The Knicks are trying to sort out their center depth after losing Mitchell Robinson to the Boston Celtics, and Drew Eubanks looks like the kind of stopgap that can create more problems than answers.
At 29, Eubanks has already bounced around the league, and that journey says plenty. He has value as a backup - and that has been the lesson for years - but he is not built to be a meaningful piece for a team trying to make a real run. If New York is counting on him to be part of a regular 10-man rotation, that is a risky bet.
Phoenix already lived through that version of the story. The Suns were pushed into adding Eubanks while operating in the second apron, trying to stack cheap depth around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Even then, Jusuf Nurkic was clearly the better option on both ends of the floor, flaws and injury issues included.
That is why the idea of Eubanks helping New York for a long stretch feels shaky. Karl-Anthony Towns will need support across a full regular season, but Eubanks would only be able to fill in here and there depending on the matchup.
What makes the comparison sting a little more for the Knicks is that Phoenix just found a more useful answer of its own. The Suns signed Duop Reath to bolster their backup big options after Mark Williams needed shoulder surgery, and Khaman Maluach will not be thrilled about the move. Still, Reath gives them more to work with.
Reath can start if needed, defends better than Eubanks, and has shot better than 41 percent from deep. He is expected to open the season coming off the bench behind Oso Ighodaro, assuming Ighodaro gets through training camp and makes the team, but he has a path to a larger role.
He brings the kind of energy and interior presence the Knicks would have liked to stash at the back of their own rotation. Eubanks may have enough in him to flash for a game or two, especially when he is battling bigger bodies inside, but that usually only goes so far.
Phoenix has already seen the full arc. A few decent outings, a little promise, and then the rotation starts to move on. If Eubanks lands on the standard roster, the All-Star break feels like the point where that experiment could fade out again.
In Other News...
Suns Suddenly Face A Center Decision They May Not Escape
Mark Williams injury has quickly turned a preseason concern into a real roster issue for the Suns, whose center depth was already thin enough to draw attention. With limited financial flexibility and a frontcourt that now leans on Khaman Maluach, Oso Ighodaro and CJ Huntley, Phoenix is suddenly looking at a position group that could be tested far earlier than it wanted.
The next move is not obvious, and that is what makes this worth watching. The Suns are considering whether to add a free agent center, but they may also give the group some runway and revisit the market in January after seeing more from their young bigs and getting a better read on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Suddenly Had A Frontcourt Problem They Couldnt Ignore
A frontcourt injury forced the Suns to move quickly, and the answer is a familiar name to people who have followed the organizations depth-chasing for a while. Phoenix is signing center Duop Reath after Mark Williams went down with a shoulder injury, giving the team another big body to help stabilize the rotation while it sorts through the early-season fallout. Reath, who spent time overseas before making his NBA debut with Portland in the 2023-24 season, gives the Suns an experienced option at a position that suddenly needed one.
For Phoenix, the timing matters as much as the addition itself. The Suns are counting on Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro to carry most of the center minutes, but injuries can change that picture fast, especially when a team is already trying to build out its interior depth. Reaths arrival at least keeps the Suns from having to lean too heavily on the same two names, and it raises the next question the team will have to answer as the frontcourt picture settles: how much more of the season will it need to cover there, and by whom? [Read more 🡒]
Suns Just Sent Another Message About Their Crowded Backcourt
The Suns have continued trimming the edges of their roster with training camp still taking shape, and the latest move keeps the focus on a backcourt that already looks crowded. Jordan Schakel, a guard with limited NBA experience, was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract after spending time in the G League and overseas, a familiar sort of transaction for a team trying to sort out its guard depth and developmental pipeline.
Schakels next stop is expected to be the Valley Suns for the upcoming season, which fits the pattern Phoenix has leaned on for players who still have something to prove in its system. For a team balancing immediate rotation concerns with long-term depth, these decisions can be easy to miss, but they often say plenty about where the organization sees the most competition and where it wants to keep a close eye on players closest to the next call-up. [Read more 🡒]