Knicks Desperately Need One Position

The New York Knicks have very little holes as a team, but they do have a big problem that they need to fix in the coming months.

The team lost Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who signed him to a three-year, $87 million contract. The Knicks needed

ESPN writer Tim Bontemps identified the big man spot as the Knicks’ biggest need going into the season.

“if there is a position of need for coach Tom Thibodeau’s team, it’s at center. Starting big man Mitchell Robinson is back, but ankle injuries limited him to 31 games last season,” Bontemps writes. “Thibodeau, one of the league’s elite defensive tacticians, has consistently stressed rim protection, and Hartenstein played a critical role in the Knicks finishing with the No. 7 paint defense and No. 2 seed in the East last year. Individually, Hartenstein ranked No. 8 in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed at the rim among players with at least 200 attempts.”

Losing Hartenstein is a tough blow for the Knicks, but asking Robinson to replace him simply isn’t possible. It will be incredibly difficult for Robinson to turn into a $29 million per year player overnight, even if that’s exactly what Hartenstein did.

Lightning usually doesn’t strike twice, so the Knicks need to have a committee to replace Hartenstein. It starts with Robinson at the forefront, but the Knicks will need assistance from Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as well. The team may also rely on Julius Randle to play some minutes at the center position to fulfill the need.

If those options still aren’t enough for the Knicks, they will likely be active on the trade market come February looking for a big man to soak up some center minutes and protect the rim as the team tries to make a postseason run.

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