When the New York Knicks begin training camp in October, the battle for the final roster spot will be very intriguing.
The Knicks have assembled their deepest and most talented roster in years. Their rotation should be fairly stable around nine or 10 players, but they have several capable veterans to round out the roster.
Over the weekend, the Knicks continued to add to their roster, signing two proven veterans, Landry Shamet and Marcus Morris Sr., to essentially non-guaranteed invitations to training camp.
Currently, the Knicks have 14 players under guaranteed contracts: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Precious Achiuwa, Jericho Sims, Cameron Payne, Keita Bates-Diop, Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet.
The Knicks have just one guaranteed open roster spot left, and three players competing for it: Shamet, Morris and power forward Chuma Okeke, whom the Knicks signed earlier in the offseason.
Each player has his own merits.
For now, Morris seems to be the hot ticket. According to SNY’s Ian Begley, Morris has a “real chance” to make the final roster. Morris, 34, had a nice stint with the Knicks in 2019-20 and, according to Begley, is viewed as a locker room leader and potential big-time player.
Shamet’s shooting could also be useful to the Knicks, especially if one of their other guards gets hurt. Shamet is a career 38 percent three-point shooter and, at 27, is much younger than Morris.
Meanwhile, Okeke seems like the least likely player to make the roster, but he offers potential for the Knicks to move up. Okeke was the 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft, but missed his rookie year with a torn ACL. His minutes have fluctuated over his four seasons with the Orlando Magic, as he has struggled to shoot (38 percent for his career). However, he has shown flashes of being an impact defender, meaning he will always be a consideration for Tom Thibodeau.
Jonathan Macri of the Knicks Film School wondered if it was possible for the Knicks to keep Morris and Shamet and get rid of someone like Bates-Diop.
Between that and the fact that Shamet reportedly chose NY over other interested suitors, I wonder if there’s a chance KBD won’t make the final 15 even though he has a guaranteed contract. https://t.co/sQYQnUd8th
— Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) September 15, 2024
The three-way race for the 15th spot is a far cry from last season, when the final roster spots for the Knicks went to players like Jacob Toppin, DaQuan Jeffries, Mamadi Diakite and Ryan Arcidiacono, all of whom played a combined 137 minutes last year.
After injuries plagued the Knicks last season, leaving them with essentially five healthy players at the end of the playoffs, Knicks management appears to have made it their goal to have a deep, viable bench this year.
There are some unknowns: It’s not yet clear whether Kolek and Dadiet will be NBA-ready rookies. But the other 12 guaranteed contracts are all proven NBA players, and Morris, Shamet and Okeke all have extensive NBA experience.
In recent years, the Knicks’ training camp has focused more on how the main rotation is shaping up. While that will remain an obvious focus this year, the race for the final spot could have a “Hard Knocks” vibe.
