The Knicks are still hunting for a third center, but the market has gone quiet enough that the front office may have to get creative. New York’s push for Moussa Cisse ended when Dallas matched the offer sheet, and since then the free-agent big man pool has basically gone still.
That leaves the Knicks circling a handful of names in trade talks. There has been chatter around Hornets bigs Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner, plus ongoing interest in the Pelicans’ Yves Missi and Karlo Matković. But there’s another option that fits the bill and hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention: Jericho Sims.
Sims, a familiar face in New York, showed more last season after the All-Star break. Over 28 games to finish the year, he put up 6.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest, and he also logged the first triple-double of his career.
His situation in Milwaukee gives the Knicks a few reasons to look seriously at a reunion. Sims carved out a role with the Bucks while playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma in the frontcourt. In his first full season there, he appeared in a career-high 67 games and made 19 starts, averaging 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game.
He also did Milwaukee a favor by opting into his $2.8 million contract for next season instead of testing free agency when the center market was heating up. That doesn’t guarantee he stays put, though. The Bucks are rebuilding, and they already have a crowded group of bigs.
At the moment, Sims looks like he would be fighting for third-string minutes behind newly acquired Kel'el Ware and Myles Turner. Milwaukee also has to make room for frontcourt pieces like rookie Nate Ament and Ousmane Dieng, and Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype recently noted that the Bucks have 17 players under contract and need to trim down to 15 by opening night.
That kind of roster squeeze opens a door for New York. One path would be a straight swap involving Pacôme Dadiet, whose $2.9 million salary could give Milwaukee a young, multi-positional player to develop during the rebuild.
That move would also let Tyler Nickel take the final roster spot the Knicks can afford. Another possibility is simply waiting for Milwaukee to deal with its roster crunch, though New York may not want to gamble and could prefer to bring Sims back sooner.
On the court, Sims isn’t a flashy answer. He’s not a true rim protector despite the bounce, and he doesn’t bring much offensively.
But as a temporary center solution, he fits what the Knicks need. He already knows the group, and he has shown chemistry with Jalen Brunson before, including a +5.8 rating together, per Cleaning The Glass.
It may not be the loudest move New York could make, but it checks a lot of boxes. Sims would give the Knicks a serviceable stopgap at center, he wouldn’t cost much, and Milwaukee’s roster situation makes a deal plausible. For a team still searching for depth in the middle, bringing back Jericho Sims is at least worth the look.
In Other News...
Jalen Brunson Just Set The Tone For Knicks Title Defense
Jalen Brunson is already sounding like a player who understands the next job on the calendar. After helping deliver an NBA championship, the Knicks guard talked about the need to know when celebration ends and preparation begins, saying the team has to flip the switch and get ready for what comes next. He made it clear he is not treating this as a finish line, either, with no thoughts of walking away from the game and plenty of interest in keeping the title in New York.
The bigger takeaway is how quickly the conversation around a championship can turn from champagne to accountability. Brunson said the timing of moving on from the celebration was part of the mindset shift, and for a Knicks team trying to defend what it just won, that tone matters. The title is in the books, but the harder part is keeping everyone locked in on the grind that follows, and Brunson has already started framing that message for the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Title Defense Just Ran Into The NBAs Newest Problem
The Knicks championship banner is still fresh, but the first real complication of a title defense arrived before the season even starts. After winning the 2026 NBA championship, New York spent the offseason navigating the leagues hard financial realities, and longtime center Mitchell Robinson was one of the casualties of those second-apron constraints. It left the front office trying to patch a familiar spot in the rotation while keeping the rest of the roster intact.
Andre Drummond is now in the mix to help absorb those minutes, but the expectation is clear enough: he is there to steady things, not to duplicate what Robinson brought. And the same CBA pressures that shaped New Yorks offseason were part of the larger conversation around Russell Westbrooks retirement, a reminder that the leagues new rules are changing more than just payroll spreadsheets. For the Knicks, the challenge is no longer just celebrating a title, but figuring out how to defend it with less margin for error than before. [Read more 🡒]