The Knicks have been identified as one of the teams interested in free agent guard Malik Beasley. However, it’s not entirely clear whether teams are prepared to move forward on Beasley while he remains a subject of a federal gambling investigation. If they are, he may receive more than a minimum-salary contract, which is all New York can offer.
Besides Beasley, who might make sense for the Knicks’ open veteran’s minimum roster slot? James Edwards III of The Athletic explores this topic in depth.
Edwards’ list includes a pair of guards who played for the Knicks last season under former coach Tom Thibodeau — Landry Shamet and Delon Wright. The issue with signing Shamet or Beasley is that the Knicks already added shooting guard Jordan Clarkson in free agency after he was waived by Utah. Wright might be a more logical choice, since the team is lacking in true point guards beyond Jalen Brunson and Tyler Kolek.
Edwards also identifies a handful of other players who could end up filling New York’s open veteran-minimum roster slot, including Alec Burks, Monte Morris, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Malcolm Brogdon.
Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News believes Shamet or Wright would make the most sense, given their familiarity within the organization. Winfield argues that either one could be the kind of low-maintenance finishing piece a title team might end up leaning on in a crucial situation.
Speaking of Kolek, Edwards believes that only one of the young players on the current roster, a group which also includes Pacome Dadiet and Ariel Hukporti, will crack Mike Brown‘s rotation, given that there are already nine solid proven veterans at the new head coach’s disposal.
Sign a 5. Mitch is brittle, Huk is unproven, KAT and Yabu are 4s.
Def a 5
Knicks went all in on a few star pieces that need complimentary pieces to make up for their flaws…
Thibs wasn’t the only issue…
A weaker than usual East will make this team look stronger than it is… It could make the finals… Only to be swept by a healthy western finals team…
They need a true back up PG to give their bench a shot on offence… A Tyus Jones…
They need a Gobert level defensive presence in the paint to make up for KAT… And as good as Mitch is, he’s not DPOY level…
OG or Bridges taking a leap into top 5 star territory is their major hope… OG has it in him…
Scarlett666:
Another one who has a crystal ball apparently. We’re all entitled to our opinion, but there’s no way in the world you know what they will do against the Western Conference team when you don’t even know who the Western Conference team is and all the variables and circumstances that will be happening at the time. This is a better team than you give them credit for. Most teams have flaws. But there’s a lot of attributes on this roster as well.
What he has is a Magic 8 Ball. That tells him shhh he wants to see. Lmao …
link to youtube.com
First Thibs won 51 gms. Did something they haven’t done in 25 yrs.
Second Cavs are favored to win East. And Magic, Sixers, Pistons all will be top teams this year.
Third we have the East all-star starting PG in NBA. McBride, Kokek, Clarkson all play PG. Tyus Jones couldn’t make our G-league team lol.
Fourth Mitch is the best defensive center right now. He just doesn’t get enough mins. I doubt this non ever watched a Knicks game. Mitch is a backup to Towns. Does he even know that ?????
Fitth top 5 star level. What is two starting all-stars. OG is best defensive 3 in the game. Bridges has made first team D team and 2nd in DPOY voting.
I got a Crysltal clear message —- learn the game before you want to criticize. All you do is play yourself ………. No one cares about the West. We want to win the East. Only fools look ahead.
He’s a Pacers fan and a Knick hater. Uninformed and clueless….. thats all haters are.
Just because the Knicks have been trash for 25 years doesn’t make what Thibs did in a weak Eastern conference anything special…
Yeah he’s the worst ever. Not worse than YOU. Now go learn the game.
It doesn’t matter which Western conference team they are…
The Knicks only advantage is the East is weak enough for the Knicks to have more rest…
Scarlett666:
That’s obnoxious and absurd. You have no idea the circumstances of what’s going to happen in the NBA playoffs next year and the Knicks are a better team than you’re giving them credit for.
Nah… too many flawed players on a team that didn’t win more than 60 games in the weak East…
10 extra wins from a weak east…
50 wins is only 40 in the West…
Play in Western teams are as strong as 50 win Eastern teams…
Any healthy Western team that makes it to the finals will make mince meat of KAT and Brunson…
Scarlett666:
Except one of the biggest issues with the team last year was their bench, and they’ve immeasurably improved that with another player likely to be brought in. They won’t have to run their starters into the ground and that will make a huge difference as the season goes on. I mean the Wolves made the Western Conference Finals last year and that is not a great team at all. The Nuggets took the Thunder to game seven and the Nuggets are not that good either. Stop being hyperbolic.
