Why It's Important Knicks Get a True Backup to Andre Drummond

The New York Knicks did well this offseason to land Andre Drummond on a minimum deal in the wake of Mitchell Robinson's exit. This gives New York a legitimate main backup to Karl-Anthony Towns that can take the load off or step in when needed.

However, as solid as Drummond is, the Knicks don't boast a decent third big behind him—in fact, they don't have any additional center signed. And that's a problem for a few reasons.

Knicks need to keep KAT fresh post-title

Towns demonstrated how essential he is to New York winning a championship this past postseason. He thrived with an increased offensive workload and noticeably stepped up on defense, proving instrumental in delivering a title.

However, there could also be a price to pay after that immense effort. Towns will enter the 2026-27 campaign with less offseason recovery time than every other star big not named Wemby as a direct result of playing into the middle of June. He also doesn't have the youngest of legs anymore as he nears 31 years of age.

Given this core has proved it can win a ring and is all returning, keeping guys fresh throughout the year could/should be a point of emphasis for the Knicks, who know they can beat anyone with their starting five all on the floor. It'll be much more difficult to do that in Towns' case, though, if it's just Drummond and a riskier third big behind him.

It'd be disappointing to see Towns need to go all-out at the start of the year, on the heels of helping deliver a title, because the team skimped on having multiple actually playable depth pieces. That'd also set up Towns to be more drained come playoff time if this is the setup all year long, which works against a repeat bid.

New York must be prepared in case disaster strikes

A third center would also become a much larger issue for New York if it ends up settling, and then an injury hits KAT.

Towns has enjoyed good health since coming to the Big Apple, playing in 72 and 75 games over two seasons. But there's no guarantee that it will stay the same in 2026-27. He's got the aforementioned weight of a Finals run to deal with, plus he's now played in 37 additional contests in New York thanks to two long playoff trips.

Say all of that eventually catches up to the big, and it's Drummond starting for several weeks or months. Then the Knicks would be at risk of seeing losses pile up with their frontcourt down to an aging center and a possibly weaker third big.

Though a few unplanned L's won't derail New York's season, they will matter come playoff seeding time and could result in a less favorable side of the bracket.

This makes it important that Leon Rose puts this team in the best possible position to weather any injury storm if his top center goes down.

Drummond comes with this own worries to keep in mind

Towns isn't the only one to worry about on the injury front, though. Notably, Drummond appeared in only 63 regular-season games in 2025-26, and that number nosedived to just 40 the year before.

Unfortunately, this is the reality that comes with depending on a big who's only getting older. He has a track record of proven skills, especially as a rebounder, which is enticing to a contender in New York. But there's also the looming threat of Father Time causing a steep decline or lack of availability.

The Knicks have hinted that they're not totally satisfied with Drummond alone this summer by making runs at Moussa Cissé and Karlo Matković. They present the ideal kind of third big who's young and has clear upside, but also some NBA production that adds confidence they could step up if Drummond were to go down.

New York might be forced to change its criteria if it can't land a more exciting No. 3 center, and thus opt for another older veteran like Kelly Olynyk or Dwight Powell to at least plug the hole for now. But no one in that tier of names offers a real solution like a Cissé or Matković.

Thus, it's vital Rose lands a bigger fish who could become available as a cut or trade candidate in the lead-up to the season. Otherwise, the Knicks will enter opening night in a concerning place at center and face multiple negative impacts.

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