New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jalen Brunson: Knicks Need Right ‘Mindset’ To Surpass Last Season

September 17th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks clearly appear to be one of the top two teams in the East, but star guard Jalen Brunson doesn’t want his teammates to believe that means an automatic return to the conference finals, he told D.J. Siddiqi of Games Hub.

“Hopefully we don’t have that mindset going into the season where we think we’re just going to jump back into the Eastern Conference Finals,” Brunson said in an interview this week. “We need to be able to go through this process again and continue to get better and to fight to get over that hump.”

New York returns the core of a roster that fell two games short of a trip to the NBA Finals last season. The team is counting on improved depth after adding Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, along with several other talents who will compete for roster spots in training camp. The Knicks also made a coaching change, with Mike Brown considered more likely to rely on a deep bench than his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.

Brunson believes the offseason maneuvering has put the team in position to succeed at the highest level.

“I think we’ve been taking steady steps every year,” he said. “The best part about our team is the chemistry we’ve grown and we’ve created. A lot of people help us on this journey, and to be able to be where we are now, it’s nothing to be satisfied about. Everyone says, ‘Oh, you need to get experience.’ Well, this is us getting experience. This is literally us going through the trials and tribulations of being a good team. So continue to do that and just find a way to see what can we do to get over that hump. It’s going to take all of us. It’s not going to take just one change or another small thing. It’s going to take all of us together to kind of put everything aside and pull together.”

Brunson was also complimentary of center Karl-Anthony Towns, who expanded the team’s offensive capabilities after being acquired from Minnesota shortly before the start of last season. There won’t be a learning curve for Towns as he prepares for his second year in New York, and Brunson believes he can be even better after earning third-team All-NBA honors.

“Having him as a teammate has been really fun,” Brunson said. “I think that gets overlooked how good of a teammate he is. Obviously, he’s a great player and what he does on the court. But the teammate he is and what he brings to the locker room for us is special. So I’m really happy to have him. Don’t think you can compare him. He shoots the ball so effortlessly, and he can make plays. He has great touch around the rim, so he’s pretty much his own person. He picks different games of styles of basketball, and kind of makes it into his own.”

And-Ones: Sengun, Giannis, Future Rankings, G League Swap, Drell

September 16th, 2025 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets center Alperen Sengun made an eye-opening statement regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo after Turkey defeated Greece for the EuroBasket semifinals.

“He’s not a great passer. He’s an amazing player, you know, but he’s not a great passer. So we just tried to help and jump to close the paint,” Sengun said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com.

When asked about Sengun’s comments on Sunday, according to BasketNews, the Bucks superstar replied, “I’m not the guy that will talk back to coaches or players or people that say bad things about me. It doesn’t really matter because at the end of the day, you won’t remember what they say. You’ll remember how I respond. So, I keep everything to myself. You can go see my clips on YouTube. And then come back and ask me if I’m a good passer. There you go. That’s it.”

The disagreement continued on social media but both players later issued apologies for comments they made on Instagram, according to Eurohoops.net.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

ESPN’s Insiders updated their three-year future rankings of every NBA franchise based on a variety of factors. Not surprisingly, the defending champion Thunder received the top ranking. The Rockets, Knicks, Cavaliers and Clippers rounded out the top five, with the Suns occupying the bottom of the totem pole.
The Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder‘s NBA G League team, has acquired a 2026 first-round pick and the returning player rights to Steven Richardson from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for the returning player rights to Cormac Ryan, Thunder beat reporter Rylan Stiles tweets. Ryan joined the Bucks‘ camp roster on an Exhibit 10 deal last week, so this clears the way for him to receive a bonus up to $85,300 if he’s waived and then spends 60 days or more with the Herd.
Spanish club Joventut Badalona and former Bulls forward Henri Drell have reached an agreement for the next two months with an option to extend until the end of the season, according to Penya.com. Drell played in the EuroBasket tournament with the Estonian national team. Last year, he played 15 games with La Laguna Tenerife. Drell appeared in four games with Chicago during the 2023/24 season.

Knicks Add Alex Len, Matt Ryan To Camp Roster

September 16th, 2025 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have added center Alex Len on an Exhibit 9 contract and forward Matt Ryan on an Exhibit 10 deal, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links).

