The Knicks have one standard roster spot left, but there’s no rush in New York to slam the door on the offseason just yet.
After an active summer, the team sits at 14 players, which is the league minimum, with roughly three months remaining before the 2026-27 season tips off. That leaves Leon Rose and the front office with time to sort through options for the 15th man, but so far there hasn’t been much noise around a move.
That quiet could be intentional. With the second apron only a few million dollars away, every dollar matters, and the Knicks may be better off preserving flexibility than making a quick signing that doesn’t pan out. A hasty decision now could box them in later, especially if the roster needs change once the season starts.
At the moment, the most obvious need is another center behind Karl-Anthony Towns and second-stringer Andre Drummond. But the value of that open slot goes beyond one position. If a wing like OG Anunoby or Mikal Bridges were to go down, having room to add help in-season would suddenly look a lot more important.
That’s why the Knicks could simply wait. There’s nothing unusual about leaving a roster spot open into the season, and the source points to the Sacramento Kings signing Russell Westbrook on October 16 last year, less than a week before opening night, as one example.
It may not be the flashiest route, but for New York, patience might be the smartest play.
In Other News...
Jason Williams Just Hit The Sixers With A Brutal Reality Check
Jason Williams is already pumping the brakes on the 76ers buzz for 2026-27, and from a Knicks perspective, that matters because he sees Philadelphia trailing a familiar group in the East. Williams singled out New York, along with Miami and Orlando, as teams he expects to finish ahead of the Sixers, a sharp counter to the idea that Philadelphias offseason moves automatically push it into the top tier.
His skepticism centers on whether the roster can hold up where it counts, especially on the defensive end and on the glass. Williams view also runs against LeBron James belief that Philadelphia gives him the best chance to win, which only adds to the intrigue around how the Sixers will be judged before they ever get to prove it on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Suddenly Have Another Center Situation Worth Watching Closely
The Clippers frontcourt suddenly looks even more crowded after adding Johni Broome from Philadelphia, a move that piles another center into a group already built around Brook Lopez and several young bigs. Between Baba Miller, Narcisse Ngoy, Yanic Konan Niederhuser, Isaiah Jackson and Jamarion Sharp, there are only so many minutes and roster spots to go around, which is the kind of setup that often forces a team to make a choice sooner rather than later.
For the Knicks, that makes Los Angeles a team worth keeping on the radar. New York is always alert to the market when a usable center might shake loose, whether through a trade or a release, and the Clippers logjam could create exactly that kind of opening. Niederhuser is one name that stands out as a possible end-of-bench hold, especially with the kind of flashes he has shown, but the bigger question is whether the Clippers decide they can keep everyone in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Had A Very Different Center Plan If Kessler Fell Through
The Lakers went big to solve their center spot, landing Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with Utah and paying a steep price in two first-round picks, two pick swaps and a four-year, $130 million contract. Kessler is set to anchor the middle, with Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili behind him, giving Los Angeles a very different look than the one it had been carrying into the offseason.
Mitchell Robinson, meanwhile, was part of the larger center conversation before the Lakers locked in Kessler, and his market wound up taking a different turn. For New York, it is another reminder of how quickly the center market can shift when one domino falls, especially for a player whose value has long been tied to rim protection and the kind of role that contenders are always trying to fill. [Read more 🡒]