Mike Brown on Monday said the Knicks are facing an ‘extremely tough’ decision at the end of their roster. They have three veteran contributors vying for one open roster spot.
Here are few things to know about the extremely tough decision facing the Knicks:
VETS BATTLE
Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews are currently battling for one available roster spot. The Knicks have *14 players on standard deals. They can carry a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts. So they have enough room on the roster to keep one of the three veterans.
Also, due to CBA rules, the Knicks’ team salary cannot exceed $207.8 million. The Knicks only have enough money to keep one of Shamet, Brogdon or Matthews.
In order to keep two of the three veterans, the Knicks would need to trade one of their players currently signed to a traditional contract.
WHAT ABOUT THE TRADE
If the Knicks want to keep two of those three, trades involving Miles McBride, Pacome Dadiet, or Tyler Kolek are the most direct paths to do so.
If the Knicks traded one of those three players to a team with cap space (Utah, Brooklyn), the club would have enough room under the second apron to keep two of Shamet, Brogdon, and Mathews.
Before these players agreed to join the Knicks, the club told agents that there would be a true competition for the one open roster spot.
“That’s what they said,” Mathews said on Monday night. “It’s a tough roster; let’s see what happens.”
The Knicks also want to compete for an NBA championship this season. So every roster spot – and the decisions made around those spots – is crucial. Does New York value veterans over one of their young players like Dadiet (drafted with the 25th pick in 2024 NBA Draft) or Kolek (selected with the 34th overall pick in 2024)? If so, they will probably trade one of them to make room for two of Shamet, Brogdon or Mathews.
As noted Monday, the Knicks have had dialogue with opposing teams as this decision approaches.
New York would obviously need an incredibly high return to even consider moving McBride. McBride is one of their most important rotation players. He is also eligible for an extension at the end of the calendar year (Between Mitchell Robinson’s pending free agency and McBride’s pending extension, the Knicks will have to commit significant money to keep both players in the coming seasons).
Trading Kolek to a team with cap space would give the Knicks enough space to keep two veterans. But the Knicks would not have enough space to add a veteran during the season. Last season, they added PJ Tucker midseason, fitting the veteran just under the second apron. They would like the flexibility to do the same thing (adding a veteran during the season) in 2025-26.
WHEN WILL WE FIND OUT?
You will know what the Knicks decide by 5pm on Saturday. That is the deadline to waive a player on a nonguaranteed deal without taking on any salary. So the Knicks will need to make a decision on Shamet, Brogdon, and Mathews by Saturday evening.
Regular season rosters then need to be set by Oct. 20.
The Knicks can choose to waive all three veterans and enter the season with 14 players on the roster. Teams can dip under the 14-player minimum for two consecutive weeks and 28 days in total.
But that seems unlikely. The Knicks, again, communicated that these veterans were competing for a spot. So the Knicks will probably keep at least one of the veteran players.
BROWN GIVING ASSISTANTS OPPORUNITY TO GROW
During timeouts, Brown has allowed multiple assistants to address the Knicks huddle. You’d expect Brendan O’Connor and Chris Jent to address the group. They are the defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, for New York this season. But other coaches have had the chance to address the team in a huddle during the preseason. Brown sees it as an opportunity for his coaches to grow.
“I’ve done it quite a bit. Did it with Sacramento. Actually, I got it from Steve (Kerr). When I was with Steve in Golden State, I led the huddle multiple times in multiple games. Throughout the course of a game probably almost 90 percent of the time — I didn’t even tell him what I was about to tell the guys defensively. He had that much trust in me. And it helped me grow,” Brown said Monday. “It helped save (Kerr’s) voice and gave the players another voice to hear. So I did it in Sacramento. I liked it. I’m going to try it here. Our offensive coordinator is Chris Jent. Our defensive coordinator is Brendan O’Connor, BOC. All those guys as well as everybody else, they’ve done a fantastic job coaching, so to give them an opportunity during games is something that I’ll do.”
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