As they gear up for another deep playoff run this season, the New York Knicks have been building out the fringes of their roster.
New York’s biggest free agent signing was clearly its decision to bring aboard two-time Coach of the Year Mike Brown, after canning Tom Thibodeau despite an Eastern Conference Finals run this spring.
Executive Vice President and Senior Basketball Advisor William Wesley and President Leon Rose of the New York Knicks look on during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at United Center on December 14, 2022…
Executive Vice President and Senior Basketball Advisor William Wesley and President Leon Rose of the New York Knicks look on during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at United Center on December 14, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.
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But the club also inked a pair of valuable veterans to bolster its bench: power forward Guerschon Yabusele, hot off an impressive 2024 Olympics showing and a solid run with the Philadelphia 76ers, and combo guard Jordan Clarkson, the Sixth Man of the Year in 2021.
This week, New York signed free agent guards Malcolm Brogdon — the Sixth Man of the Year in 2023 — Garrison Mathews, and Landry Shamet, the latter of whom enjoyed some decent playoff moments for the Knicks just last year.
More news: Knicks Make Big Free Agent Move, Sign Veteran Guard
The nature of the deals hasn’t been revealed, although it seems likely they’re training camp contracts. Ian Begley of SNY has reported that the injury-prone Brogdon has inked a non-guaranteed agreement.
Malcolm Brogdon’s deal with the Knicks is non guaranteed, per source familiar with the matter. He will obviously get strong consideration for roster spot. Landry Shamet will also get strong consideration for the spot. If Knicks don’t make a trade, they will have to choose between…
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 12, 2025
Because the Knicks are currently hard-capped below the second apron, the team can — for now — only sign one of these three players on a minimum-salaried deal.
Unless, of course, they make a trade.
Per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, that’s exactly what pundits expect New York to do. Bondy indicates that the Knicks appear to want to hold on to Brogdon and one of Shamet or Mathews.
People around the league expecting the Knicks to make a move to have space to keep Brogdon AND either Shamet or Mathews.
Stay tuned.
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) September 12, 2025
Kris Pursiainen of ClutchPoints reports that the Knicks could look to offload a second-year player in a cost-cutting deal. They have four.
Possible Knicks on the Move
“If New York does make a trade, one of their four rookies drafted in 2024 could be on the move. The Knicks have received at least one offer for one of their second-year players this week, league sources told ClutchPoints,” Pursiainen writes. “The expectation of several league sources is that the organization will trade a player for draft capital to clear a roster spot.”
As Pursiainen observes, New York already has plenty of guard depth — maybe too much. Thus, Tyler Kotek is seen as a possible trade chip who makes sense.
“Jalen Brunson, Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride, and new additions in Jordan Clarkson and Brogdon would give the team depth at guard. This could logjam incoming second-year guard Tyler Kolek behind the group of veteran ball handlers. Moving Kolek could afford the 24-year-old opportunity that he would not get in New York. At least one opposing team has demonstrated interest in Kolek this offseason, ClutchPoints also learned.”
Last season, the 6-foot-1 Marquette product played sparingly for New York behind Brunson, McBride and Delon Wright, averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 assists in 7.2 minutes per.
More news: NBA Insider Urges Knicks to Trade for Lakers’ LeBron James in Blockbuster Move
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