Immeasurably…?
The Knicks went from Cam Payne and Precious Achiuwa to Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.
They’re about to go from Landry Shamet to Landry Shamet.
Do you mean immeasurably, like they improved a hair?
Real 2K Insider:
No, I don’t think they improved just a hair. I’m not sure what you’re looking at. Precious Achiuwa and Cam Payne were practically unplayable and provided nothing off the bench last season. Yabusele played very well last season. We know Clarkson‘s best days are behind him, but he’s exactly the kind of scoring threat you want off a bench. You are vastly underrating that improvement to try and prove your point. And they may bring Shamet back or they might upgrade. But he was injured last year and hardly played so yeah that would be an upgrade too to have a full healthy season of him.
Bridges or OG top 5 star? huh???
I think Hukporti is ready to contribute. He’s not perfect but he can give some solid minutes if he’s given a chance to develop on the court. The same could be said for Dadiet and Kolek, though Kolek needs to work to improve his defense, cuz as is, he’s a liability on the defensive end.
I hadn’t heard Seth Curry’s name come up, but he’d be an interesting option. Brogdon, if healthy, would be a good fit too.
But Delon Wright might make the most sense of all of these. He’s a true point that plays both ends, and he played well with us last year.
Dadiet is still raw but I think Kolek and Hukporti will be solid by the spring. Huk actually cracked the rotation just before going down, still made a lot of mistakes but I’m optimistic he’ll learn. Kolek hit the weight room hard, he looked noticably more muscular in SL. As the only true 1 and 5 respectively on the bench, there’s a clear need for both of them.
The answer is pretty clearly Landry Shamet. The Knicks will cease to function if they don’t have a Wichita State Shocker on the roster, trust me.
Shamet is a 3rd string guard. So if he is in the game You should be playing the rookies. So no. He played well in spots. He is not needed with mcbride on the team. How many same type of players do you need? We need somebody who can create their own shot and play make for others either. Malcolm Brogdon or Ben Simmons. Yes, they are hurt all the time but they’re not going to be expected to play 82 games in a year, but they could be crucial during the playoff stretch. I don’t know why everybody likes shamet other than spot minutes, he’s really kind of not playable if he’s playing 15 to 20 minutes. He’s pretty much a negative on the court
Buying buckets:
Agreed. If they wanted Shamet back so badly, I think that would’ve been done by now. They might bring him back, but I think it’s more of a last resort option.
I like Beasley from a talent prospective, but finding another big is the bigger need.
I would stay away from Beasley because he can’t play make what position and what is his minutes going to be on the court? I would trade the third string point guard that would then open up two slots for minimum contracts plus signing a rookie. You can get Brogdon and Simmons or delon wright
The FA market (minus the players linked to other teams)
PG: Cam Payne, Ben Simmons, Cory Joseph, Markelle Fultz, Delon Wright, Monte Morris
SG: Malik Beasley, Alec Burks, Landry Shamet, Garrison Mathews
SF:
PF: Precious Achiuwa, Trey Lyles, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Torrey Craig, Bol Bol
C: Bismack Biyombo, DeAndre Jordan, Alex Len
*Cameron Payne
Bismack played well for the Spurs last year. Would be a good depth piece for any team
While I like Biyombo, his hands and passing are probably not good enough for the Knicks. He isn’t giving them anything Hukporti isn’t.
I think the last two years Biyombo has joined a team after camp, if a team has injuries he’s a good stopgap.
You know, Precious wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring back. I don’t hate taking a flyer on Bol either, but it’s probably better to go with a more established option when your planning to compete for a title.
They probably don’t want him back.
Whoever the 13th man is probably dictates who the 14th man is between Diawara and James Nnaji (who might have higher pedigree as a 31st pick). If Nnaji is the one getting a standard contract, they definitely don’t need another big.
None of these players are NBA players anymore. Princess achua doesn’t have a position. Trey lyles can’t guard 4’s. We seen cam Payne he had 1 good game in the playoffs.monte Morris has no D and too small. Can’t really sign a small point guard because brunson’s already a small guard so you have to sign a big guard to come in and play backup minutes. Otherwise you’ll be relying on your big man to get stops at The rim because there’s nobody to put size on the opposing point guard
Knicks need Nets’ Danny Wolf
McBride and Kolek are PGs. Clarkson has also played the lead guard. So they don’t need another PG.
