NO ONE Saw This Coming…

NO ONE Saw This Coming…

No one saw this coming for the New York Knicks. As with one contract left to sign in free agency, the Knicks have now been linked to a completely new face who we have not heard about yet. While fans have also wondered about the potential return of one of their players over the last couple of seasons, while the Ben Simmons noise still does loom for the Knicks as everything is still playing out. And we’re going to break all this down, guys. But real quick before we jump into it, if you guys are part of that 59% that’s not subscribed to Nick’s Digest, make sure to subscribe for daily New York Knicks updates. There’s a lot more news coming out right now and you want to stay updated on all of it. So, make sure to subscribe and have those post notifications on and let’s jump into the video, guys. What’s up? Welcome back. It’s Chris here. We’re going to jump right into things as always because guys, there is a lot to go over on the Knicks as free agency is still a big thing right now as despite the fact that it’s the middle of August and that free agency has slowed down. We’ve seen all the big stuff happen. The Knicks specifically, but other teams as well, still have some moves to make. They do have two more contracts left to sign. One of them being that rookie minimum deal, which there has been some noise about, but right now it’s gone kind of radio silent as the Knicks are more focused on the other contract, the veterans minimum deal that they still have to sign a player to. Now, the man we’ve heard linked to the Knicks the most has been Ben Simmons. The Knicks like the fact that Simmons has a lot of size so that he can play a big man position and give them more depth in that front court while also being a lead ball handler at the same time. Very few people in the NBA have that ability. And Simmons is the only one in free agency, and that’s frankly because the fact that he doesn’t look at the rim or shoot the ball whatsoever. I mean, like every year, we’ve seen videos of Ben Simmons shooting jump shots and looking confident, but we know Ben Simmons. We know this game. He’s 29 years old. None of us are expecting things to change from what they have been. The man averaged five points, five rebounds, and five and a half assists last year between the Clippers and the Nets and ended up getting played off the court in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, the sole series that the Los Angeles Clippers did play in. Now, maybe it works out, maybe it doesn’t, but it is a situation to monitor because the Knicks, they do still have interest in other faces. And that’s exactly what we’re going over because we’ve seen another face pop up in this Knicks situation. As it was mentioned by SNY that one position the Knicks may want to heavily consider using this spot for is that center position. Their current rotation is made up of Carl Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and Ariel Huckporty. If they start the double big lineup with Robinson and Towns, this essentially leaves them one backup five to start the year. They have interesting alternative options at center like sliding newly signed Gershon Yabusale down a position or applying OG on Anobi there for a little bit and could always move Robinson back to the bench. However, signing a depth piece at the position like Thomas Bryant gives them more security in case injuries hit. So obviously that is a move the Knicks would be able to make. And Bryant last year between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers played 14 and a half minutes per game. He put up six and a half points, four rebounds, and one assist tonight, shooting 32% from three, 41 12% on corner threes and 51% from the field in a general sense. Bryant is not a very good defender, but he does give some solid offense and some good rebounding off the bench and would give the Knicks more depth at a position that one of their key players in Mitchell Robinson is known to be quite injuryprone. So there is some arguments to thinking, all right, well let’s maybe look for traditional big. Now again, when it comes down to it, there obviously will be the Knicks considering big men and then at the same time they’ll consider using Ben Simmons at that position as well, which is one of the reasons why the Knicks have interest in Simmons is because they think it covers more than one area for the team, which it does. Again, it just comes with the caveat of your bench shooting is going to be abysmal. If I mean, if Ben Simmons is out there and then he’s on the floor at the same time as Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart, that’s going to cause some serious log jams and it is going to cause some serious offensive issues as well, which will give the Knicks a lot of problems and it it’ll be a real question if Simmons is even able to play come the playoffs or if the lack of shooting is going to just completely hinder them unless he’s completely playing the center position because Mitchell Robinson or Carl Anthony Towns or someone is dealing with an injury. So, we do have to be aware of that. Now, obviously at the same time, something we could see the Knicks do is play Ariel Huckporty, which I do want to see them do. I I’m not really concerned if the Knicks do a double big lineup and don’t sign another center because frankly, I think there’s two situations here. One, I do think that Mike Brown will stagger the minutes quite well between Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson despite starting them both to where it’ll work out and one of them will be on the floor for a bit. But also, Mike Brown’s not afraid of small ball and at the same time, he’s not afraid of playing younger guys. And Ariel Huckporty, as far as like NBA experience, he’s younger, but he’s also 23 years old, so he’s not super young. He can handle it. And I do think Hucki is ready for that moment. He’s hungry. He wants it. So, I would like to see the Knicks do that. And I do think Yaboo could be a small ball five with a head coach that is not afraid to use small ball. Again, I’ve mentioned this a few times with the Knicks. I do see a real world where they do entertain starting Duce McBride next to Jaylen Brunson having male at the three, OG at the four, and Carl Anthony Towns at the five. The reason I believe that is because Mike Brown used the starting five in Sacramento when they made the playoffs of De’Aran Fox, Malik Monk, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, and