The Knicks have already built a little Dunk Contest legacy of their own - Kenny Walker, Nate Robinson three times, and Obi Toppin - and now they could take a look at the event’s reigning champion while trying to shore up their frontcourt.
Keshad Johnson is still unsigned this late in free agency, and that makes him a name worth circling as training camp in September gets closer. For New York, the bigger issue is not the trophy case.
It’s center depth. That’s where Johnson could become a real candidate for a closer look, whether the Knicks decide on a signing or bring him in for a preseason tryout.
The fit starts with the obvious: athletic pop. Johnson brings the kind of bounce that can change the feel of a camp workout, and there’s at least some reason to believe he can offer more than just highlight finishes. New York is looking for help behind Andre Drummond, and right now the depth chart is thin enough that any legitimate option deserves attention.
That need is what makes Johnson interesting. The Knicks spent most of last season with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson handling the middle, but that setup is gone, and the current alternative isn’t nearly as sturdy.
Drummond is not a perfect stand-in, and there is no third-string center on the roster at the moment. If that doesn’t change, it becomes a much bigger problem.
Johnson, 24, has not had much runway yet. In two seasons with the Heat, he averaged 1.9 rebounds per game, but the context matters: he played 8.8 minutes per game last season and 6.1 the year before. There just hasn’t been much time for him to show what he can do.
The college numbers point to more. At San Diego State and Arizona, he averaged 4.5 rebounds per game across 20.5 minutes a night.
During his senior season at Arizona, when he logged the most minutes of his college career, he averaged 5.9 rebounds per game. The NBA is a different level, of course, but the rebound ability was there before Miami ever got a real chance to tap into it.
Johnson also had one of the clearer flashes of his NBA potential last November, when he got 29.5 minutes against the Bulls. He finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two made threes. It was the kind of performance that hinted at a broader skill set, not just a vertical one.
That matters for the Knicks because Robinson’s departure leaves a very specific void. Towns and Drummond do not bring that same lob threat or above-the-rim presence.
Johnson does. He also appears to want more than dunk-contest fame, with his three-point shooting worth keeping an eye on if New York gives him a shot.
At the very least, he could be part of a camp battle for center help, with the Knicks sorting through multiple options and hoping one of them separates. Given the state of the depth chart, Johnson looks like the sort of flyer that makes sense.
In Other News...
Knicks Built The Easts New Blueprint Before Winning Anything
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2025 and still came up short of ending the franchises long championship drought, falling to the Pacers after a spring that had already made them one of the leagues most talked-about teams. Their run included a win over the Celtics in the previous round, a series shaped in part by Jayson Tatums injury, but it also reflected something bigger than one playoff bracket: a roster built around size, switchability and wings who could survive the modern East.
New Yorks front office spent years leaning into that template by adding versatile pieces such as Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, and the league has taken notice. The Knicks may not have won the conference, but the approach has already started to spread, with teams like the Cavaliers looking at similar roster construction as the path to better matchup options against Boston and the Easts top tier. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Brunson Debate Just Got More Frustrating For Knicks Fans
The latest round of player-ranking chatter has put Jalen Brunson right back in the middle of the kind of debate Knicks fans know all too well. In a social media video, NBA analyst Michelle Beadle worked through a list of stars and made some choices that will feel familiar to anyone who has watched the league try to sort out where Brunson belongs among the games best guards and wings.
Beadle had Brunson above Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker, which is enough to keep the argument lively on its own. But she also slid other names ahead of him in a way that will irritate New York supporters, especially after Brunson just finished leading the Knicks to an NBA championship and backing it up with elite production in both the regular season and postseason. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Keep A Bench Piece They Could Not Afford To Lose
Landry Shamet gave the Knicks exactly the kind of bench help contenders spend all year trying to find, and now the club has decided it could not afford to let that lane disappear. The veteran guard supplied reliable shooting, helped stretch the floor and gave New York another offensive option behind the starters, all while fitting neatly into a rotation that increasingly values spacing and calm shot-making.
His regular season fit was strong enough to make the decision easy, with 9.3 points per game and 39.2% shooting from deep underscoring why the front office wanted him back. For a Knicks team built around depth and versatility, keeping a proven catch-and-shoot presence matters, especially when the margins tighten and every stable bench piece starts to look more important than the box score suggests. [Read more 🡒]