So bench is looking like

Vet min or Rookie center
Mo pf rookie
Shamet, PD
McBride, rookie
Kolek or Jose

I mean that’s not bad plus if we strike gold on a rookie!

Will Jose pick up his option ? My guess is yes but I think Kolek is ready for a bigger role . I really like his pure PG ability.

Will Shamet stay with us at a discount ? He was amazing in the Cavs series but came back down to earth in the finals . Love Shamet and I think he loves NYC and the Knicks .

Here’s the thing, if we bring the crew back and we are healthy I don’t see a team in the east beating us especially in a 7 game series .

Mitch Shamet and Jose know that another ring is possible

For some reason I see players following suit of Brunson and taking discounts to chase another ring .

Brunson is a modern day Jordan players want to play with him … curious what vet wants to come over .

Whatever happens, I have full faith in Leon and the crew to even put a even better roster together for next year.

Champagne problems

Sorry, a chip heals a lot of wounds but not all of Dolans inflictions.

That said from a basketball standpoint, at least from a fans stand point it seems each year in this age of parity the abilty for teams to suprise. Detroit ran it a full season which was not logical until the playoffs. Like wise on paper knicks were a disappointment until the playoffs. Boston success until it runs into a healthy philly? On paper Cleveland should have been better. They did make conf. finals so things did settle.

I said months ago NBA playoffs is like a tournament. Not everyone has to play each other and teams get hot. In the east the 3-4th seeds were in the conf. finals. Out west, the two best played. In the end the 6th best regular season team won! Damn Glad.

What Im learning is its really hard to predict the order of things and a team can rise even from play in with returnig from injury players and could make a deep run. If Embiid could sustain his health just a bit PHilly could have made even more noise. Boston got them in the first round liek we did and they were not what they were all year. Last year Indy had it all going on until Haliburton fell apart in the finals. They took OKC to 7 games!

Next year? Detroit has money to spend to complete its roster a bit more before it has to pay Duran, Indy and Orlando are not to be totally disocounted, Miami? They have Giannis but no depth or closer? Or is he in Boston with Tatum? Clev? We swept them but they were just one game behind us. ATL? How close are they if they make some moves? Even the Wiz on paper could be respectable.

Nobody here thought it was not possible to do what knicks did. I think the manner by which they did was a bit more than anyone could imagine but if it all came together it was possible. It did. Team of destiny despite bad ref's. OG got healthy, mitch was healthy, and Jalen was good to go! KAT got his defense together and his head right! We were the it team at the right time!

Mitch did not play back to back, he is inconsistent in his health and can't hit a foul shot. He deserves a raise given he is part of this team but contracts rarely are for services in hindsight. Its going forward. Sentiment aside it could be time to move on from Mitch.

TripleThreat wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Another thing Mikal gives you which is critical to building a DEEP team, is a guy with zero ego whatsoever, perfectly content being the 4th scorer. He at his peak powers is a borderline all star, who is fine being an afterthought. He's the best #4 option in the entire league, will never complain about touches or shots, and is perfectly content just being a connector and motion guy. Those guys do not grow on trees.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kawamyu01.html

*****

IMHO, no reason to trade Mikal Bridges. Do I like him? Sure. Do I think he cost too much to acquire? Yes. Do I think he's earning the value of his contract and extension? No.

But there's some "synergy" with the Villanova players that doesn't hit the stat sheet. No need to break up something that clearly works and has a successful "system" for it so far. The Knicks IMHO should keep their core 5 together for this next season for a repeat run.

It would help if Bridges stepped up more when one of Brunson , KAT or Anunoby are having an off game.

Who else do I think would be a useful offseason target?

Point Guard Yuki Kawamura. The Knicks have just enough defense to hide him if it got to that point. His long range shooting needs to improve, but his court vision and ability to break down a defense, plus his passing chops, are more than just a "novelty" factor here. He's on a two way contract with the Bulls now, but he shouldn't be hard to acquire if the Knicks want to make room for him. In the most technical sense, he's a Restricted Free Agent, however the Bulls have an incoming new coach, and that might mean Kawamura gets flushed off their roster. Just a smart steady player, and if the shooting improves some, there's value here IMHO.

To be fair, Kawamura is cheap and mostly available for a reason. But I believe he could help as a third point guard on the Knicks for the upcoming season.

