SNYs Ian Begley will respond to Knicks questions from readers. Here is the latest…
How will the Knicks use their remaining cap space and/or the last roster spot? – @jmere09nyc
I answered this one a few weeks ago. But it’s an evergreen question this time of year, so it’s worth addressing again.
The Knicks still have 14 players on traditional NBA contracts. So they have room for one more traditional contract on the regular season roster. (Teams can carry 15 players on traditional contracts and three two-way players in the regular season).
The training camp battle for the 15th roster spot should be good this year.
The Knicks signed both Marcus Morris and Landry Shamet to non-guaranteed contracts earlier this month. It’s fair to assume they’ll be fighting for that final spot. If they both play well, maybe the Knicks give up a player on a guaranteed deal to make room for Morris and Shamet?
Either way, the Knicks accomplished an offseason goal by adding proven NBA players to the end of the roster.
Shamet is a proven shooter and, at 6′ 5″, can give the Knicks size in the backcourt.
As noted last week, Shamet chose the Knicks, in part, because he was looking for a winning environment. (How often in the last 20-plus years have the Knicks had an advantage on a free agent looking to win?)
Morris had a very strong stint with the Knicks in 2019-2020 before he was traded to the Clippers at the 2020 trade deadline. The Knicks received a 2020 first-round pick in the trade. That choice was basically used to choose Immanuel Quickley. Quickley, of course, was a significant part of the package that New York sent to Toronto in the AND Anunoby business
Morris loves the Garden and has ties to the current Knicks team. Among them? Team President Leo Rose used to represent Morris when Rose was a player agent at CAA.
