Last season with the New York Knicks, Precious Achiuwa averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. (Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)
While they have one open roster spot, the Miami Heat aren’t currently in a position to acquire another veteran minimum contract without exceeding the $187.895 million luxury tax threshold.
That’s not stopping them from exploring.
Before signing guard Dru Smith last month, the Heat reportedly worked out free agent big Kai Jones. The Heat severely lacks frontcourt depth, so it made sense that they’re doing their due diligence with an otherwise dry market.
Miami is known to circle back on either players they’ve previously had interest in, or former players of theirs. On queue, the Heat is reportedly kicking tires on bringing back another familiar face: Free agent big man Precious Achiuwa, according to the Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.
“As often has been the case, the Miami Heat are looking to their past as a potential answer for a current question,” Winderman wrote. “In this case, the Heat have been in ongoing discussions with Precious Achiuwa, the team’s 2020 first-round pick, about a possible spot in the team’s power rotation, which is particularly limited at center.”
The Heat drafted Achiuwa, who turns 26-years-old later this month, No. 20 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. He spent one season with Miami before getting traded for guard Kyle Lowry the following summer. Last year with the New York Knicks, Achiuwa averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds on 53.0 percent true shooting.
New York did not extend him the qualifying offer last offseason, but he returned on a one-year deal. This summer, however, the Knicks elected to go in a different direction with free agent forward Guerschon Yabusele, who had a breakout 2024-25 campaign with the then-beleaguered Philadelphia 76ers.
Achiuwa had little run in his lone season with the Heat. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds across 12.4 minutes. He played in 61 games (four starts), but was at the back-end of the rotation for most of the season.
Achiuwa’s done a decent job carving out a backup big role in his first five seasons, but many of his same issues (defensive consistency, shooting, rebounding) still exist. He’s one of the better backup bigs available — but that bar is lower than the earth’s crust.
Would you take a flyer on Achiuwa? Let us know in the comments!
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