Do you forget the all-time efficiency heater that Bridges went on during the playoffs? It's like we can't see past the last 2-3 games and forget about the entire run. OG got hurt and he stepped up in a big way and the team didn't miss a beat. He also stepped up in the closeout game when OG and KAT were complete non factors, and scored 1/3rd of the non-Brunson points in a game we needed every last point. He also played elite defense throughout on All NBA players like Maxey and Mitchell.

Player (85) 	 	Pos 	Age 	YOE 	Prev  	Prev AAV 	Type
LeBron James 	 	PF 	41.4 	23 	LAL 	$50,677,999 	UFA / Bird
Trae Young 	 	PG 	27.7 	8 	WAS 	$43,031,940 	UFA / Bird
C.J. McCollum 	 	SG 	34.7 	13 	ATL 	$32,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Khris Middleton 	SF 	34.8 	14 	DAL 	$31,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kristaps Porzingis 	PF 	30.8 	10 	GSW 	$30,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Tobias Harris 	 	PF 	33.9 	15 	DET 	$26,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Anfernee Simons 	SG 	27.0 	8 	CHI 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
John Collins 	 	PF 	28.7 	9 	LAC 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Nikola Vucevic 	 	C 	35.6 	15 	BOS 	$20,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Norman Powell 	 	SG 	33.0 	11 	MIA 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Harrison Barnes 	PF 	34.0 	14 	SAS 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Collin Sexton 	 	PG 	27.4 	8 	CHI 	$17,737,500 	UFA / Bird
Jusuf Nurkic 	 	C 	31.8 	12 	UTA 	$17,500,000 	UFA / Bird
Zach Collins 	 	C 	28.5 	9 	CHI 	$17,410,848 	UFA / Bird
Rui Hachimura 	 	PF 	28.3 	7 	LAL 	$17,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Huerter 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	DET 	$16,250,000 	UFA / Bird
Mitchell Robinson 	C 	28.2 	8 	NYK 	$15,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Olynyk 	 	PF 	35.1 	13 	SAS 	$13,125,000 	UFA / Bird
Coby White 	 	PG 	26.3 	6 	CHA 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Robert Williams III 	C 	28.7 	8 	POR 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Matisse Thybulle 	SG 	29.2 	7 	POR 	$11,025,000 	UFA / Bird
Luke Kennard 	 	SG 	29.9 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Non-Bird
Maxi Kleber 	 	PF 	34.3 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Moritz Wagner 	 	C 	29.1 	8 	ORL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Gabe Vincent 	 	PG 	30.0 	7 	ATL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Quentin Grimes 	 	SG 	26.1 	5 	PHI 	$8,741,209 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Oubre Jr. 	SF 	30.5 	11 	PHI 	$8,182,575 	UFA / Bird
Simone Fontecchio 	SF 	30.5 	4 	MIA 	$8,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Ayo Dosunmu 	 	PG 	26.4 	5 	MIN 	$7,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Dean Wade 	 	PF 	29.5 	7 	CLE 	$6,166,667 	UFA / Bird
Jett Howard 	 	SG 	22.8 	3 	ORL 	$5,793,195 	UFA / Bird
Guerschon Yabusele 	PF 	30.5 	4 	CHI 	$5,637,500 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nick Richards 	 	C 	28.5 	6 	CHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Andre Drummond 	 	C 	32.8 	14 	PHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Aaron Holiday 	 	PG 	29.7 	8 	HOU 	$4,784,700 	UFA / Bird
