Insider: Knicks Monitoring Pair of Centers

ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst has more or less assured New York Knicks fans that they’re keeping their most glaring need front and center.

Windhorst offered two names for Knicks fans to keep an eye on during Monday’s edition of “NBA Today,”, mentioning that Walker Kessler and Robert Williams of Utah and Portland remain on the metropolitan radar “as the season goes along.”

“The Jazz are difficult to make a deal with, they have very high asks, but it’s possible Walker Kessler could change teams and he fits very nicely with what the Knicks want to do,” Windhorst said. “I would say any team looking for a center is going to watch Robert Williams closely this year. After the Blazers drafted Donovan Clingan and they’ve got Deandre Ayton, who’s probably not very tradeable, on their roster … I think the Knicks will be among the teams monitoring him.”

This is far from the first time that a renowned insider has connected either Kessler or Edwards to the Knicks but it’s perhaps inspiring to see a name like Windhorst confirm that the team is still looking to make changes as the season inches closer to tip-off.

By now, the story behind the Knicks’ five-spot is well-known, almost notorious, throughout the league: New York lost Isaiah Hartenstein early in the free agency session after the depth star chased a big contract in Oklahoma City and struggled to find a replacement. Incumbent starter Mitchell Robinson is dependable enough but is coming off several injuries that ate away at an otherwise strong 2023-24 season.

Behind him is Jericho Sims, who has yet to make a lasting impression in the regular rotation, and Precious Achiuwa, who was re-signed late in the offseason but views himself as more of a power forward than a pure five. Last year’s Knicks often saw Josh Hart take over the center’s role and a returning Julius Randle could well be asked to do the same this time around.

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