The Knicks have been busy this offseason, but one thing still missing from the ledger is a two-way signing. That stands out on the surface, especially with New York sitting as the only team without a two-way player under contract, according to Hoops Rumors’ updated tracker. But the longer this drags on, the more it looks like the Knicks may be keeping those slots open for something bigger.
That patience makes some sense. New York still has two rookies unsigned, and the frontcourt remains the obvious area to watch.
A two-way deal is usually an easy place to stash a young player you want to develop without touching the cap, and the Knicks have had options. Summer League brought Liam Robbins into the conversation, with his size and shot-blocking standing out.
Trey Jemison, who was on a 2025-26 two-way deal, could also be brought back after spending the entire season with the Knicks.
There are other names in the mix too. Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel both flashed enough in Summer League to make a two-way look reasonable, and Nickel’s three-point shooting gives New York a skill it should want to lock up in some form.
Kayil also has the possibility of being stashed overseas. Even Kevin McCullar Jr., who was on a 2025-26 two-way deal, has been pushed to the side after missing Summer League.
Still, the Knicks have stayed quiet.
The simplest explanation is that they’re waiting on a bigger center move before filling those two-way spots. That would line up with the way they’ve already approached the market. New York has looked into backup trade targets such as the Hornets’ Moussa Diabata and the Pelicans’ Yves Missi, and there are also other bigs behind them in Charlotte and New Orleans - Ryan Kalkbrenner and Karlo Matkovic - that the Knicks could try to pry loose.
Free agency offers another path, though the board is thinning out. Nick Richards remains the most appealing name mentioned, but after making $5 million this past season and closing strong with the Bulls at 9.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg across 20 games, he may not be eager to take a minimum deal for New York.
If Richards doesn’t become an option, the Knicks would be left sorting through a list that includes Kevin Love, Dwight Powell, Bismack Biyombo, and Mason Plumlee. Those names once carried more weight than they do now. The same goes for the less-established group of Drew Eubanks, Tony Bradley, Drew Timme, and Christian Koloko, who could be on the radar as training-camp invites but may be holding out for more than that.
Time is part of the problem. A trade is hard to pull off right now because other teams have little incentive to help the defending champs. A free-agent signing has its own complications, since backup bigs still have a market and some players may not love the idea of joining a roster that already has Andre Drummond and Karl-Anthony Towns in place.
That leaves New York trying to use what it has - second-round picks, Miles McBride, and the pull of a huge market coming off a title - to land the right answer. In that context, the two-way delay looks less like indecision and more like the Knicks making sure they don’t box themselves in before the center situation is settled.
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