Hukporti is solid and should push Mitch this year. So Knicks don’t need another center. What they do need is a big defensive 4. Who can play with KAT and watch his back. Towns is a center. He is one of best rebounders in NBA. Just cause he can shoot doesn’t make him a 4. He was the starting all-star center for East last year. And Mitch , KAT playing together will never work. For same reason he and Rudy didn’t work. Twin towers is not something you play all the time. It can work at times. But with more shooters today. It’s not a system. Just a weapon at times. You keep Towns at 34 mins. Knicks will be fine.
The young core has to step up this year. Push the starters and challenge for mins. Keep the starters under 34 mins. Kolek, Diadet, Hukporti all have to show up. Knicks only have 3.7 mill available to spend on two players. They have three open roster spots. The 15th doesn’t have to be filled till later in the season. By then Knicks could make a trade. Means best candidates are Shanet and Diawara. They can fit in the 3.7 mill money.
Brown biggest challenge will be handling Towns and Brunson on D. Pacers exposed them. So both of them have to be better. And coach Brown has to find a way to help them. We will see how the season goes. I can see a Mitch trade down the road.
Knicks had lowest scoring bench in L last yr. This Mitch is healthy. McBride doesn’t have the pressure to score like last year. They added 24 pts a game in Clarkson and Yabusele. Th ir bench will not be a problem this year. Knicks should be able to go ten deep this year.
Clarkson, McBride, Mitch, Yabusele, Shamet, Hukporti, Kolek, Diadet, Diawara
If Mitch could stay healthy, of course it would work with Towns at the 4. Knicks need his 3 ball so he’ll continue to be on the perimeter on offense.
It will never work. Today you can’t do it. They are both centers. No e of them can cover the perimeter or shooters. You will only tire them out. Why do you think Minny traded Towns
Al I agree with everything but Kolek. Maybe you see something I don’t. Hope your right and I’ll judg after preseason, but I just would like a bigger back guard. For what you said about Kat is completely right. He is a 5/4 and can play both because he shoots and rebounds really well. Hulk is ready to play. No, I don’t think he’s ready for a full 82 game season, but he has Mitch so he’s not going to be expected to play all 82 games at 15 and 20 minutes a game.
Also, I think the twin Tower thing is coming back in the NBA. It’s just that one of the four or the five needs to be able to shoot. Everybody tried the small ball which was stupid because unless you have a Draymond Green who can play, make and defend, having a small five is not going to work in the NBA. That’s why I hate when people say this guy can guard all five positions. Nobody can guard all five positions in the NBA. A true center will destroy anybody who’s not a real sinner. The problem is most the center Wana shoot instead of punishing their man for switching on pick and rolls. Not to say that a big man can’t shoot, but you shouldn’t be shooting 8’3 a game when you’re 7-1. More like 3-4 is okay within flow. Just imagine. Hakeem olajuwon playing in today’s NBA game. He would definitely have been shooting threes but he would have been shooting like three or four of them and killing you in the inside like he did. He would have been truly unguardable in today’s game.
Knicks are no position to chase trades or other players. You go with what you got. Kolek led college in ast. He is a true PG. He is still finding his groove on D. But it’s time for him to step up. Even if its for a trade. McBride avg 20 n 8 in college. He can play the point. Thibs system is what held him back. But he is an excellent 2way player. Clarkson has started as a PG in LA. He can give mins.
You cant play two centers. Teams play four wings at times. Towns is O and Mitch is D. Either can start. But this team is built around Towns I. Means Mitch is the backup. Hukporti has played pro in Germany for years. I said last year he was going to help. No one believed me. He is ready to push Mitch. But it doesn’t matter lol. Nobody needs three centers. Hukporti is there to push Mitch out. Mitch plays well we get a better trade. And Hukporti can backup Towns. Dude Towns plays 34 mins. Means only 14 mins available. Trust me Hukporti will be ready for that this year. Mitch is our wild card in a trade.
Right now it’s about getting a good start. And seeing how players have improved. Knicks starters have played ONE year together. They can all still be better. Especially Jalen and KAT on D. And Bridges in O. Knicks got 30-40 gms to feel this team out. There will be tweaks. But thats later. There is nothing happening for 30 games. And imo ee a defender PF next to Towns. .
“McBride and Kolek are PGs.”
