The Knicks are not quite done sorting out their training camp roster.
On Wednesday morning, as we creep ever closer to next Monday’s preseason opener, the Knicks made a series of roster moves at the back of their training camp roster:
- Waived John Konchar and N’Faly Dante
- Signed Tony Bradley to an Exhibit 9 contract
- Signed Jaden Akins to a two-way contract
- Signed and waived Toby Okani in G League shenanigans
There’s a few layers to unpack here, so let’s start with the two new Knicks.
You may remember Bradley from his reserve-center minutes for the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks in the last two
postseasons. Picked No. 28 overall by the Lakers in the 2017 draft out of UNC, Bradley will look to make the roster of his seventh team. He started his career as a seldom-used backup big for the Jazz, playing just 12 games total in his first two seasons. He upgraded to being a solid bench player in 2019-20, but then became a complete journeyman.
He was traded twice in one week before the 2020-21 season, from Utah to Detroit to Philadelphia, before being shipped out again in March 2021 to the Thunder in a three-team deal that involved the Knicks (the Austin Rivers trade, if you recall). He balled out in 20 games down the stretch, averaging 8.7 points and 6.1 rebounds, the best stretch of his career. After playing 55 games for the Bulls in 2021-22, he hasn’t played more than 41 in a season since.
He joined the Pacers in 2024 and was their third center on their run to the NBA Finals, playing 38 minutes total in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, being a plus-15 in fairly minor action.
Bradley found his way to Atlanta midway through the 2025-26 season and played four games in that first-round series too, most notably being minus-17 in the Game 5 blowout.
He has a few interesting links to the Knicks aside from the playoffs. He was traded by the Lakers on draft night to Utah for… Josh Hart and Thomas Bryant. When he was sent to Philly in November 2020, it was in a 1-for-1 deal with lottery bust Zhaire Smith, whom the Sixers infamously chose over Mikal Bridges. In that three-team swap in 2021, he was traded with the second-round pick that became Tyler Nickel… to OKC.
As for Akins, he’s getting his first NBA opportunity. The former All-Big Ten guard went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2025 and spent the 2025-26 season with the Motor City Cruise, the G League affiliate of the Pistons, where he averaged 14.7 points and 4.4 assists on 41.2% from the field and 35.8% from three.
The 23-year-old was with the Knicks in Summer League this year, averaging 11.3 points a night. He was already ticketed for Westchester after signing an Exhibit 10 earlier this month before being subsequently waived, but the Knicks elected to fill their final two-way spot with a guy who’s already in-house.
The other two moves could turn out to be just procedural, or could be the sign of the organization going in a different direction.
Konchar, the former Grizzlies wing, did not report to training camp with the rest of the roster due to personal reasons. Ian Begley said the motivation for waiving him was to give him more time to deal with his situation, leaving the door open for a potential return down the road. The fact that he said that makes me believe the org thinks highly of him and had him towards the top for consideration for a roster spot.
Dante, the former Oregon Duck and brief Hawk and Rocket, was also waived. He is recovering from a torn ACL, and it isn’t surprising if the team deems him more G League fodder, but I found it interesting that he was posted as part of Media Day coverage on Monday. Not sure they’d do that with a guy they had no plans for, so maybe they’ll stash him in Westchester and consider him for a two-way when he’s healthy.
