Knicks Named Landing Spot for Suns Center

The New York Knicks could look to trade for Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.

Nov 26, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic (20) in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks are thinking of ways to pivot at the center position if their current setup fails to work the way they hope it does.

After losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency, the Knicks settled on re-signing Precious Achiuwa and having Mitchell Robinson step back into his spot as the team's starting center.

But Robinson has often been stung by the injury bug — he was limited to 31 games last season — and isn't the same kind of floor stretcher that Hartenstein was, putting the Knicks in a precarious position looking for other center options.

The Athletic's John Hollinger and Fred Katz recently had a discussion and Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic was floated as a potential trade target for the Knicks.

Nurkic, who turns 30 later this month, averaged 10.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the Suns this past season, proving that he can still be a key contributor in the league. It was Nurkic's first season in Phoenix after he was acquired via trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, where he played from 2017-23, making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Nurkic and the Suns struggled to reach their sky-high expectations last season, finishing an underwhelming sixth place in the Western Conference before getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Suns have hardly any future assets and will have to look to blow it up if they want to move forward. However, the way they can do that without completely tearing the operation apart is by offering Nurkic to a team like the Knicks in need of a center to help them take that next step.

The Suns would likely ask for Robinson and/or point guard Miles McBride in any trade, but the Knicks should consider any possible deal that improves their center rotation at this point.

Nurkic may be costly, but the Knicks have a duty to set Jalen Brunson up for success, and a move like this could be exactly what New York needs.

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