McBride played exclusively next to Brunson/Payne, so no, he isn’t a PG.
link to basketball-reference.com
He only played there when both were hurt. He is a god awful playmaker. He is Avery Bradley.
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“Hukporti is solid and should push Mitch this year.”
Hukporti is just a body. He is Jericho Sims. He ain’t pushing anybody, besides maybe his opponent (5.3 Fouls per 36). He also averaged a TO every 10 minutes despite rarely touching the ball. He isn’t an NBA player, he’s someone the Knicks are stuck with on the main roster because of their cap/apron situation.
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“Towns is a center. He is one of best rebounders in NBA. Just cause he can shoot doesn’t make him a 4. He was the starting all-star center for East last year. And Mitch , KAT playing together will never work. For same reason he and Rudy didn’t work. ”
KAT and Rudy went to the Conference Finals. KAT can’t defend Centers, and the Knicks can’t get away with with TWO defensive liabilities (Brunson/KAT) in the late rounds of the playoffs if they expect to be contenders. You may recall that coming up as they got waxed by a worse Indiana team.
This is also the year 2025. “One of the best rebounding centers” is code for this guy is a Domantas Sabonis tier defender. TEAM rebounding matters more than individual rebounding nowadays.
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“Twin towers is not something you play all the time. It can work at times. But with more shooters today. It’s not a system. Just a weapon at times.”
Ah yeah, I mean look at what happened in OKC with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, they flopped pretty hard this year. Ditto for CLE with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The funny thing is KAT isn’t remotely close to any of these players as rim protector; calling him a Twin Tower made me chuckle.
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“You keep Towns at 34 mins. Knicks will be fine.”
The Knicks were uncharacteristically healthy last season, and that generally doesn’t repeat on a year-to-year. They don’t have the depth to withstand a cool breeze. But whatever copium you need to get through another ill-fated homer post.
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“I can see a Mitch trade down the road.”
Ah yeah, trading the team’s only actual Center seems like a great idea. Maybe this does happen (since the Knicks can’t afford to extend Mitch), but it doesn’t make them a better team. They aren’t bringing in a better center who makes less than Mitch does right now.
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“They added 24 pts a game in Clarkson and Yabusele. Th ir bench will not be a problem this year. ”
That isn’t how PPG works LOL. Clarkson (16 in 26 MPG) & Yabusele (11 in 27 MPG) are not averaging 27 nor getting 53 minutes off the bench for a playoff team.
Clarkson took the minimum for a reason, he is taking Payne’s role and playing behind Brunson. The idea of him sharing the court with Brunson and KAT is so laughable I’m sure you think it’s a great idea.
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“Clarkson, McBride, Mitch, Yabusele, Shamet, Hukporti, Kolek, Diadet, Diawara”
Cooked.
Learn the game begore you speak to knowledge.
Anyone who needs articles or Fnn youtube is a non.
McBride has been a PG all his life. He led his conference in sdts. He played with Brunson cause Knicks didn’t have another guard Thibs trusted.
This ain’t a video game. Stop embarrassing yourself .what is laughable is anything you say. Do much shhh coming out your mouth lol. Your anus must be jealous. ….. go read and learn
Al, Deuce is a SG. He can bring the ball up the court but his best role on offense is catch and shoot, with enough of a shimmy to create a bit for himself. He is not creative with the ball. He doesn’t drive and kick or run many pick and rolls. He has the wingspan to guard up. Only reason anyone calls him a PG is his height.
McBride is not a SG. He has been a PG all his life. Dude I am a PG. The only reason he played with Jalen . Is cause we didn’t have a bench. And McBride plays D. Tgere is no such thing as a 6’ SG lol. Never will be. There are small guards who really don’t play the Point. McBride isn’t one of them. He was one of best PGs of his draft class …..Yhibs system is not who McBride is. McBride is a team player and coaches player. A real pro a real PG lol.
Lmfao. He has been a PG his whole life! Except with the Knicks.
You’re not a PG. You’re a nobody Knicks homer on HoopsRumors.com
There are plenty of undersized twos out there (more than ever before) and they get away with it because wingspan & strength matters more than height on defense.
Look up Donovan Mitchell, Terry Rozier, Seth Curry, and Collin Sexton you clown. There are 29 other teams you could be having garbage opinions about, try to broaden your horizons a bit.
Keep Hukporti….might come in handy this time next year. Going to be hard to keep Mitch without trading anyone else.
