All eyes are on the Knicks as free agency opens, and the front office has already been busy trying to shape the 2026 offseason around the team’s title window. New York’s core is set for 2026-27, but the moves on the edges could end up mattering just as much as the stars in place.
The biggest early business has come on the free-agent side. The Knicks reportedly agreed to deals with three impending free agents, starting with promising rookie Mohamed Diawara, though the details of that arrangement have not yet come into focus.
Jose Alvarado is also sticking around, but on a different path. He declined his 2026-27 player option in favor of a longer-term agreement with New York, giving himself more financial security and keeping him in position to be a key part of the second unit throughout this core’s title window.
Landry Shamet is the other major name to come back. According to SNY’s Ian Begley, Shamet had larger offers available elsewhere, but chose to take less than he could have gotten on the open market in order to give the Knicks more flexibility while still landing a significant raise.
The bench picture is still not finished, though. Mitchell Robinson appears likely to head elsewhere, and Jordan Clarkson is another name whose future still needs to be sorted out as free agency begins at 6 p.m. ET.
New York has also taken some swings on the margins. Jack Kayil is a combo guard who can start the offense as both a scorer and playmaker, while Tyler Nickel brings a sharp shooting profile after establishing himself as one of college basketball’s best marksmen over the past three years. Both are the kind of low-cost flyers the Knicks can afford to take, and both could end up as two-way candidates.
Not every decision has gone in New York’s favor. The Knicks did not extend a qualifying offer to Ariel Hukporti, which means they lost the right to make him a restricted free agent and match any outside offer. That opens the door for him to sign wherever he wants.
Even so, a return to the Knicks is still in play. Hukporti would make about $200K less on a veteran minimum deal with New York than he would by taking the lowest qualifying offer, and that small difference could make the team’s preferred route worth exploring. For now, though, he belongs in the losses category, even if that could change quickly.
The draft also brought movement. The Knicks selected Sergio De Larrea, then traded him and acquired Koa Peat’s draft rights before dealing those rights as part of a four-team trade. New York also took Ugonna Onyeso at No. 53 overall and then sent him out for cash.
If any of those three players make noise at the next level, the Knicks may have to live with the regret.
In Other News...
Knicks Just Made A Surprising Ariel Hukporti Decision
Ariel Hukportis first full look with the Knicks gave the team a chance to evaluate him across a long regular season, and the early returns were modest. He appeared in 54 games in 2025-26, averaging 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds, and his role never grew into something that clearly locked him in as part of the clubs long-term center picture.
Now his future is suddenly up in the air, with New York leaving him in restricted free agency and signaling that it may be weighing other answers behind Karl-Anthony Towns. The Knicks could still bring Hukporti back if the market is quiet enough, but for now the sense is that the front office is looking around for a different backup option and keeping its plans fluid. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Already Have A Fallback Plan If Their Center Walks
The Knicks center situation could take a familiar turn in free agency, with the possibility of Mitchell Robinson becoming too expensive to retain if salary-cap realities get tight. Brooklyns interest in Robinson adds another wrinkle, and it has already pushed New York to think about a veteran backup plan if the market moves faster than expected.
Brook Lopez is the name that keeps surfacing in that conversation, though his path to availability still depends on what happens with his current team option. Even after a season in which some of his production dipped, Lopez would give New York a proven interior presence and a stretch-big skill set that could let the club manage his workload rather than lean on him for heavy minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Added Another Worry To Their Shaky Center Picture
The Knicks center situation got a little murkier this week as the front office continues to sort through a roster squeezed by salary-cap realities. Ariel Hukporti is now part of that picture after the team moved on from his qualifying offer, a decision that leaves New York with another open question in the middle even as it keeps weighing its options for next season.
Mitchell Robinsons future is already uncertain, so the Knicks are hardly operating with much clarity at the position. With that backdrop, it is no surprise they are being linked to veteran possibilities such as Kevon Looney and Jock Landale, the kind of pragmatic names that suggest the team is trying to preserve flexibility while still finding someone reliable enough to stabilize the frontcourt. [Read more 🡒]