Dwight Powell 	 	C 	34.8 	12 	DAL 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Love 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	UTA 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kyle Lowry 	 	PG 	40.2 	20 	PHI 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Tim Hardaway Jr. 	SG 	34.2 	13 	DEN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Garrett Temple 	 	SG 	40.1 	16 	TOR 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Jordan Clarkson 	SG 	34.0 	12 	NYK 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Joe Ingles 	 	SF 	38.7 	12 	MIN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Larry Nance Jr. 	PF 	33.4 	11 	CLE 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Doug McDermott 	 	SF 	34.4 	12 	SAC 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Jeff Green 	 	PF 	39.8 	19 	HOU 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Bismack Biyombo 	C 	33.8 	15 	SAS 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
DeAndre Jordan 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	NOP 	$3,571,495 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jaxson Hayes 	 	C 	26.0 	7 	LAL 	$3,449,323 	UFA / Bird
Russell Westbrook 	PG 	37.6 	18 	SAC 	$3,386,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Gary Payton II 	 	PG 	33.5 	10 	GSW 	$3,303,774 	UFA / Bird
Thomas Bryant 	 	C 	28.8 	9 	CLE 	$3,287,409 	UFA / Non-Bird
MarJon Beauchamp 	SG 	25.7 	4 	PHI 	$3,152,399 	UFA / Non-Bird
Drew Eubanks 	 	C 	29.3 	8 	SAC 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Marvin Bagley III 	PF 	27.2 	8 	DAL 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Bruce Brown Jr. 	SG 	29.8 	8 	DEN 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Josh Okogie 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	HOU 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Landry Shamet 	 	SG 	29.2 	8 	NYK 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Bird
Jordan McLaughlin 	PG 	30.2 	7 	SAS 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Early Bird
Amir Coffey 	 	SG 	29.0 	7 	PHX 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Javonte Green 	 	SG 	32.8 	7 	DET 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Seth Curry 	 	SG 	35.8 	13 	GSW 	$2,777,830 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jae’Sean Tate 	 	SF 	30.6 	6 	HOU 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Anthony Gill 	 	PF 	33.7 	6 	WAS 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Jock Landale 	 	C 	30.6 	5 	ATL 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nah'Shon Hyland 	PG 	25.8 	5 	MIN 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Early Bird
Lindy Waters III 	SF 	28.8 	5 	SAS 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Precious Achiuwa 	PF 	26.7 	6 	SAC 	$2,453,285 	UFA / Non-Bird
Xavier Tillman 	 	C 	27.4 	5 	CHA 	$2,392,183 	UFA / Bird
Blake Wesley 	 	SG 	23.2 	4 	POR 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Non-Bird
Collin Gillespie 	PG 	26.9 	4 	PHX 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Early Bird
Bryce McGowens 	 	SG 	23.6 	4 	NOP 	$2,081,293 	UFA / Non-Bird
Keon Ellis 	 	SF 	26.4 	4 	CLE 	$1,701,903 	UFA / Bird
Olivier-Maxence Prosper PF 	23.9 	3 	MEM 	$1,512,846 	UFA / Early Bird
Jordan Goodwin 	 	PG 	27.6 	5 	PHX 	$1,286,648 	UFA / Early Bird
Jevon Carter 	 	PG 	30.8 	8 	ORL 	$1,168,625 	UFA / Non-Bird
Brandon Williams 	PG 	26.5 	4 	DAL 	$1,159,362 	UFA / Bird
Mike Conley 	 	PG 	38.7 	19 	MIN 	$1,148,727 	UFA / Non-Bird
Mason Plumlee 	 	C 	36.2 	13 	SAS 	$939,867 	UFA / Non-Bird
Cameron Thomas 	 	SG 	24.7 	5 	MIL 	$905,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Kyle Anderson 	 	PF 	32.7 	12 	MIN 	$898,095 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tyus Jones 	 	PG 	30.1 	11 	DEN 	$814,552 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jeremy Sochan 	 	PF 	23.0 	4 	NYK 	$806,628 	UFA / Non-Bird
A.J. Lawson 	 	F 	25.9 	4 	TOR 	$27,343 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tony Bradley 	 	C 	28.4 	8 	ATL 	$17,706 	UFA / Non-Bird
Charles Bassey 	 	C 	25.6 	5 	GSW 	$14,146 	UFA / Non-Bird