I’d rather Randle and Mitch than just Towns. Cap crunch will kick in next off season. What’s done is done. Best make this season count.
Nrg82:
Nothing is going to stop them from going above the next apron limit, so why couldn’t they just re-sign Mitch anyway, if they wanted to?
Mitch (and this team) isn’t good enough to make it worth going into the 2nd apron and getting their draft picks frozen (untradeable) and moved to 30th in rebuild years.
Real 2K Insider:
They obviously think they’re championship contenders. They can’t trade their draft picks anyway because they owe the Nets their draft pick every other year. And moving down a few slots is hardly a big deal if you think they’re putting the best team on the court. What are you talking about with “rebuild years?” This Knicks core is mostly all in their 20s so they’re not going to be rebuilding anytime soon.
I think you misunderstand how those apron rules work.
The frozen picks would the ones that ARENT tradeable right now (7 years out). That has nothing to do with the picks the Knicks already traded.
The “rebuild years” are 7 years from now when Brunson/KAT are 36. They would likely be a lottery team, and drafting 30th instead of 3rd is a disaster scenario. Hence why every single team has avoided those restrictions.
Real 2K Insider:
Yes, seven years in the future I see that. However, we have no idea if they’ll be rebuilding or what they will be in seven years. That’s a gamble. It’s very unavoidable that they’re not going to go over the second second apron though. What do you mean about teams of avoiding these restrictions though? Teams have gone over the second apron. I don’t understand what you mean by that.
Real 2K Insider:
I think I understand what you mean now. The team has to be over the second even three out of five years for the pick to drop and nobody has done that yet. But the Knicks resigning Robinson doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be over the apron three out of five years. So they won’t be subjected to those restrictions just by going over the second apron by resigning Mitch.
@ Mikan. Yeah nah….Mitch is gone man. You’ll see. Didn’t like the Towns trade at the time, like it even less now. Knicks can’t win the chip in my opinion. Should do well in the east though. Only so many years the owner can throw away money. The Bridges extension was a final nail coffin too. Somebody else gotta go. Bought in Towns, lost Hartenstein, Randle, and more than likely Mitch. Not smart business in my opinion. Now stuck with Towns. I don’t think much thought went into the moves knicks made were quite short sighted in my opinion. Bogdanovic, Precious, God lord. Meanwhile randle and Vinny D in a good place. Will Dolan sell when this goes pair shaped?
Got the bird rights for Precious, obviously can’t or haven’t found a suiter via trade. Maybe they keep Mitch because he does make them better. I think they need a healthy Robinson to get back to where they were last season. He’ll be leaving in free agency. Small ball with Towns at the 5 without a legit back up isn’t ideal.
Nrg82:
I guess we will see but again they seem like they’re going to go into second apron territory anyway so I’m not sure what the difference would be. And besides for the draft pick to drop they would have to be over the second apron three out of five years. They’re not in that territory yet so I don’t see how that restricts them from re-signing Robinson. And they couldn’t control losing Hartenstein. They were limited what they could offer him. That had nothing to do with any other player just based on the contract he previously signed.
You’re absolutely right, they’re going to have to trade Mitch at some point and get a serviceable backup big. Kat makes too much money. Kat is a good player. He’s just not 62 million player. More like in the ’40s would be a great amount for him to build a championship team. I think this is Mitch last year and especially if they don’t win, you got to move him to get another player in that can be a strong for and play next to kat
Or Hart?
OG contract is overpaid too. Knicks going to need to get creative going forward. Might be tough navigating this in today’s CBA.
I dont understand why the Knicks keep getting linked with Beasley. He was going to get 14mil AAV. Why would he sign for the league minimum? Surely he can do better.
I’m asking this seriously as a casual fan. Can anyone tell me why it continues to be a story?
Beasley was getting 14M at the start of summer when teams (most notably the one offering 14/42) had cap space.
The summer is over. Teams spent their money. He is looking at the minimum because teams can’t do better, it’s not a question of “want”.
He’s probably better off waiting until mid-season when he’ll have more leverage / control. I.e. pick a winning team he’ll push over the edge, or one that suffered an injury at guard.
Of course he might be charged with something by then too.
There are teams with the full $14M remaining. He won’t get that much but he’ll get well above the minimum.
OP: Knicks get clicks, that’s all.
Thanks.
It’s the end of the NBA offseason so they got to create drama and narratives. He really doesn’t have a fit on the team. Where is his minutes going to come from? And who are you going to play him over?