Time For Knicks To Finally Start Trusting Jericho Sims
Problems with their skyscrapers are towering over the New York Knicks' recent run of success.
Coney Island's Cyclone has nothing on the Knicks' summer, which has presented a rollercoaster in a mere two weeks.
The long days began with the re-signing of OG Anunoby and the reported trade for Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges, another stone in the Villanova gauntlet. Such early, expensive activities have led the Knicks to take in the next stanzas as spectators.
The Philadelphia 76ers re-upped with first-round foes Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre while adding a hodgepodge of veterans headlined by Paul George. As most of New York saluted the new backcourt, the team took on a muted presence at last week's draft and the first of July that opened the NBA's free agent frenzy. It proved to be a busy, celebratory day for centers ... none of whom were signed by the Knicks.
By now, no Knick fan needs to be reminded of Isaiah Hartenstein's impending departure, as the two-year New Yorker has reportedly inked an $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hartenstein is one of several big men in the market for larger wallets this offseason.
Andre Drummond was part of the Sixers' plan to reload while Jonas Valanciunas will be paid handsomely to headline the Washington Wizards' latest rebuild. Across town, Nic Claxton is getting nine figures to stay with the Bridges-less Nets while Goga Bitadze (Orlando) and Kevin Love (Miami) will remain stationed in Florida.
The recent signings put the Knicks in a bit of a bind and cast a bit of a pall over an otherwise exciting offseason. A fanbase that featured a few too many convinced that an 11th-hour deal for Hartenstein was in the cards could now be partly pinning its hopes, even facetiously, on yet another Taj Gibson return. Precious Achiuwa is likewise in play though he is reportedly being courted by several other contenders.
But like Taylor Swift before them, it's possible that what the Knicks have been looking for has been here the whole time. All that's left to speculate is whether the team will finally start to fully trust reserve swatter Jericho Sims, whose club option could well become one of the most important moves of the offseason.
One can argue that the Knicks probably shouldn't have to worry about the center spot anymore: the days of Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley have been long forgotten and the traditional center's role, one where a tall guy is expected to clog the paint and eat up rebounds, is an endangered species, as even the big men are expected to make some sort of contribution to the outside game, leading to scoreboards that resemble pinball machines.
But the Knicks have thrived by keeping this role alive with Robinson and, to a lesser extent, Hartenstein. Robinson was on a historic offensive rebounding pace before an ankle injury interrupted his season in early December, helping the team overcome struggles from a Julius Randle working off aftershocks from his own surgery. The rebounding margin, one partly saved by Josh Hart's interior emergence, often determined the Knicks fate: New York lost the board battle on only 18 occasions in the past regular season and posted a 5-13 record in said contests.
The Hartenstein-based developments leave Sims, Hukporti, and Mitchell Robinson as the Knicks' rostered centers. It's probably not wise to expect a Brock Purdy-like impact from Hukporti but the team seems satisfied enough with Robinson despite recency bias making his supposed medical woes a talking point.
That brings the conversation to Sims, set to enter his fourth season out of Texas. Despite signing yet another affordable deal, Sims has struggled to carve any sort of lasting role in the metropolitan rotation. This year, for example, saw his minutes drop from the prior campaign and he had the dreaded "DNP-CD" initials by his box score for 16 of 18 late games before injuries pressed him into service during the conference semifinal series against Indiana.
Even as his name lingers in the movement discussion (the Knicks reportedly may add to the Bridges trade with Brooklyn to stabilize salary) Sims has built something at least somewhat resembling lasting trust within the organization, as he's entering his fourth season on a team that hasn't hesitated to deal its homegrown talents away: excluding the four chosen at last week's NBA Draft, Sims, Robinson, and Miles McBride were the only ones to get a call from New York management.
It's time the Knicks start trusting Sims, perhaps one of the NBA's smaller centers at 6-9 but his sterling athleticism, namely a lauded vertical, could prove to be a differencemaker as the team enters its post-Hartenstein era. Hints of trust in Sims emerged late in the regular season: with the Knicks needing a win over Brooklyn in their penultimate game (one that helped them stay on pace for the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed), head coach Tom Thibodeau went with Sims' "toughness" in the starting five over Achiuwa, which played partial difference in a narrow victory over a Nets team with nothing to lose.
Expanding that trust could be one of the keys to ensuring this Knicks season takes the next desired step.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks