The Knicks have an opening that could soon turn into a useful frontcourt swing, and Johni Broome just became a name worth circling.
New York is the only team in the league with all three two-way spots still available as training camp gets closer, and one of those openings figures to go to a big man. That gives Leon Rose’s patient approach a chance to work in the Knicks’ favor, especially after Broome was waived by the Clippers on Thursday evening.
Broome had already been moved once this summer. The Sixers took him 35th overall last year, then salary dumped him to Los Angeles in late July to create room for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Now the Clippers are dealing with a roster squeeze of their own, and the 6-foot-10 tweener ended up the odd man out again.
For New York, the appeal is obvious enough: Broome is a low-cost frontcourt option who could help deepen the roster without forcing the team to commit anything beyond a two-way spot.
His NBA debut season didn’t give much to work with. Broome was buried behind Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona in Philadelphia, and a partially torn meniscus ended his regular season in February.
He appeared in just 11 games, mostly in blowouts, and averaged 5.0 minutes. The production was thin: 16.7% shooting from the field, under one point, and just under two rebounds per game.
The G League is where he showed more of what made him a notable college player. With the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ affiliate, Broome put up 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks across 26 games. He even had a 50-point night against the College Park Skyhawks, a reminder that the former SEC Player of the Year can still take over when the lane opens up.
His Auburn résumé was loaded. Broome became just the fourth player in NCAA Division I history to post 2,500 career points and 1,500 career rebounds. He was First-Team All-SEC, SEC Tournament MVP, a Naismith Trophy finalist, and he helped lead the Tigers to a Final Four in 2025.
Still, the scouting concerns that pushed him out of the first round are still hanging around. He’s been labeled slow, undersized and unathletic, and the knock on him has always been whether he can handle NBA centers on a consistent basis. His 24.5-inch vertical doesn’t help him above the rim, either.
The bigger issue is fit. Broome built his game around backing people down, but that style doesn’t carry the same weight in a league where post-ups have faded.
Philadelphia’s staff pushed him to become a better shooter, and the early returns have been mixed. He shot 27% from deep in his final Auburn season, then 28.7% from three in the G League while taking five attempts a night.
Overall, he hit 46.4 percent of his shots, which isn’t enough for a big man trying to carve out a steady role.
There was at least some progress in Summer League. In three games, Broome averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists, though he connected on just two of 15 three-point tries. Even so, he was clearly more willing to let it fly than he was in college, and that matters for a player still trying to round out his game.
Broome still looks like a project, and most of his minutes this season are likely to come in the G League again. But for the Knicks, he fits the profile of a worthwhile flyer.
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