The Knicks are heading toward a financial squeeze, and that reality makes the next few seasons about more than just wins and losses. Karl-Anthony Towns is going to need a new contract extension soon.
After him, so will Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. Josh Hart, too.
With the second apron closing in, New York is going to face some hard choices.
That’s why the focus has to shift now. The Knicks need to start building up younger players before the roster gets even more expensive. Cheap contributors matter in today’s NBA, and if New York wants to keep its core together, it has to find value wherever it can.
Mohamed Diawara, Tyler Kolek, and Tyler Nickel are the names that fit that bill. If the Knicks handle things well, those are the kinds of players who could stay affordable for years.
But that only matters if they’re ready when the roster starts thinning out. Eventually, some veterans will have to go, and the young guys will need to be able to step in.
That’s where Mike Brown comes in. He should be thinking seriously about giving those players real developmental minutes over the next few years so they aren’t being thrown into the fire cold when the time comes.
The league has already shown how valuable that setup can be. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have leaned on cheap talent as a major part of their formula.
Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle have all been on rookie contracts. The Thunder, on a smaller scale, still have Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and Jared McCain on tiny deals.
That kind of roster balance matters even when the players are just filling supporting roles. Cheap minutes help teams avoid the second-apron penalties everyone is trying to steer clear of.
Diawara is already under contract for four seasons, and if New York can turn him into the versatile defender he flashed as last year, that would be a major win at a low cost. Kolek is another candidate to grow into a useful piece.
He has two years left on his rookie deal, and the Knicks should be able to extend him for relatively cheap. A guard on a small contract behind Brunson would be a valuable thing to have.
Nickel is the wild card. He stood out at Summer League and still hasn’t signed a deal, but he has the look of an elite three-point shooter. If that translates, getting that kind of production on a four-year rookie deal would be a huge bargain.
If the Knicks want to keep their core intact, or even most of it, they need some of these young players to hit. And to give themselves the best shot at that, they have to play them enough to find out what they really have.
In Other News...
Jason Williams Just Hit The Sixers With A Brutal Reality Check
Jason Williams is already pumping the brakes on the 76ers buzz for 2026-27, and from a Knicks perspective, that matters because he sees Philadelphia trailing a familiar group in the East. Williams singled out New York, along with Miami and Orlando, as teams he expects to finish ahead of the Sixers, a sharp counter to the idea that Philadelphias offseason moves automatically push it into the top tier.
His skepticism centers on whether the roster can hold up where it counts, especially on the defensive end and on the glass. Williams view also runs against LeBron James belief that Philadelphia gives him the best chance to win, which only adds to the intrigue around how the Sixers will be judged before they ever get to prove it on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Suddenly Have Another Center Situation Worth Watching Closely
The Clippers frontcourt suddenly looks even more crowded after adding Johni Broome from Philadelphia, a move that piles another center into a group already built around Brook Lopez and several young bigs. Between Baba Miller, Narcisse Ngoy, Yanic Konan Niederhuser, Isaiah Jackson and Jamarion Sharp, there are only so many minutes and roster spots to go around, which is the kind of setup that often forces a team to make a choice sooner rather than later.
For the Knicks, that makes Los Angeles a team worth keeping on the radar. New York is always alert to the market when a usable center might shake loose, whether through a trade or a release, and the Clippers logjam could create exactly that kind of opening. Niederhuser is one name that stands out as a possible end-of-bench hold, especially with the kind of flashes he has shown, but the bigger question is whether the Clippers decide they can keep everyone in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Had A Very Different Center Plan If Kessler Fell Through
The Lakers went big to solve their center spot, landing Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with Utah and paying a steep price in two first-round picks, two pick swaps and a four-year, $130 million contract. Kessler is set to anchor the middle, with Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili behind him, giving Los Angeles a very different look than the one it had been carrying into the offseason.
Mitchell Robinson, meanwhile, was part of the larger center conversation before the Lakers locked in Kessler, and his market wound up taking a different turn. For New York, it is another reminder of how quickly the center market can shift when one domino falls, especially for a player whose value has long been tied to rim protection and the kind of role that contenders are always trying to fill. [Read more 🡒]