The Knicks have brought in five camp tryout players for one open roster spot, with reports indicating the team wants to come out of camp with two additions if it can make the numbers work: one wing and one center.
That leaves a tight competition, and the real question isn’t just who survives the cut. It’s which player brings a trait the Knicks can actually use. Here’s what stands out most about each tryout.
Konchar is the clearest wing fit if New York does open a spot, because his game travels without needing the ball. He gives value through rebounding, connective passing and defensive playmaking, but the glass is where he really pops. As a guard, he ranks in the 91st percentile in both teammate-miss offensive rebound percentage and defensive rebounding percentage.
He plays bigger than his frame, in a way that brings Josh Hart to mind. Konchar can battle at the four in today’s NBA, attack from the corners, and keep possessions alive by chasing loose balls.
He’s got a real nose for the basketball. The tradeoff is the jumper, which isn’t reliable enough to keep him spaced consistently, so he can wind up living around the dunker spot or the rim.
Agbaji comes with more questions than answers at 26, and if he’s going to stick, he’ll have to sharpen several parts of his game. The offensive limitations are real, and while his defense helps, it may not be enough on its own. Still, there are two things he can lean on: defensive versatility and off-ball defense.
At 6’5”, Agbaji is more of a small forward than a true four, and most of his defensive reps have come against guards. His ball-screen navigation is a problem, though, which limits him on the perimeter.
Where he does show up is around the rim. He does a good job cleaning things up inside, and blocks may be the best defensive playmaking number in his profile, with an 80th-percentile mark and a strong -2.0 opponent FG differential at the rim over the last two seasons.
His off-ball impact also matters. Among off-ball wings, he ranks in the 87th percentile in rim deterrence and the 80th percentile in rim protection. In a system that asks help defenders to cover a lot of ground, that kind of activity can become his best sales pitch.
Brown’s biggest selling point could have been rebounding, but the more interesting trait is his ball-screen navigation. Over the last three seasons, he has ranked in the 89th percentile among off-ball wings and rotation players in that area. That’s a strong number, and it gives the Knicks a reason to take a serious look.
It also puts him in a useful place relative to the rest of the roster. Per BBall Index, that would make him effectively the second-best screen navigator on the team behind Jose Alvarado.
And among New York’s better screen navigators, Brown has a little more to offer when the play breaks down. Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson, despite their screen-navigation strength, fall off the table in isolation.
Brown fits more closely with Josh Hart or Miles McBride, both of whom sit just behind Anunoby in that stat and are strong on the perimeter.
Wiseman is still only 25, but the injury history is hard to ignore. A torn meniscus and, more recently, a torn Achilles tendon in 2024 have left enough uncertainty that it’s difficult to know what kind of player he is at this point. We really haven’t seen him play for a couple seasons, so there’s a lot of guesswork involved.
The one thing that could matter most is whether he can be a rolling aerial threat. Andre Drummond and Karl-Anthony Towns are grounded centers rather than lob targets, though Towns’ pop gravity and Drummond’s offensive rebounding both bring value. A lob threat would give the Knicks a different look at center, and Wiseman has at least shown touch at the rim, shooting 75% there in his NBA career, which places him in the 79th percentile among centers.
Eubanks brings a different kind of center skill set. He looks more like a release-valve, screening-combo big than a true playmaking hub. He doesn’t pass at Isaiah Hartenstein’s level, but he can connect possessions through screening, and that extends to the short midrange, where he has posted above-average shooting at 47% on 73rd-percentile volume among bigs.
There are limits, though. His passer turnover rate sits in the 18th percentile over the last three seasons, so he isn’t especially clean with the ball in his hands.
Still, the screening, creative passing and short roll work give him a case. Drummond can do some of that too, but Eubanks gets a slight edge because he also has a floater in his bag.
That could make for an interesting fit alongside Jalen Brunson, who he’d likely spend nearly all of his theoretical time with.
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