The New York Knicks are heavily rumored to be in the market for a center to replace Mitchell Robinson next season and moving forward. Their pursuits have reportedly ramped up in that regard as of late.
SNY’s Ian Begley reported that the Knicks have been communicating with several prominent centers who they could bring on board this summer, and one could be Chicago Bulls star Nikola Vucevic (h/t Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney):
“I think they’ve also had casual trade talks with some high-salaried veteran centers on the trade market. So we’ll continue to keep an eye on that,” Begley said.
Anonymous exec thinks Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic could elevate the Knicks’ outside attack
Further, Deveney revealed that a Western Conference executive views Vucevic as a five man that does not fit Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s mold, but could help the team run an offense that has not been seen in New York since the days of Kristaps Porzingis:
“The Knicks, that is not really Tom’s kind of big man, but when you look at Boston, they can play five-out. They can put five shooters on the floor. That is going to be key for any team that wants to keep up with them. The Knicks can’t do that, but you add a guy like (Vucevic) and that’s a game-changer,” the executive said.
The Knicks being able to play five-out would blow the top off of their offense in 2024-25. Vucevic made 1.2 threes per contest last season. Though he shot a poor 29.4 percent from outside, he could revert back to his mean — 35.6 percent shooting from outside from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
In a perfect world, Vucevic connecting at that clip and volume, next to four Knicks starters in Jalen Brunson (40.1 percent), OG Anunoby (39.4 percent) Mikal Bridges (37.2 percent) and Julius Randle (31.1 percent) would make the Knicks one of, if not the most dangerous three-point shooting teams out East.
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The pros and cons for the Knicks adding Vucevic
Would Vucevic be willing to play the fifth fiddle in New York? Is he at a point in his career where he is ready to relinquish being an 18-point, 10.5-rebound walking double-double that gets him his 15.9 shot attempts per night? Would the Montenegrin center be willing to do a bit more dirty work in the interior and transform his game defensively, akin to the way a former volume scorer like Milwaukee Bucks star Brook Lopez has for the sake of winning?
These are questions that Vucevic would have to ask himself. Also, Knicks president Leon Rose and his staff would have to take that, as well as the $41.48 million he’s owed over the next two years, and the touches to go around for the four scorers already on their roster into consideration when determining if the two-time All-Star is their guy or not.
The Knicks had a proven concoction that worked for them on offense in 2023-24. Isaiah Hartenstein and Robinson’s tenacity in the screen-and-roll and around the rim on both ends complemented coach Thibodeau’s game plan. There would be trade-offs in acquiring Vucevic in that respect, especially negatively on the defensive end. Thus, the Knicks’ defense and pace should be taken into much consideration with whoever they decide to acquire to man the middle next year, but the perks that could come with a Vucevic addition should be kept in the Knicks’ mind as the summer progresses.