Additionally, they waived Dink Pate and Bryson Warren, who were signed to Exhibit 10 deals earlier in the day. All these moves were expected as the team rounds out its training camp roster.

New York now has all of its 21 training camp spots filled.

Len worked out with New York this week. He has been in the league since 2013, when the Suns selected him with the No. 5 overall pick. He has also played for Atlanta, Sacramento, Toronto, Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Last season, he appeared in 36 games with the Kings and 10 more with the Lakers. He signed with the Lakers as a free agent after Sacramento traded him in February to the Wizards, who quickly waived him. He averaged a modest 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes during those 46 appearances in 2024/25 and became a free agent after the season.

As reported earlier in the day, Ryan chose to sign a training camp deal with New York, with whom he played for last season.

He was on a non-guaranteed deal and then on a two-way contract before being waived on March 1. He appeared in 19 games for the Knicks but played primarily in garbage time, scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 68 total minutes of action.

Ryan, who has played in 82 regular season games since making his NBA debut in April 2022, is known primarily as a three-point marksman, having made 40.2% of his career attempts from beyond the arc.

Len and Ryan will try to buck long odds to secure the team’s lone available veteran’s minimum contract. Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews are also in the mix for that deal.

Knicks Sign Jemison, McCullar, Evbuomwan To Two-Way Deals

September 16th, 2025 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

4:30pm: The Knicks have officially signed Jemison and McCullar to two-way deals, the team’s PR department tweets (Twitter links). Additionally, NBA.com’s transaction log lists Evbuomwan’s deal as a two-way contract, despite the Knicks announcing it as an Exhibit 10.

4:00pm: The Knicks have reached two-way contract agreements with big man Trey Jemison and forward Tosan Evbuomwan, SNY’s Ian Begley reports (Twitter links).

The Knicks will enter training camp with all three two-way slots filled, as Kevin McCullar Jr. is expected to return on another two-way deal, Begley adds. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that McCullar will sign his two-way qualifying offer (Twitter link).

New York worked out Jemison on Monday and obviously the front office and coaches liked what they saw. Jemison signed a two-year, two-way contract in January with the Lakers and remained on their roster for the rest of the season, but was waived in July.

The 25-year-old center had some productive moments in his 22 games with Los Angeles, averaging 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per night while shooting 61.9% from the field. He also spent time with New Orleans during the 2024/25 season and had brief stints with Washington and Memphis in ’23/24.

Overall, Jemison has 63 games of NBA experience (14 starts), averaging 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game. Jemison, 25, went undrafted out of UAB in 2023.

The Knicks have been busy finalizing their camp roster and announced a handful of other contract signings on Monday, including an Exhibit 10 contract with Evbuomwan. They’ve apparently decided to upgrade that move regarding Evbuomwan.

Evbuomwan had been on a two-way deal with the Nets in 2024/25. Brooklyn waived the 6’8″ British combo forward in August.

After going undrafted out of Princeton in 2023, the former Ivy League Player of the Year linked up with the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, to start his pro career. Evbuomwan signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies, then joined Detroit on a 10-day deal, later agreeing to a two-way contract. He started 2024/25 with the Clippers’ NBAGL club, the San Diego Clippers, before inking a two-way deal with Brooklyn in January.

In 28 games with Brooklyn last season, the 24-year-old averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.9 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .427/.312/.753.

Knicks Confirm Several Signings, Plan To Add Alex Len

September 16th, 2025 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Having carried just 12 players on their roster since July, the Knicks began officially filling out their 21-man preseason squad on Tuesday.

After signing Dink Pate and Bryson Warren to Exhibit 10 contracts, the team officially announced five more previously reported deals, confirming that Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet have signed their Exhibit 9 contracts (Twitter links), while Mohamed Diawara, Garrison Mathews, Tosan Evbuomwan have finalized Exhibit 10 agreements (all Twitter links).

Reports late last week indicated that Mathews, Shamet, and Brogdon were signing non-guaranteed contracts with the Knicks. Evbuomwan’s deal was reported on Monday, while James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link) stated earlier today that Diawara would be getting an Exhibit 10 contract.

The Knicks aren’t done making roster additions. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link), the team has also reached a training camp agreement with veteran center Alex Len, who was working out for New York this week.

The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len has been in the NBA for 12 seasons, primarily as a backup big man. In 2024/25, he appeared in 46 total games for the Kings and Lakers and played a very modest role, averaging just 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per night.

