The New York Knicks‘ search for Isaiah Hartenstein‘s replacement has led to several tryouts with free-agent big men.
One of them was Omer Yurtseven but it did not lead to an NBA contract, per Substack’s NBA insider Marc Stein.
“The Knicks recently auditioned free agent big man Omer Yurtseven, among others, but did not elect to sign him. Panathinaikos of Greece has publicly stated interest in bringing Yurtseven to the EuroLeague,” Stein wrote on August 18.
The Knicks, instead brought back combo big man Precious Achiuwa on a one-year, $6 million deal, after Hartenstein left for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-year, $87 million contract.
The 6-foot-11 Yursteven played for the Miami Heat in his first two seasons in the NBA, including their Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2023, after going undrafted in 2020. He last played for the Utah Jazz last season, appearing in 48 games, including 12 starts. He averaged 4.6 points on 53.6% shooting and 4.3 rebounds.
Yurtseven produced 11 points and 18 rebounds in his final game with the Jazz in a 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors as Walker Kessler and John Collins sat out the season finale.
The Jazz waived Yursteven on July 1 after drafting Duke standout big man Kyle Filipowski in June’s NBA Draft.
Yurtseven has 17 playoff games, all with the Heat, under his belt.
Walker Kessler’s Trade Cost Doubled
The Knicks were also interested in Kessler, the Jazz center Yurtseven was backing up.
However, despite Kessler on a cheaper rookie-scale contract, the price of trading for him was too rich for the Knicks’ blood.
“All of the intel out of Utah has been ‘it’s a high price’ for Walker Kessler. They’ve been asking for a couple of first-round picks,” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” on August 9.
The Jazz’s price appeared to double after SNY’s Ian Begley reported on July 9 that they were asking for at least one first-round pick in previous discussions with teams.
“The Knicks have shown interest in Kessler,” Begley said. “I was told subsequently that teams had offered two first-rounders to Utah for the past couple of weeks but were rebuffed.
“Obviously, we don’t know the value of the first-round rounders offered. Not all first-round picks are created equal,” he said. “There are protections on these picks, but that gives you a little idea of how the Jazz value Kessler and what would it take to pry him out of Utah.”
Kessler has more upside and is way better than Yurtseven. The Jazz’s 23-year-old starting center finished last season as the league’s second-best shot blocker with 2.4 per game, behind San Antonio Spurs Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama (3.6).
Knicks Tried to Sign French Olympic Sixth Man
The Knicks also tried to bring French Olympic breakout star center Mathias Lessort to the NBA, per 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 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, 5 rebounds and 1 block against Canada in the quarterfinals. Then he went for 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 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.
Yurtseven and Lessort could team up for Panathinaikos next season.
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