Here are some names that stand out to me:
Guards: Coby White, Gary Payton II, Bruce Brown, Seth Curry, Tyus Jones, Quentin Grimes(?)
Front Court: Larry Nance Jr., Joe Ingles, Precious, Jusuf Nurkic, Nick Richards

The kid's upside eclipses Mitch, Deuce and Shamet combined.

nycericanguy wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

nycericanguy wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Jimmy D was on Carton again basically saying zero chance we go into second apron.

This is very notable. I will say that his description/ explanation made it seem like he doesn’t really understand how it works. But it’s always very possible that they determined as an organization they will not go over until they absolutely have to. They just won a title and are essentially playing with house money right now. The longer they hold off going over the second apron, the longer they can keep the core group (maybe minus Mitch) together. You really have to play the long game with this. And you would need to have KAT take a dramatic paycut on his next contract for there not to be a 2 year expiration date on this group.

Towns is making $56m next season, I would imagine by virtue of him extending it would save us some money. I could see him extending at 4/200m for instance which would be starting around $46m

Would his extension price kick in next season and allow us to save that ~15M and allocate towards Mitch and others? If so, I could see this being the path. It was reported Towns would "do anything to make it work in NY". I think he would follow Brunson's lead. No chance he's touching 50M+ on the open market. 40M is probably his value, maybe slightly discounted.

i think it would kick in the season after next.

amazing run, still cant believe it, but would be very disappointed if this group isn't allowed to run it back and defend it because of the 2nd apron. I'm not understanding and i hope its just posturing. there's no huge penalty for being 2nd apron for 2 years.

even if it means giving Mitch a huge 2 year deal so that we keep contracts short. we could give Mitch 2/40m and Shamet 2/20 and call it a day and have a 2 year window.

I do wonder if this is all about the KAT contract extension, which should be figured out this summer?

The second apron numbers goes up about an average of $12M a year ($208M this year, $223M, $233M, $245M. The Knicks starters go up $20M this year and $14M next year. It's KAT contract extension and the $61M in 2027-28 that's the hurdle. Next year everyone else will be at $45m OG, $40m Brunson, $36m Mikal, $22m Hart. It's the difference between vet mins and better choices for bench plain and simple.

nycericanguy wrote:I guess I just dont understand what staying under the 2nd apron does for us that would justify losing Mitch & Shamet.

Knicks Sign Guerschon Yabusele To Two-Year Deal

July 1, 2025 - As we previously relayed, Yabusele is expected to take a little less than the full taxpayer mid-level exception in order to create some extra breathing room below the Knicks’ hard cap. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), Yabusele’s deal will be worth $5.5MM in year one and $5.775MM in year two. July 1: The Knicks are in agreement on a two-year, $12MM deal with free agent forward/center Guerschon Yabusele, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the new contract will include a second-year player option. Based on their cap situation, the Knicks appear set to use their full taxpayer mid-level exception on Yabusele. That would work out to approximately $11.7MM over two seasons. However, he was a revelation on a minimum-salary contract with the Sixers in 2024/25, averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes per game, with a .501/.380/.725 shooting line. Yabusele has the size to match up with big men in the post and the athleticism to switch onto perimeter players, making him a valuable member of any frontcourt rotation. He’ll give the Knicks another option up front to supplement Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, likely sliding into the spot previously held by Precious Achiuwa...Now that they’ve committed their taxpayer mid-level exception to Yabusele, the Knicks will be limited to minimum-salary signings (or trades) to fill out their roster.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/07/knicks-guerschon-yabusele-agree-to-two-year-deal.html

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Guerschon Yabusele has been major disappointment for Knicks

Jan 7, 2026 - To change that, the team signed Guerschon Yabusele to a two-year, $11.3 million deal in free agency. It was an addition that was lauded by virtually everyone, given how well he had performed with the Philadelphia 76ers in his return to the NBA last season. Yabusele averaged 11 points per game on a .501/.380/.725 shooting split with 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 27.1 minutes per game. He looked to be the perfect addition to the Knicks' bench, possessing a game that fit alongside both of their big men as a complementary piece. Alas, any goodwill and leash that the Frenchman had coming into the season has dissipated. His signing has not panned out, with Yabusele being one of the least impactful offseason additions in the league. He has not looked comfortable on the court in Brown’s system, producing a woeful .394/.317/.667 shooting line thus far this season. 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game are being averaged in 9.6 minutes. Those offensive numbers are poor, but he has been performing at an even worse level on the defensive end of the court. As shared by Tommy Beer on X, Yabusele is one of only two players who have logged at least 300 minutes this season to record fewer than five steals and five blocks...His Net Rating of -3.3 is by far the worst amongst New York players who have appeared in at least 16 games and logged at least 300 minutes of action. There isn’t another rotation player on the team who has a negative Net Rating....Yabu is averaging 3.1 points per game while shooting below 40% from the floor and below 32% from downtown.

https://www.si.com/nba/knicks/onsi/news/new-york-knicks-guerschon-yabusele-signing-complete-disaster

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The New York Knicks traded Guerschon Yabusele to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Dalen Terry. The trade was structured to allow the Knicks to dump Yabusele's player option for the following season and clear salary cap space, while Yabusele agreed to amend his contract to facilitate the move.

