The Knicks’ center situation just got a little more complicated, and Andre Drummond is the one feeling it.
New York took a low-cost swing at Moussa Cisse, but Dallas matched the offer sheet, leaving the Knicks right back where they started. That makes Drummond more important than he already was, and it also sharpens the limits of what he can realistically cover.
His signing made sense on paper. Drummond can rebound, soak up regular-season minutes and keep the Knicks from leaning too hard on their starters every night. But if New York is serious about another title run, he can’t be asked to carry the whole load at center.
What the Knicks need from him is pretty specific. He has to own the glass, hold up well enough in switches to stay on the floor, and keep the second unit from getting buried when the stars rest.
The Cisse pursuit made the front office’s thinking clear. This wasn’t about landing a headline name. Cisse averaged 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds last season, so the appeal was simple: a young, inexpensive option behind the veterans.
That path is closed now, and the alternatives are hardly clean. The Knicks can still keep looking, but the remaining options all come with strings attached - cost, age, fit, or a lack of playoff trust.
That’s the concern hanging over all of this. New York has the stars to chase a championship, but it also needs to avoid a scenario where one frontcourt injury blows up the rotation.
Drummond can help. The problem is that the Knicks need more than help. They need certainty, and right now they don’t have it.
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The larger frustration is the same one that has followed the Sixers for years, even as the names around Embiid have changed and the expectations have stayed high. They keep getting back to the postseason, they keep looking dangerous on paper, and they keep running into the same wall before the finish line, which is exactly why every new splash in Philadelphia lands with a little extra weight in New York. [Read more 🡒]