Knicks Decline Qualifying Offer for Precious Achiuwa

The New York Knicks are likely signaling the end of Precious Achiuwa’s run with the team.

According to The Athletic insider Fred Katz, the Knicks did not extend Achiuwa a qualifying offer before the deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Had the Knicks given Achiuwa a qualifying offer, he would have been a restricted free agent. That would have allowed the Knicks to match any contract that Achiuwa signed in free agency.

However, given the Knicks spending over the past week with the Mikal Bridges trade and the OG Anunoby extension, putting Achiuwa on an offer sheet would have forced New York into the hard cap even further.

Achiuwa averaged 7.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 24.2 minutes per game with the Knicks last season after he was acquired in the Anunoby trade with the Toronto Raptors.

Is there a chance Achiuwa comes back? The Knicks might want him to return, but it will be very difficult to see a world in which Achiuwa returns to New York. He will likely look to sign with a team that can give him a multi-year extension, and the Knicks simply aren’t able to do that at the moment.

If the moves they made earlier this week didn’t happen, Achiuwa’s chances of staying with the Knicks would have been greater. However, the Knicks made their choice and will likely see a future without Achiuwa.

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