Rumors: New York Knicks Targeting ‘Strong’ Most Improved Player Candidate In Free Agency

The season is in an indefinite suspension so that the players, fans, and everybody involved will be spared from the spread of coronavirus – and this break may have given the New York Knicks more time to think of players that they would pursue and bring to Manhattan.

The player that they are targeting this upcoming free agency are currently producing numbers similar to the unicorn that they’ve shipped to Texas two years ago.

SportsNet New York posted that the Knicks’ front office are liking what they are seeing from Detroit Pistons’ forward Christian Wood this season and are hoping to bring him into the team in the offseason. The 24-year old big man is starting to thrive on the system of coach Dwayne Casey after his team claimed off waivers by Detroit.

He’s had multiple assignments in the G-League and cannot seem to find a crack in the regular rotation of the teams that signed him. After getting undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-10 forward from UNLV had short stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, and the New Orleans Pelicans before being picked up by the Pistons.

After trading long time center Andre Drummond to the Cavaliers before the trade deadline, Wood was given an opportunity and is making the most out of it. Since the trade, he’s become the team’s starting big man and is already norming numbers other teams failed to bring out of him. Since taking the starting position, he’s been averaging 23 points and 10 boards for the Pistons – his last five games’ averages are 26.6 points, on 62.1 percent shooting, and 9.4 rebounds on 37 minutes per game.

Per same reports from SNY, the numbers he’s been producing is comparable to what the Knicks lost when they traded away Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks two years ago in terms of per 36 minutes, making him a strong candidate for the Most Improved Player plum – Wood is averaging 22 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks while the Latvian forward that the Knicks picked fourth overall in 2015 is norming 22.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.4 blocks for Dallas.

With the Knicks are trying to bank on youth, expect New York to be one of the suitors for the California-born Wood. He, however, tested positive with coronavirus but is feeling strong. The season is currently on hold and the offseason is still a long shot but once healthy, Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle might get a huge help on the frontcourt.