Knicks bring back Ryan Arcidiacono, waive Dmytro Skapintsev

In a bit of end-of-bench maneuvering, the New York Knicks have waived Dmytro Skapintsev and re-signed Ryan Arcidiacono.

Arcidiacono previously played for New York from 2021-2023. He appeared in 21 games, averaging about five minutes per outing. The 6’3”, 195 lb point guard has been on the Knick’s radar for some time, having signed five short contracts with them since January 6, 2021 (one voided). In February 2023, he was part of a 4-team trade that sent him and Cam Reddish to Portland and delivered Josh Hart to New York.

Most significantly, Arci was a teammate with fellow Knicks Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart at Villanova.

Certainly, his acquisition has more to do with teammate camaraderie than playing time, of which he will receive very little. Nonetheless, Ian Begley took to X to tweet, “Knicks were reluctant to include Ryan Arcidiacono in trade for Josh Hart last February. They did so to satisfy league trade stipulations. Tom Thibodeau often praised Arcidiacono for his professionalism last season. Arcidiacono is the 4th Villanova player on the roster. He joins Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Arcidiacono is known to be particularly close with Brunson.”

Terms of the latest deal were not shared. Read the press release here:

Last month, Dymtro Skapintsev inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the Knicks. The 7’1” center played well last season for the Westchester Knicks (8.4 points, 6.1 boards, 19.4 minutes) and at Summer League, but with Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jericho Sims ahead of him, Dymtro was a long shot to make the roster. Not a sad day, though, as the release allows him to return to the Westchester G-Leaguers for a second season.

Skapintsev is a native of Ukraine and played college ball at California State-Northridge. Basketball-Reference lists him as 260 lb, whereas the NBA’s G-League page claims he is 215. Someone please bring a scale to a Westchester game this season and report back with an accurate number.

Go Knicks!