3 backup centers for Knicks to target at trade deadline

Trade season has kicked off a little earlier than usual this year; we saw a few trades go down on December 15th, then came the D-Lo for Dorian Finney-Smith deal a few weeks later, and last week, the Suns nabbed Nick Richards from Charlotte for Josh Okogie.

After reportedly being interested in Richards to fill its backup center position, the New York Knicks now needs to pivot and look elsewhere. Luckily for the Knicks, there are plenty of big men out there.

The first, non-trade option for the Knicks would be... do nothing and wait for Mitchell Robinson to return, then hope he's in good enough health to make a difference for New York in the home stretch of this season.

Terrible idea? No, because a healthy Robinson probably is the best option on this list... but a risky proposition, because if Robinson is rusty (and you can't blame him if he is) than Thibs will be forced to play Jericho Sims in big postseason moments. And that's not what we're hoping for — with all due respect to Sims.

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1. Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons

This trade relies on Detroit possibly selling at the deadline; if the Pistons decide to go all-in on a surprising season, Stewart might be out of the question. But if they're still keeping eyes on the future, Beef Stew would be a nice option in a pinch to shore up the backup five in New York, and he could probably be acquired for salary filler and a few draft picks.

It seems Detroit favors Jalen Duren over Stewart anyway, and keeping both young centers long-term doesn't make a ton of sense. Again, I would be surprised if Detroit wanted to move off any rotation players — the vibes are great over there right now — but it's worth a phone call.

Stewart hasn't quite lived up to the expectations of a first-round pick, and he's averaging a career-low 5.8 points per game this season. But that drop in production doesn't mean his game has fallen off a cliff; Detroit has just gotten a lot better as a team and fewer minutes and shots to go around.

2. Jonas Valančiūnas, Washington Wizards

It's not pretty in Washington right now... and that's putting things gently. The Wizards are 6-36, pretty comfortably the worst record in the NBA. That probably won't change during the second half of the year, either.

Valančiūnas is doing what he usually does; getting a lot of rebounds and scoring on post-ups. He's putting up 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, both a little below his career average, but that's mostly because his minutes are down as Washington tries to let rookie center Alex Sarr develop.

You know what you're going to get with Valančiūnas; his ceiling isn't high, but he can score a few baskets off the bench in a pinch. It wouldn't be a thrilling trade, but it would be a marginal upgrade, and those are the kind of upgrades that help in the postseason.

3. Robert Williams III, Portland Trail Blazers

I understand that trading for Robert Williams because your regular backup center is struggling to stay on the court sounds kind of ironic, but Williams is healthy right now and would play the "Mitchell Robinson role" perfectly in Robinson's absence.

He hasn't cracked the floor much in Portland this year — not because he's not good enough to play for the Blazers, but because it seems the franchise knows he will be traded and doesn't see any point in risking injury while they look for a deal.

A healthy Williams is probably the biggest difference-maker on this list. He's a legitimately good defender and rim-running big man who understands his limitations on offense and can shut down opposing bigs with his paint presence.

Other potential center targets for New York

Moussa Diabate, Charlotte Hornets

They already traded one center, why not call up the Hornets and see if they'll part with another? Diabate isn't a big name, but he's an energy big man and has provided Charlotte with some nice minutes this year.

Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns

I'm not wishing this on the Knicks, I promise. Just listing the options. Don't get mad at me.

Day'Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets

Weirdly, the Knicks might not be able to afford Sharpe. He's a young center who will probably get an extension this offseason, and it wouldn't make much sense for the Knicks to be the team that extends him. But Brooklyn is having a fire sale, so might as well check in.