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The New York Knicks have solved their back-up center problem, at least for one season.
Per a report from ESPN's Shams Charania, the Knicks have signed Andre Drummond to a one-year, $3.9 million deal that address their biggest roster need of the offseason.
Things were always going to be difficult for the Knicks after owner James Dolan's declaration that the Knicks wouldn't be going into the second apron no matter the circumstances. After that announcement, it was almost a given that the Knicks weren't going to be able to bring back the entirety of their championship winning roster and the biggest departure by far was homegrown center Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks have a strong center to headline their team in Karl-Anthony Towns, but he can't play 48 minutes per game and with Towns' tendency to enter foul trouble, or at least put himself at risk for it early in games, the Knicks have the need for another backup center more than most teams.
For years, Robinson filled that role, but with him heading to the Boston Celtics, the Knicks needed to replace him as soon as possible.
Drummond excellently addresses those needs. At 32-years-old, Drummond's production has slipped severely in his production and averaged just 6.4 points per game offensively, but he's still been excellent at using his size on the court and pulled down 8.4 rebounds per game along with 0.8 blocks per game.
A strong defensive presence is exactly what the Knicks need out of a backup center and Drummond's scoring production shouldn't be much of a concern for New York concerning the void that Drummond needs to fill.
Drummond is also a major upgrade over Robinson in one area, the aspect of Robinson's game that stands out as the weakest and one that was zeroed in on by opposing teams during the playoffs: free throw shooting.
Robinson was just a 40.8% free throw shooter this past season, leading team's to "hack-a-Mitch," or intentionally foul Robinson to send him to the line. Drummond shouldn't have that issue as he was a 63.1% shooter from the free throw line this season, still not stellar, but a massive improvement on Robinson's numbers.
As it stands, the Knicks don't need to do much this offseason beyond retaining as many of their free agents from the past season as they can and in the event that they do lose out on their free agents, address those roster needs quickly.
Finding a center to replace Robinson on the bench was by far their biggest need and bringing Drummond on board fixes that problem and leaves the rest of the offseason wide open for the Knicks to make any extra moves.
Continue reading...
Per a report from ESPN's Shams Charania, the Knicks have signed Andre Drummond to a one-year, $3.9 million deal that address their biggest roster need of the offseason.
Things were always going to be difficult for the Knicks after owner James Dolan's declaration that the Knicks wouldn't be going into the second apron no matter the circumstances. After that announcement, it was almost a given that the Knicks weren't going to be able to bring back the entirety of their championship winning roster and the biggest departure by far was homegrown center Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks have a strong center to headline their team in Karl-Anthony Towns, but he can't play 48 minutes per game and with Towns' tendency to enter foul trouble, or at least put himself at risk for it early in games, the Knicks have the need for another backup center more than most teams.
Replacing Robinson
For years, Robinson filled that role, but with him heading to the Boston Celtics, the Knicks needed to replace him as soon as possible.
Drummond excellently addresses those needs. At 32-years-old, Drummond's production has slipped severely in his production and averaged just 6.4 points per game offensively, but he's still been excellent at using his size on the court and pulled down 8.4 rebounds per game along with 0.8 blocks per game.
A strong defensive presence is exactly what the Knicks need out of a backup center and Drummond's scoring production shouldn't be much of a concern for New York concerning the void that Drummond needs to fill.
Better At the Stripe
Drummond is also a major upgrade over Robinson in one area, the aspect of Robinson's game that stands out as the weakest and one that was zeroed in on by opposing teams during the playoffs: free throw shooting.
Robinson was just a 40.8% free throw shooter this past season, leading team's to "hack-a-Mitch," or intentionally foul Robinson to send him to the line. Drummond shouldn't have that issue as he was a 63.1% shooter from the free throw line this season, still not stellar, but a massive improvement on Robinson's numbers.
As it stands, the Knicks don't need to do much this offseason beyond retaining as many of their free agents from the past season as they can and in the event that they do lose out on their free agents, address those roster needs quickly.
Finding a center to replace Robinson on the bench was by far their biggest need and bringing Drummond on board fixes that problem and leaves the rest of the offseason wide open for the Knicks to make any extra moves.
Continue reading...
