The New York Knicks signed restricted free agent Precious Achiuwa to a three-year contract worth $10.5 million on Tuesday, removing one variable from their summer roster calculus and preventing rival teams from making an offer sheet run at the rotational big man.

Achiuwa, 25, averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds across 18.3 minutes in 44 games this season, split between spot starts and bench minutes behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Jericho Sims. The deal carries a team option on the third year and includes standard injury protections, according to two people familiar with the terms. One rival front office executive who watched the negotiation window said the Knicks moved earlier than expected, likely to avoid a June bidding scenario where a team with cap space could force New York to match an inflated sheet or lose the asset outright.

The extension matters less for what Achiuwa produces on the floor and more for what it preserves in the front office's option set. New York enters the summer with $142 million committed to six rotation players, and restricted free agency is a notoriously inefficient market for teams trying to preserve flexibility. By locking Achiuwa now at a below-market number, the Knicks avoid the two-week matching window that would have tied up cap space and potentially blocked other moves. One Western Conference GM noted the Knicks paid roughly $3 million below what an offer sheet might have forced them to match in July, when teams with space traditionally overpay to create decision points for tax-paying contenders.

The deal also clarifies New York's frontcourt depth chart heading into the February 6 trade deadline. With Achiuwa secured and Towns entrenched as the starting five, the Knicks now have cover to explore moving Sims or using him as salary ballast in a multi-team deal for wing help. One assistant coach on a playoff team said New York has quietly asked about perimeter defenders in the $8-12 million range, and the Achiuwa extension removes the risk of being left thin in the paint if a deal materializes before the buzzer.

Rival agents noted the contract sets a new floor for restricted free agent bigs with limited shooting range but plus switchability, a profile that typically commands $4-6 million annually in the current market. Achiuwa's $3.5 million average annual value suggests the Knicks leveraged his restricted status and limited outside interest to secure a hometown discount, though one agent close to the player said the guarantee and third-year option were worth more than the headline number suggests.

Watch whether New York moves Sims before the February 6 deadline, which would signal the front office views Achiuwa as the primary backup center through next season. Also track whether the Knicks use the newly freed cap flexibility to take on a bad contract attached to a first-round pick, a move president Leon Rose has executed twice in the past 18 months.

The deal closes the last meaningful restricted free agent case on New York's summer docket, six weeks earlier than most teams finalize similar decisions.