Knicks Have Multiple Reasons to Explore Jericho Sims Trade Reunion

The Knicks' search for a third center has come to a halt. Since Dallas matched New York's offer sheet for intriguing youngster Moussa Cisse, it’s been eerily quiet on the home front for Leon Rose. The free agent big man market has dried up and it's seemingly a waiting game now.

There’s been smoke about a potential trade for Moussa Diabate or Ryan Kalkbrenner from the Hornets. There's been flirtations with the Pelicans for months regarding Yves Missi and Karlo Matković. One player who hasn't been mentioned much that could also fit the bill is old friend Jericho Sims.

The uber-athletic big man saw an increased role last season after the All-Star break and showed promise. In 28 contests to close the year, Sims averaged 6.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. He even recorded his first career triple-double.

Looking at Sims' situation, both as a player and in Milwaukee, there's several motives that could spur New York to bring him back.

Jericho Sims checks multiple boxes for Knicks' center search

The bouncy Minnesota native showed he can be a rotational piece while sharing minutes with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma up front. In what was his first full season as a Buck, Sims made a career-high 67 appearances and 19 starts. He averaged 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game.

Considering the hot center market earlier this summer, Sims seemingly did Milwaukee a free agency favor by not testing the open market and opting into his $2.8 million contract for next season. Picking up his option doesn’t necessarily mean he will return to the Bucks, however, as they are in the midst of a rebuild and have a glut of big men.

At best, Sims is looking at a third-string role behind the newly acquired Kel'el Ware and Myles Turner. The Bucks will also need to find frontcourt minutes for promising 6-foot-10 rookie Nate Ament and 6-foot-9 forward Ousmane Dieng. Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype recently mentioned how Milwaukee has 17 players under contract and will need to get down to 15 by opening night.

The Knicks could simply swap Pacôme Dadiet (who would give the Bucks a multi-positional young piece to develop during their rebuild) and his $2.9 million salary for Sims. That'd also allow Tyler Nickel to be signed to the final roster spot the team can afford. Waiting out Milwaukee's roster crunch is another option, though New York may opt to avoid the risk and reincorporate Sims sooner rather than later.

Even though Sims is not much of a rim protector despite the athleticism and has zero offensive game, he is more than serviceable as a stopgap center, which is exactly what the Knicks are looking for. It also doesn't hurt that the 6-foot-10 big man is mostly familiar with this core group and has shown chemistry with Jalen Brunson in the past—posting a +5.8 rating together, per Cleaning The Glass.

A reunion with Sims isn't the sexiest of moves, but the Bucks could be in a place to entertain it, he'd be a perfect fit to hold the fort until the trade deadline as a third big, and he wouldn't cost the Knicks much to acquire in reality. This makes it a wise move to explore another run for him in the Big Apple.

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