New York Knicks receive: Guard Dalen Terry

Chicago Bulls receive: Forward/Center Guerschon Yabusele and cash considerations

Yabusele struggled to fit into the Knicks' system after signing in the offseason, seeing a drastically reduced role. By moving him, the Knicks escaped a roughly $5.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season, which helped them duck the luxury tax/apron and open roster spots. Yabusele worked with his agency and the Knicks to voluntarily remove the player option from his contract to make the trade happen.The return: Dalen Terry, a former first-round pick, was on an expiring rookie deal. The Knicks subsequently used Terry in a separate deal to acquire defensive guard Jose Alvarado from the New Orleans Pelicans.

*******

The New York Knicks traded Dalen Terry and two second-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for point guard Jose Alvarado.

To New York Knicks: Jose Alvarado (and the draft rights to Latavious Williams).

To New Orleans Pelicans: Dalen Terry, two future second-round picks, and cash considerations.

The Knicks pursued this trade to bolster their backcourt rotation and add point-of-attack defense after guard Miles "Deuce" McBride suffered a core muscle injury requiring surgery. For the Pelicans, the move allowed them to clear minutes for younger developmental players as they embraced a retooling phase, rather than losing Alvarado to free agency. The trade served as a homecoming for Alvarado, a Brooklyn native. Terry was briefly routed to the Knicks from the Bulls in a separate trade before being immediately sent to New Orleans in the Alvarado deal.

*******

The gross assumption by many is that the roster you start with at the beginning of the season is where you will end up in terms of personnel by the end. It never works that way. Jose Alvarado was a useful piece for the championship run. People can argue how impactful, but he did give Brunson a breather at spots. And relief from being the primary ballhandler.

If the Knicks were over the 2nd Apron, odds are they would be stuck with a bust like Yabusele. Using the Taxpayer MLE on Yabusele looked good on paper, and everyone understands why the decision was made ( but it was also a sign of the lack of confidence in MRob and his availability too) Over the 2nd Apron, they would not have been able to add some of their annual Cash Allotment in with Dalen Terry to get Alvarado.

Let's say the Knicks get over the 2nd Apron and then MRob gets badly hurt again and/or Shamet just regresses and turns into a bust like Yabusele. Then what? No room to adjust. Very limited to almost zero ways to improve the roster even marginally.

Imagine this current season without Alvarado, that's what breaching the 2nd Apron would have done to this team. It's more than just Dolan spending money. You need some practical flexibility during the season to adjust to changes in your personnel. The 2nd Apron is treated functionally like a hard cap by many owners because it almost operates as a pure roster freeze at the beginning of a season.

Did you look it up yourself? If you did and didn't understand some of it, that happens. That's the point of forums, to share information. If you didn't look it up first though, then next time, look it up yourself.

None of this has to be complicated. The strategy that gives the Knicks the most options right now is mining the Unrestricted market for Veteran Minimum level players, guys with experience ( but also some tradeoffs and drawbacks) that offer a little bit of cost certainty. They aren't going to give you a future 3 seasons from now and they won't replace a starter on a 1/1 basis if someone gets hurt. But maybe they can give you 7-8 minutes a game of reliable production and steady play. In my mind, the Knicks are a very good team with it's core, they have a system that works and a core 5 that fit together well. Just supplement them a bit, that's it. No one wants to hear that MRob and Shamet are expendable, but at this point, they are probably expendable for the tradeoffs implied with keeping them. Again, if it was just Dolan's money, I'd say f**k the luxury tax costs, but it's not just a money issue here.

Panos wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:Just keep Diawara.

The kid's upside eclipses Mitch, Deuce and Shamet combined.

How are you so sure about this?

Diawara is a 6’9” 225 lb wing with a 7’4” wingspan. He was supposed to be a massive project but ended up playing well as a 20 yo rookie including shooting 37% from 3.

He’s a freak who has crazy potential