakers two summers ago.

Since then, Bryant has become a globetrotter, heading to the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and winning a championship to joining the Heat in free agency last summer.

He played in just 38 games for the Heat this past season, averaging 5.7 points per game.

Bryant has been part of some good teams lately and he has seen what it takes to win an NBA championship, even if he wasn’t part of the Nuggets’ playoff rotation. Perhaps what he needs is an opportunity to play, and he’ll shine. In his best season back in 2019-20, Bryant averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds across 46 games, so he has proven that he has talent to hang with in the NBA.

The Knicks have a unique opportunity where they need a center and they can give a player like Bryant, who hasn’t played much as of late, a chance to get valuable minutes and a shot at winning another ring.

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