The Knicks’ offseason math is getting tight, and that’s where Ochai Agbaji’s age starts to matter.
New York can stay under the second apron, but that comes with a hard limit: only one more roster addition this offseason, even though the team still has two open spots. With only enough room for a veteran-minimum deal, the Knicks may have to choose carefully between filling out the back end of the roster and preserving flexibility.
Right now, the biggest hole is still in the middle. Even counting the team’s three two-way players, New York has just two big men on the roster in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond. That reality doesn’t exactly help Agbaji or Bruce Brown in the ongoing training camp competition.
Still, if the Knicks are leaning toward youth, Agbaji could have the upper hand. The 26-year-old is younger than Brown, who is 30, and SNY’s Ian Begley reported Friday that New York has shown a preference for a younger big man when speaking with potential free agents.
"Before training camp, the team told some potential free agents that it was looking for a big man on the younger side," Begley wrote.
Begley also noted that age would not necessarily rule out James Wiseman, Tony Bradley, or Drew Eubanks, who are all between 25 and 29, from landing the final roster spot. But if there’s only one opening left at the end of Mike Brown’s bench, need probably wins out, and that spot would likely go to a center.
There is another path, though. The Knicks have reportedly been shopping Pacôme Dadiet, which would appear aimed at creating room for a second veteran on an Exhibit 9 deal to keep fighting for a camp spot.
If New York can move Dadiet without giving up more than one second-round pick, and if Brown truly believes another training camp standout is worth adding, then the coach has earned the right to make that call. Brown just ended the franchise’s title drought, and now he’s tasked with helping New York try to become the first team in nine years to defend a championship in the league’s modern era of parity.
Dadiet’s role last season was tiny. He averaged 4.7 minutes in 29 appearances, saw preseason chances, and earned praise from Brown for his potential, but he was not part of the regular nightly rotation. He was also seemingly passed over quickly by rookie Mohamed Diawara, who averaged nearly twice as much playing time in 69 games.
The Knicks always seem able to find second-round picks when they need them, but they may not want to get too comfortable using them as the price to attach to Dadiet’s $2.9 million salary. Last season’s Jose Alvarado acquisition showed that useful players can still become available as the trade deadline gets closer.
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Jalen Brunsons Next Knicks Deal Could Change Everything Around Him
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Now the next chapter could reshape the economics around him all over again. Fred Katz of The Athletic projects Brunson to land a four-year, $290 million extension that would begin in the 2028-29 season, a jump that would take his salary into a completely different tier and change the way the Knicks have to think about the core they are building. For a franchise that already benefited from Brunsons sacrifice, the looming question is how much flexibility remains when his next deal arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Kolek Is Handling A Tough Knicks Reality The Right Way
Tyler Kolek has spent much of his early Knicks run in a familiar NBA holding pattern: waiting for a real opening while trying to make the most of the minutes he gets. The third-year point guard has kept the right attitude through that uncertainty, talking about the need for consistency, confidence and aggression in his own game while also showing the kind of perspective that comes from sharing a backcourt with Jalen Brunson.
For a young player, that can be a tricky spot to navigate, especially when the rotation is crowded and the outside noise never really stops. Kolek has handled it by staying focused on improvement instead of dwelling on the frustration, but his role in New York still feels unsettled, and his next chance to build momentum may come only if the situation around him changes. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Title Defense Starts With A Costly Contract Tension
The Knicks are heading into camp with some familiar names and a familiar kind of front-office pressure, even after the high of a championship run. Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride are all in line for contract conversations, but a new deal before the regular season begins does not appear likely for any of them. Towns is the priciest piece of the group and already has a player option on the horizon, while Hart and McBride come at the issue from different roster and salary angles.
For now, the organization is treating the situation carefully rather than letting it spill into something more disruptive. There is no sign of holdouts, and the Knicks have reason to keep the focus on continuity as they defend their title. Hart is also working through a finger injury as camp opens, another layer to manage, but the bigger storyline may be how long these talks stay in the background before they become part of the daily noise around the team. [Read more 🡒]