The Knicks’ center room has thinned out fast, and that makes the two-way market worth watching.
With Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti gone, New York is left with Karl-Anthony Towns and the newly signed Andrew Drummond on the big-man depth chart. The financial squeeze means the Knicks can still add one more player on a veteran minimum deal, and that opening looks likely to go to a center. But there’s another lane here, too: a two-way contract would let the Knicks bring in frontcourt help without touching the 15-man roster.
That matters because a two-way player can spend up to 50 regular-season games with the parent club while moving back and forth with the G League affiliate. And the names in play all remain eligible for that kind of deal, since none of them has reached four years of NBA experience yet.
Trey Jemison is already familiar to the Knicks, and that gives him a real chance to stick around. He spent last season on a two-way with New York, which kept him out of the postseason, but he still logged 13 games with the big club and averaged 6.3 minutes a night.
In Westchester, he was more productive, putting up 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 31 games. The 26-year-old has now appeared in 76 NBA regular-season games over three seasons with the Wizards, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Lakers and Knicks.
There are signs he may have other plans, though. Jemison and his fiancée recently bought a home in Texas, and he’s also not on the Summer League roster, which could hint at where his future is headed.
Still, he was with the team for its ESPYs appearance earlier this week, so the door clearly isn’t shut. And with trade options scarce, New York could lean on a known quantity like Jemison before revisiting bigger moves later in the season.
Liam Robbins may have the strongest case of the bunch. The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year got a Summer League opportunity with the Knicks after spending the 2025-26 campaign with the NBA G-League’s Rip City Remix, and he’s a true seven-footer with some NBA time already under his belt. He played 13 games for the Bucks in 2024-25 and has averaged 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 45 career G League games.
His first two outings in Vegas were rough, but Robbins turned heads after that. He posted 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and four blocks in one game, while also hitting a three.
He followed that up Thursday with 13 points, 9 rebounds and another made triple. For a Knicks team looking for size, some scoring touch and defensive activity, that’s a pretty appealing package.
A training camp invite feels close to a formality.
Christian Koloko brings a different kind of value. Since going 33rd overall in the 2022 draft, he’s seen time with the Raptors, Lakers and Grizzlies.
His rookie year in Toronto showed some promise, but a blood clot issue wiped out the entire 2023-24 season. In 122 career NBA games, the 26-year-old has averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.
Offensively, he doesn’t offer much, but he’s a rim protector who plays above the rim, rebounds and uses active hands on defense.
Duop Reath is the oldest player on this list at 30, and he may also be the most interesting. After going undrafted in 2018 and spending years overseas, he caught on with the Blazers and flashed as a stretch-five.
In 146 games with Portland, he shot 35.7% from three on 2.8 attempts per game. He also missed the end of last season after undergoing surgery in late January to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.
Before that, he averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 32 games.
Then there’s Drew Timme, who just put together a strong G League season and still hasn’t landed a deal. He earned G League Second Team honors after averaging 23.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in 21 games, and he also made 27 appearances with the Lakers, averaging 3.4 points while shooting 44% from three.
The former Gonzaga star was a three-time consensus All-American and has clearly expanded his game beyond college, where he mostly stayed away from the perimeter. He’s undersized for a center and doesn’t play above the rim, but he’s skilled and smart.
With Hukporti gone, the Knicks have room to take a developmental swing at the position. Timme fits that profile, and the fact that his strong G League run still hasn’t turned into a signing suggests New York may be able to get him at a bargain.
In Other News...
Knicks Suddenly Face A Tough Choice They Did Not Expect
The Knicks spent the start of the offseason keeping their own free agents together, but the center picture changed fast once Mitchell Robinson was no longer in the mix. New York moved to stabilize the position by bringing in Andre Drummond, and that helped create a more workable depth chart for now, even as rookie Jack Kayil has made a strong early impression in Summer League after getting past his contract issue and getting on the floor.
Kayil has shown enough in Las Vegas to make the front office think twice about how it uses its remaining room. He has looked comfortable as a two-way contributor, and there is real intrigue around whether New York should preserve a spot for him heading into 2026-27 or use that opening to add more size behind the bigs. For a team that already had to adjust once Robinson left, the decision is suddenly less straightforward than it seemed a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Lost A Key Center Option And Leon Rose Has Pressure
The Knicks had been waiting to see how the center market would shake out, and one of the more practical names is now off the board. Jonas Valanciunas is no longer an option, which narrows the pool for a New York team still looking for a dependable answer in the middle and keeps the pressure on Leon Rose to find the right fit before the rest of the market thins out.
Nick Richards has quickly become the most logical fallback if the Knicks keep shopping for a big man in free agency. He has shown enough in recent seasons to be viewed as a realistic depth option, and his profile fits the kind of low-drama center search New York may have to settle into now that a more established target is gone. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Still Have One Familiar Option As Frontcourt Wait Drags On
The Knicks frontcourt search is still dragging, and the longer it goes, the more every familiar name on the market starts to matter. Jeremy Sochan is one of those names, a versatile big who has logged time at power forward and as a small-ball center, giving New York a possible short-term answer while it keeps working the trade market for a more permanent fix.
For a team that still has one roster spot to sort out, Sochans appeal is less about flash than fit. He has enough positional flexibility to help cover minutes at the five, and the Knicks could potentially bring him in on a veteran minimum deal, giving them a low-cost way to add frontcourt depth without forcing a rushed move elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]