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Knicks Lose Another Center Option to Rival

The New York Knicks will compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers with Tristan Thompson on the roster.

Jeremy Brener

Oct 31, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (12) and New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) look to rebound in the second quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Oct 31, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (12) and New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) look to rebound in the second quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images
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The New York Knicks are watching another free agent center leave the market.

According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers are signing Tristan Thompson to a one-year deal, keeping him with the franchise that chose him No. 4 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Thompson, 33, averaged 3.3 points per game in 49 appearances for the Cavaliers last season, his first year back with Cleveland since the 2019-20 campaign. He would have played more, but he was handed a 25-game suspension back in January after testing positive for some performance-enhancing drugs.

Thompson spent his first nine years in Cleveland before bouncing around the league with the Boston Celtics in 2020-21 and playing with the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls in 2021-22. He went unsigned for most of the 2022-23 campaign before joining LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the playoffs, where the team went all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

That led to a return to Cleveland, where he was with the Cavs throughout the entire season.

The Knicks could have looked at Thompson as a potential option for their center woes. The Knicks have been seeking an answer at the center spot since Isaiah Hartenstein left in free agency on a three-year, $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team is settling with the in-house options of Mitchell Robinson, Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa, but looking for another option has always been in the cards for the Knicks.

While Thompson would have been a potential piece to the puzzle for the Knicks, the team has to go back to the drawing board and look at other replacements.

Thompson and the Cavs are set to meet on the second week of the regular season on Oct. 28 at Madison Square Garden.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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