Damontis Sabonis. And the first guy off the bench for that team was Dave Mitchell for one of De’Arenar Fox or Malik Monk usually. So, what we’ve seen is Mike Brown not only use small ball, but be used to using small ball for very, very heavy portions of the game, specifically at the start of the game as well. Yeah, they had some other big men they could have thrown out there. But Sabonis is more of a center in fairness. And Towns is way more versatile. He can play the four or the five a lot better than Sabonis could play the four given Sabonis could back in Indiana when Miles Turner was on because Miles Turner is a very different type of center. But the fact that he’s such a good three-point shooter and a rim protector, so it kind of covers for Sabonis really well. They were a really good pairing together just the team wasn’t that great. But on top of that, when you look at Sabonis, who’s been playing center with the Kings and was playing center under Mike Brown, they did have Javale McGee on that roster. They had other guys who could have given actual minutes, but they usually just use Sabonis at that five. So, if we’re seeing Towns the five a lot, I don’t think we should be too surprised, especially if he does run if Mike Brown does run a Brunson McBride lineup, just considering how well Deuce McBride has fared in that position as well, which is just something important to think about. Now, we remember Bryant from the Eastern Conference Finals. He appeared in four games and hit some timely threes against the Knicks. I mean, he shot 50% from three. Obviously, he only took a couple attempts, but also at the same time, there was only so many games that he played in. The game that he played his best was in the game where the Knicks got eliminated, where he hit three big threes every single time. It took the wind out of our sales even more. However, there is also something to know about Bryant and that’s that Pathanikio has found a replacement for Jonas Valen Junior’s potentially is Telesport who’s an overseas sports network did mention that according to their executive sources Thomas Bryant is the top candidate to strengthen Pathaniki’s at or Paniki house at the center position. The two sides are in advanced negotiations and if everything goes to plan the big man could sign a contract up to $3 million per year. So Bryant could see a situation similar to what Daniel Ty did with the Knicks and decide to go overseas instead of sticking around and playing here where he would get less minutes. So that would be a real situation that we could look at. But then there’s also a guy like Precious Achua. Aua put up throughout his two years in the playoffs and last season he played four and a half minutes. So it’s not really you could judge it so much. He put up three and a half points, three rebounds, and nearly a block per game in his 17 career playoff games with the Knicks. Now, in his first season with the Knicks, he played around 20 minutes per game, including getting some starts because the Knicks were so injured throughout that time where he put up five points, four rebounds, shot 48% from the field as well, and played some solid defense on top of that, blocking over a shot per game. So, we saw a Chua do well with the Knicks in the playoffs, the year that he actually got minutes in that 2024 playoff run. And Aua is someone who fans have wondered if there’s any thought to actually bringing him back to the team. Now, SNY mentioned the whole Thomas Bryant. You remember that he’s bounced between five teams in his 8-year career, but can step in as a pinch and give some offensive rebounding and rim deterrence. And so can Precious Achua, though. Achua, who played 20 minutes per game last year, averaged six and a half points, five and a half rebounds, and an assist per game, getting nearly a block and a steal per game as well in fairly inconsistent minutes to say the least. Now, he was a positive defender. He shot 50% from the field and there was a moment where Achua was actually a very helpful player for the Knicks. Now, since then, we haven’t really heard anything from Precious Achua in regards to where he’s signing. He did buy a house in South Beach, Miami. So, maybe that’s a hint that he is looking to go back to the Miami Heat where it all began. But also, he is staying in touch with his Nick teammates. I mean, Josh Hart mentioned, “Do y’all ever raise your feet when you’re in a public bathroom so they don’t see your shoes?” Well, no. I don’t personally. And Achua responded, “What’s the bro even be talking about half the time?” And the the team is clearly still all close from that era. And Precious Achua still talking to them. So there’s a world where at least on the side of Aua, he’s interested in coming back. It’s always felt like a Chua was definitely going to be gone. I’ve said that repeatedly. But it is interesting that we haven’t heard anything in regards to Achua. Someone who the Knicks did have for a little bit. And I think the Knicks have considered bringing back Precious Achua, but do want to go in a different direction and figure if we’re going to bring in Precious, who’s not exactly someone who plays an exact position and does have his flaws, we might as well just bring in Ben Simmons instead, which is kind of the way that I think. I’m not saying they’re similar players. I’m just saying they both they’re kind of ambiguous when it comes to their position. Obviously, Ben is a little less because he could play point guard, he could play power forward, he could play center. A two is a tweener between power forward and center. It does give the Knicks another big, but so does Ben Simmons in a lot of ways. And I think the Knicks have just decided we’re just going to compartmentalize this. Ben Simmons is the answer instead of Aua in this situation. Maybe if Simmons gets signed, we’ll see some interest pop back up in a Chua, but I really don’t think so. What do you guys think? Should the Knicks be interested in Thomas Bryant or Precious Achua? Do you want to see them just sign Ben Simmons because he kind of covers what both of those guys do except for, well, Bryant’s ability to hit threes? Let me know in the comments down below. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications. Thank you so much for watching. Have a great day and go Nick Knicks.

Chris Gallagher breaks down the New York Knicks being linked to a new target amidst questions about Precious Achiuwa.

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