There has been no formal announcement yet regarding Len or veteran wing Matt Ryan, who is expected to re-sign with the Knicks on a non-guaranteed deal. The club also has a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Kevin McCullar Jr.

With 19 players now officially under contract, there’s not enough room for New York to sign Len, Ryan, and McCullar without making a cut, but more shuffling of players on and off the roster figures to occur in the coming days and weeks.

Pate and Warren will probably be the first players waived and appear likely to end up with the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Brogdon, Shamet, and Mathews are expected to be competing for a regular season roster spot — it’s possible Ryan and Len could be involved in that competition too, though they look like longer shots to make the team.

Diawara has an inside track for a standard roster spot because of the Knicks’ hard-cap situation, which requires them to carry a drafted rookie on a minimum-salary contract if they don’t shed salary in a trade. Evbuomwan, meanwhile, is a candidate to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal.

Knicks Sign Dink Pate, Bryson Warren To Exhibit 10 Contracts

September 16th, 2025 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have officially signed undrafted rookie Dink Pate to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Pate’s agreement with the Knicks was first reported back in June, shortly after the draft concluded.

Pate, 19, spent the 2024/25 season in the G League with the Mexico City Capitanes after having played for the G League Ignite in ’23/24. He averaged 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 26.9 minutes per contest in 34 games for the Capitanes and was selected to participate in the 2025 Next Up event at All-Star Weekend.

Pate suited up for the Knicks’ Summer League team in Las Vegas in July, averaging 9.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 17.6 MPG across five outings, with a shooting line of .400/.500/.889.

The Knicks have also signed guard Bryson Warren to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to the club (Twitter link).

Warren, who went undrafted out in 2024, has spent the past two seasons with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate. Last season, the 20-year-old averaged 11.0 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 2.6 RPG in 49 appearances (23.3 MPG) for Sioux Falls, registering a shooting line of .414/.373/.781. The Westchester Knicks made a trade earlier this month for his returning rights.

New York only had 12 players under contract before signing Pate and Warren, which means those deals can’t include an Exhibit 9 clause that protects the Knicks financially in the event of an injury in training camp or the preseason. A team can’t sign a player to an Exhibit 9 deal unless it has at least 14 players already under contract (not including two-ways).

That means Pate and Warren are probably simply ticketed for the G League and are unlikely to take part in any workouts or scrimmages with the team before they’re waived, since the Knicks won’t want to risk a major injury that would leave them on the hook for either player’s regular season salary. The Exhibit 10 language in Pate’s and Warren’s contracts will make them eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with the Westchester Knicks this season.

Knicks Notes: McBride, Brown, Towns, FAs, Anunoby

September 16th, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks ranked fifth in the NBA last season with a 117.3 offensive rating, but the team’s efficiency dropped over the course of the year, as Stefan Bondy writes for The New York Post. After scoring 119.9 points per 100 possessions prior to the All-Star break, New York ranked 22nd with just 112.3 points per 100 possessions after the break, and the club’s 112.7 offensive rating in the playoffs was the worst of the four conference finalists.

Knicks reserve guard Miles McBride is optimistic that new head coach Mike Brown will help revitalize an offense that slowed down over the season’s final few months.

“Last year, we might’ve gotten a little bit stagnant, and the last couple years,” McBride told Bondy. “And I feel like what [Brown’s] been preaching is just being able to play with pace, and it’s not just the guy with the ball. And everybody is a possibility [to score] and able to take it off the dribble, of course.”

Describing the team as “really hungry” after coming within two wins of an NBA Finals appearance in 2024/25, McBride went into more detail on why his conversations with Brown so far have made him excited about what the Knicks’ offense will look like going forward.

