Knicks Tried to Sign French Olympic Center Before Precious Achiuwa: Report

Getty France's #26 Mathias Lessort takes a dunk in the men's Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Before the New York Knicks eventually brought back Precious Achiuwa, they tried to exercise the NBA draft rights of French Olympic breakout star center Mathias Lessort, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.

“New York inquired about Lessort’s interest in signing but the player and team were unable to find common ground,” Begley wrote in his SNY’s mailbag on August 8 before the gold medal match between Team USA and France.

The 6-foot-9 Lessort played a key role in France’s run to the gold medal game. He had 13 points, five rebounds and one block against Canada in the quarterfinals. Then he went for 10 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block against Germany in the semifinals.

The 28-year-old Lessort averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in just 13.6 minutes off the bench as France’s Sixth Man.

Before his breakout performance for the Les Blues, Lessort was coming off a title run and Euroleague First Team selection.

Lessort helped the Panathinaikos win its seventh Euroleague title with 17 points and six rebounds in the Finals against Real Madrid. He will return to Panathinaikos for the final year of his current contract.

The French big man was the 50th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. His draft rights exchanged hands twice before eventually landing in New York.

In 2019, Lessort’s draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the four-team trade that saw Jimmy Butler land in the Miami Heat. On the eve of the 2020 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired his draft rights in the Daniel Oturu trade. On draft night, Lessort’s draft rights were a throw-in in the shrewd trade that netted Knicks Immanuel Quickley.

Knicks Gain Flexibility in Precious Achiuwa’s One-Year Deal

With the Knicks unable to bring Lessort to the NBA, they eventually re-signed Achiuwa to a one-year, $6 million deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Achiuwa received more than the veteran minimum by waiving his Bird rights, giving the Knicks flexibility in moving him at the trade deadline. Achiuwa is trade-eligible beginning December 15.

Combining Achiuwa’s salary with Miles McBride ($4.7 million) or whoever the Knicks sign with their $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception could bring back a player in the $11 to $12 million range.

Veteran centers in that salary range are Orlando Magic’s Mo Wagner ($11 million), Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac ($11.7 million), Portland Trail Blazers’ Robert Williams III ($12.4 million), Houston Rockets’ Steven Adams ($12.6 million) and Atlanta Hawks’ Larry Nance Jr. ($11 million).

In 49 games, including 18 starts, the 24-year-old Achiuwa averaged 7.6 points on 52.5% field goal shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.2 minutes. In the Knicks’ playoff run, the four-year veteran posted 5.2 points on 48.8% field goal shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 20.5 minutes across nine games.

Larry Nance Jr. Is Potential Knicks Trade Target: Former NBA Exec

Nance Jr. is one of the more realistic trade targets for the New York Knicks, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, who previously worked with ESPN and as vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies.

“At a much lower level, the player who makes some sense in this role behind [Mitchell] Robinson and could probably be had is Larry Nance Jr., who right now is the third center on the depth chart in Atlanta and has a digestible $11 million expiring salary,” Hollinger told The Athletic’s Fred Katz on August 5.

Nance originally signed a two-year, $21.6 million extension with the New Orleans Pelicans last year. But the Pelicans traded Nance to the Hawks this offseason as part of the Dejounte Murray package.

The 6-foot-8 Nance averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 19.9 minutes across 61 games off the bench last season for the Pelicans. He also shot a career-high 41.5% from 3-point distance last season, although attempting only 1.1 per game.

Nance, 31, was the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 27th overall pick in 2015. He played with Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle and Hart with the Lakers.