The New York Knicks were looking to have a deeper bench last season. Especially with center Mitchell Robinson, who only appeared in 17 games during the 2024-25 NBA season. The longest-tenured Knicks player missed a significant part of the campaign as he was recovering from an offseason ankle injury. He made his season debut on Feb. 28.
One of the major concerns for the Knicks was their frontcourt depth. With Robinson out, the team had to rely heavily on All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. And when Towns missed some time off, New York settled for having to put Jericho Sims as the starting center for five games before trading him to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Daniel Theis, a veteran center, recently disclosed that he was offered a position with the Knicks. However, the German big man rejected the offer before opting to play in Europe.
This information was disclosed by Theis in a recent “Euro Insiders” podcast episode.
“I could have gone to the Knicks, for example, but it was more for insurance that Mitchell Robinson came back from a long injury,” the 6-foot-8 center said. “And then I talked to Tom Thibodeau and he said, ‘Yeah, you will be like insurance in case he can’t play and this and that.’ It’s like what I did with P.J. Tucker.
Theis had to decide whether to sit on the bench for the New York Knicks or play heavy minutes in Europe. The big man ultimately returned to Europe and continued his career.
“For me, it was like, ‘Okay, if I sit for the rest of the year, what are my chances in the summer?’ So if I’m like, ‘Okay, I go overseas to Europe and play great, I might have a better chance.’ That was my whole intention and thought behind it — just consider Europe and see what it is.”
The New York Knicks are expected to be long-time title contenders
The New York Knicks showed last season that they have what it takes to be a serious threat in winning the NBA championship. They pushed the Indiana Pacers to six games in the Eastern Conference finals.
Based on their performance in the 2025 NBA playoffs, ESPN writers anticipate the Knicks challenging for the championship for a long time.
“The Knicks locked in Mikal Bridges on a four-year, $150 million extension last month after getting Jalen Brunson inked to his own long-term deal last season,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton wrote. ““New York now has five players –Bridges, Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart — under contract through at least 2028. That’s the vision the franchise had for this group over the past 18 months to, in theory, give the team a long runway.”
The Knicks have an impressive core with Towns and Jalen Brunson that could lead them to win the NBA title.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
