Today, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reportedthat New York expects to carry 14 standard contracts rather than 15. That means the five veterans brought to camp (Bruce Brown, John Konchar, Ochai Agbaji, Drew Eubanks, and James Wiseman) are effectively duking it out for one job unless the Knicks clear some cash.
From the latest Stein Line:
“It’s believed that the Knicks will only fill one of the two current vacancies in terms of the maximum 15 standard contracts they can carry starting Opening Night (Oct.
21) unless they make another roster move first that sheds salary.”
At present, New York sits only a little more than $3 million below the second apron, leaving enough room for one additional veteran-minimum contract but not two. With the Knicks needing more help at center than on the wing, it sure seems that Eubanks and Wiseman are frontrunners for the open gig.
But wait! There’s another wrinkle. Stein also reports:
“Brown, furthermore, is indeed a Wiseman fan. The newly crowned champs likewise do appear to have a clear need for a third big man behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond.”
You’ll recall that Brown was an assistant coach for the Warriors when they selected Wiseman second in the 2020 draft. He must’ve helped to evaluate the young player out of Memphis, and perhaps he spotted potential that hasn’t yet been realized on the NBA court. The 6’11”, 240lb big man averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes across 39 games (27 starts) as a rookie, but his year was cut short by a torn right meniscus. After that, the injury bug continued to chase him through Detroit and Indiana.
Back in 2021, Brown said:
“James—he does stuff on a daily basis that makes you sit back and go, ‘Wow. Did he just do that? Am I seeing that?’ The sky is the limit for him. I don’t know if there’s anything that he’s not gonna be able to do when he reaches his peak.”
If Wiseman lives up to that high praise in New York’s training camp, his former coach is very likely to lock him down for the opening night roster. Meanwhile, while searching for a cover picture, your humble blogger found a few too many images of Mitchell Robinson dunking on Wiseman. Which stung.
Knicks in five.