“I’ve talked to [Brown] a lot, and I think the big thing is just going to be a lot of player movement,” McBride said. “He’s giving us the foundation, and we’re just going to work off of it. So I’m really excited to see all our creativity with each other that we’ve been working on these last couple months. Really excited to see where it takes us.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Speaking to D.J. Siddiqi of Games Hub a few weeks ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, Jalen Brunson referred to the former Timberwolves big man as a “phenomenal” addition for the Knicks both on and off the court. “The things that he’s been able to do in a short period of time being a Knick has been amazing,” Brunson said. “Having him as a teammate has been really fun. I think that gets overlooked how good of a teammate he is. Obviously, he’s a great player and what he does on the court. But the teammate he is and what he brings to the locker room for us is special. So I’m really happy to have him.”
Veteran free agents Dennis Smith Jr. and Alex Len played well in informal scrimmages on Monday, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), who confirms that Trey Jemison remains on New York’s radar and says the team is finalizing its decisions on who to invite to training camp. Begley also reported the Knicks’ interest in re-signing Matt Ryan before word broke this morning that the two sides had a deal in place.
How will the Knicks’ coaching change affect OG Anunoby? Fred Katz of The Athletic digs into that question, exploring whether the athletic forward will benefit from Brown’s stated desire to play at a faster pace and whether Anunoby could take on more offensive responsibilities.

Matt Ryan Signing Non-Guaranteed Deal With Knicks

September 16th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent wing Matt Ryan is signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Knicks and will join the team for training camp, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Ryan spent most of the 2024/25 season with the Knicks, first on a non-guaranteed deal and then on a two-way contract, before being waived on March 1. He appeared in 19 games for the team but played primarily in garbage time, scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 68 total minutes of action.

Ryan, who has played in 82 regular season games since making his NBA debut in April 2022, is known primarily as a three-point marksman, having made 40.2% of his career attempts from beyond the arc.

Since he now has four years of NBA experience under his belt, Ryan is no longer eligible for a two-way contract, so if he’s going to make the Knicks’ regular season roster, it would have to be on a standard contract.

Given the club’s hard-cap limitations and the stiff competition he would face in camp, the 28-year-old is probably a long shot to open the season with New York. Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews are also expected to vie for what will end up being just a single standard roster spot if the team can’t shed salary in a trade.

Ian Begley of SNY.tv first reported on Monday (via Twitter) that the Knicks were eying Ryan for a possible training camp deal.

Knicks Signing Forward Tosan Evbuomwan

September 15th, 2025 at 8:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Knicks are signing free agent forward Tosan Evbuomwan, agent George S. Langberg tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Evbuomwan had been on a two-way deal with the Nets in 2024/25. Brooklyn waived the 6’8″ British combo forward in August.

After going undrafted out of Princeton in 2023, the former Ivy League Player of the Year linked up with the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, to start his pro career. Evbuomwan signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies thanks to his robust output for Motor City, then joined Detroit on a 10-day deal, later agreeing to a two-way contract. He started 2024/25 with the Clippers’ NBAGL club, the San Diego Clippers before inking a two-way deal with Brooklyn in January.

In 28 NBA games with Brooklyn last season, the 24-year-old averaged a career-best 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.9 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .427/.312/.753. Across 13 G League contests with Long Island Nets, he averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 0.9 SPG.

The terms of the contract haven’t been reported, but it’s likely to be a training camp deal. New York hasn’t signed anyone to a two-way contract yet, although a two-way qualifying offer has been extended to forward Kevin McCullar Jr. Evbuomwan could end up competing for one of the remaining two-way slots.

Rookie second-rounder Mohamed Diawara is expected to level up and agree to a standard deal, skirting a two-way contract.

Knicks Working Out Alex Len, Trey Jemison

September 15th, 2025 at 7:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Knicks continue to tinker around the periphery of their roster. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link), New York is working out a pair of free agents who finished last season with the Lakers, veteran Alex Len and former L.A. two-way player Trey Jemison III.

Bondy previously reported that the Knicks will be working out journeyman guard Dennis Smith Jr., who has been without a team since parting ways with Real Madrid in February.

As Bondy notes, New York can field a roster of up to 21 players heading into training camp.

For now, only 12 players occupy the Knicks’ standard roster. 2025 second-round selection Mohamed Diawara is expected to ink a standard deal with New York, while Kevin McCullar Jr. has a two-way qualifying offer extended his way.

Veteran guards Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet and Garrison Mathews have all agreed to non-guaranteed training camp agreements. New York will only be able to retain one of those non-guaranteed veterans into the regular season because of hard-cap restrictions. That said, it’s possible the Knicks could offload a player or two in a trade to create the cap flexibility necessary to hang onto two of Brogdon, Shamet and Mathews.

For what it’s worth, Jemison remains eligible for a two-way contract, but that’s not the case for Len, a 12-year veteran.