Raptors Center Said to Have Drawn Interest from Knicks

Bruno Fernando may have had some options this summer.

The Toronto Raptors newest backup center reportedly drew interest from the New York Knicks earlier this offseason, per SNY’s Ian Begley. It’s unclear what the Knicks were prepared to offer Fernando, but the 26-year-old Angolan big man opted to ink a one-year non-guaranteed deal with Toronto for next season.

New York has been looking for more center depth after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency earlier this summer. The Knicks re-signed former Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa, but remain thin in the frontcourt behind Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle.

Fernando appears to have the inside track to Toronto’s final open guaranteed roster spot this season. The organization has 14 players on guaranteed deals with Fernando entering training camp as the only player on a traditional non-guaranteed contract.

If Fernando does make it to opening day, his contract will guarantee for $2.1 million next season and he’ll slide into Toronto’s third-string center spot behind Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk.

The 6-foot-9 center has played in five NBA seasons and spent last year with the Atlanta Hawks where he averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 58.3% from the floor. He was the 34th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft for the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to Atlanta.

For his career, Fernando is averaging four points and 3.3 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game.

Toronto does have one open roster spot available for training camp if the organization wants to make one more signing before heading to Montreal next month.