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The New York Knicks are trading reserve big man Jericho Sims to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the Kyle Kuzma-for-Khris Middleton trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Knicks will receive Delon Wright and cash in exchange for Sims, who has been widely considering the most likely Knick to move at the deadline for most of the season. Now, that move has come to pass.
The Bucks also received the draft rights to Mathias Lessort, while the Knicks picked up the draft rights to Hugo Besson, per SNY.
Sims was the No. 58 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and the Knicks were optimistic about him growing into a real contributor. As an athletic big man with a long wingspan and solid mobility, he has all of the tools needed to become a viable NBA center. In four years in New York, though, that just hasn’t quite come together.
Sims has largely played sparingly with the Knicks, never appearing in more than 52 games in a season or averaging even 16 minutes per game. Earlier this season, with Mitchell Robinson sidelined due to injury, he had a real chance to earn rotation minutes behind Karl-Anthony Towns at center. He struggled when he saw playing time, though, and when Precious Achiuwa returned from his own injury, he largely lost his chance at meaningful playing time.
While the Bucks may not be done wheeling and dealing, there is some room for Sims to at least potentially get on the court for them down the stretch. Brook Lopez plays the bulk of their minutes and center, but Milwaukee lacks a traditional backup center on its roster at the moment. Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken on more backup center minutes this season and will likely retain that role in the playoffs, but if the Bucks want to keep him fresh in the regular season, trying out Sims does make some sense for them.
Wright hasn’t played much for the Bucks this season, and it has been a struggle for him offensively when he’s been on the court. He has always been a slightly below-average shooter, but at his best he has been a strong point of attack defender in the backcourt. The Knicks, given their limited rim-protection, need as many useful perimeter defenders as they can get, so now Tom Thibodeau gets a look at a possible wing for his bench for the second half of the season.
