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Every team, every topic, everywhere. This is Beliefs.
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The Knicks are looking for Mitchell Robinson's replacement, and they're monitoring two players in free agency more than anyone else. We're gonna break down all of these latest reports today.
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The Knicks are monitoring backup centers. After losing all their depth at the center position, New York is currently looking at backup center options on the market. They're looking at the trade market and free agency. And here are the players on their list.
Shout out to Ian Bagley for giving us this following information. According to him, there will be mutual interest between Kevon Looney and The Knicks when free agency opens. And then Jake Fisher gave us this following update yesterday. The Knicks are expected to land Kevon Looney.
But Looney, he's not the only player on the Knicks list. Take a look at these names. Shout out to Ian Bagley once again for giving us this following information. According to him, this is where it gets tricky. If you're not going to go above the second apron, you only have the veteran's minimum or that $6 million exception to use. But you can't even use the whole $6 million because you have to fill out your roster. If you're the Knicks, you know there are free agent centers out there. And Andre Drummond, Kevon Looney, and other veteran bigs that I think would be a big drop-off from Mitchell Robinson, they're available. There's also the trade market. Moussa Diabatte in Charlotte, they have a surplus of bigs over there, so that's another name New York can look at. Speaking about the trade market, I know a lot of people wanted New York to go after Yves Missi in New Orleans. But unfortunately, according to new updates, that doesn't sound like it's going to happen. Shout out to Ian Begley once again for giving us this following update on the Knicks roster moves. According to him, Yves Missi is a name that's been tossed around for New Orleans. But New Orleans had no appetite to move Missi prior to the draft. I think on this one, Leon Rose in his front office has earned the trust of the Knicks fans. Obviously, for doing what they've done so far. So, you got to trust Leon Rose and his group and see where they go.
I'm sure they have several pivots in plans as we move forward. But these aren't all the names. There's someone else on that list that I have not mentioned yet. Let's take a look.
Shout out to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points and NBA Insider for giving us this following information. According to him, the New York Knicks are monitoring Kevon Looney, so we hear that name again, but also Nick Richards as possible front court options after Mitchell Robinson's departure.
Looney had already been linked to the Knicks as a possible target, while Richards is another name emerging as a candidate to help fill Robinson's void in the front court.
As much as Kevon Looney has been mentioned, Nick Richards, he's almost been mentioned just as much. But there's one thing about Looney that we need to talk about. So many people have been telling me, Kevon Looney is an absolute guarantee. New York will be adding him to the roster. And maybe you're right, maybe that will happen. However, it's not a sure thing. If anything, it's not a guarantee.
We have some conflicting reports that we need to speak about. While Jake Fisher mentioned the following, the Knicks are expected to land Kevon Looney, one NBA insider in Steph Bondi, an insider that actually covers the Knicks, he's pushing back against those reports. He said the following, Shout out to Bondi for giving us this following information. According to him, regarding reports of Kevon Looney's expected signing with the Knicks, I heard that's not accurate. Could the Knicks still sign Looney? Sure, but I'm reporting, it's inaccurate to say it's expected or close at this point in time. If we're only looking at free agents on the market, then the few names we just heard, they're likely not going to happen, or not expected to happen at this point in time. Kevon Looney, he's number one on that list. Now, we also heard Andre Drummond, but last I checked, he did not want to take the minimum. And if he doesn't want to take a minimum, there is no way New York is going to pay him more money to get him on this team. He's slow already, he can't jump, he can't really rebound, he can't even score offensively like he used to. There is no reason to add that man to any team. So he's likely off the list. That means there's one player on that list that's currently emerging as a legit candidate to make this Knicks roster. And that's Nick Richards. Now in my opinion, if you're asking me, I don't want Richards, I don't want Looney, I don't want Drummond. The only players I want the Knicks to get, they can't get in free agency. They would need to trade for them. And that's Yves Missi, but Missi, he's off the table. And the other player is Moussa Diabatte. And Diabatte could be available, given all the bigs that are in Charlotte right now, and the fact that he may not have a role in Charlotte at this point. And if he doesn't, New York will likely make a trade to get him on this team. I don't want Nick Richards. Let's make that clear. But given all the reports we just reviewed, it's either going to be Richards or Looney in free agency. And hopefully, that means Diabate via trade. It's not going to make up for Mitchell Robinson. It's not even going to come close. Robinson's impact defensively, it was game changing. You can't replace that. Not at all. He was a perfect fit for this team. But you can come close to replacing that if you make the trade and the signing in free agency that I just mentioned. But as of right now, if you're looking for a legit center behind Karl-Anthony Towns, you're going to have to trade for that. And whoever they sign on free agency, that's going to be the backup to the backup on the bench for New York. And shout out to channel sponsor FanDuel, America's number one sports book, for giving us this updated information and these latest odds on who's going to win the Eastern Conference next season. And finally, things have changed in the right way.
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