Knicks' Precious Achiuwa Recognized in NBA Re-Draft

New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa is five years into his career in the NBA, and he's already been part of three teams.

The No. 20 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft was chosen by the Miami Heat, but had a pit stop with the Toronto Raptors before heading to the Knicks in the OG Anunoby trade.

Achiuwa was taken at No. 27 overall in HoopsHype's re-draft exercise of the 2020 class.

"The Miami Heat passed on Maxey with the 20th pick in the 2020 draft, choosing instead to draft Precious Achiuwa despite already having a star in Bam Adebayo down low," HoopsHype wrote.

"In hindsight, obviously, that was a mistake, although he is at least still in the NBA getting nightly minutes. Achiuwa lacks skill as an outside shooter and is thin, which hurts him when setting screens and on the glass, but he can do some scoring on put-backs and cuts off the ball."

Achiuwa, 25, has emerged into a decent role player in the league, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Knicks this past season. He is a free agent this summer, but the Knicks aren't likely to retain him for next season.

"Achiuwa seemed to be most likely to be gone among players who were contributors this season, not signing back with the Knicks last summer until all other options were exhausted," Knicks insider Steve Popper said.

"But there was a dissatisfaction with playing time under Thibodeau — and the coaching staff having equal dissatisfaction about the defense and consistency provided by Achiuwa."

If Achiuwa were to leave in free agency, the Knicks would either need to give rookie Ariel Hukporti a larger role, or they will need to sign someone who could be his replacement.