Knicks Re-Sign Precious Achiuwa
The New York Knicks have made their most Precious move of the offseason.
The Knicks announced the re-signing of center/forward Precious Achiuwa on Tuesday late afternoon, opting to bring back the former Toronto Raptor back aboard for another tour. Per Fred Katz of The Athletic, Achiuwa has inked a one-year deal worth $6 million.
Achiuwa, 24, joined the Knicks in late December as part of the deal headlined by OG Anunoby's arrival. It took him a while to land a lasting spot in the metropolitan rotation, but he later became a metropolitan depth star as both Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson endured injuries.
Thus continues Achiuwa's metropolitan basketball quest, which began when he and his family moved from Nigeria to The Bronx shortly before he entered high school. Achiuwa would attend Our Saviour Lutheran School in the borough before moving onto St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, NJ, playing that success into national recognition and a year at Memphis. He later became a first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, chosen 20th overall by the Miami Heat.
In 49 appearances with the Knicks (including 18 starts), Achiuwa averaged 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. The latter tally would've been a career-best in a full season. New York was 9-3 when Achiuwa earned at least 10 rebounds in a game last year, a hidden but nonetheless vital reason why they finished with 50 wins and the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Set to enter his fifth season, the 6-8 Achiuwa is now a quick answer to any question the Knicks had about interior depth, as New York was relatively bereft behind Robinson following Hartenstein's move to Oklahoma City. Entering Tuesday, Jericho Sims was the top spell option for Robinson, with Summer League star Dmytro Skapintsev and rookie Ariel Hukporti likely battling for fringe minutes behind him.