Knicks Final Roster Spots Up for Grabs

The New York Knicks have two roster spots to fill.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 28, 2024

Feb 3, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Knicks forward Marcus Morris Sr. (13) celebrates as referee Eric Dalen signals a three point basket during overtime against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have 13 guaranteed roster spots already filled, which means those on non-guaranteed or two-way contracts will all be fighting for two last spots on the 15-man roster for the beginning of the season.

Before the team acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Knicks had just one roster spot left. However, with Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle leaving the team, there are now two open slots.

The Knicks will likely not choose to swap out one of their two-way deals for the spot, which means Ariel Hukporti, Jacob Toppin and Kevin McCullar Jr. will stay with the Westchester Knicks and not obtain that final roster spots.

That leaves three players — Chuma Okeke, Marcus Morris Sr. and Landry Shamet — as the candidates competing for the 14th and 15th roster spots.

Okeke signed an Exhibit 10 deal early in the offseason and has gone off the radar in terms of that final roster spot. His chances of making the final roster diminished when the team signed Morris and Shamet earlier this month.

Both of those players have more experience in the NBA and have had greater success.

A lot of what the final decision will come to is positional need. With Robinson out for the beginning part of the season, the Knicks may look to go for a big man, which would give Morris the edge as a stretch-four who could be a small-ball center in some lineups.

However, Shamet may have the higher ceiling as a 3-point specialist that can play multiple positions.

The Knicks could also turn all of their non-guaranteed players away, which would give them an open roster spot that could offer flexibility down the line, but chances are, one of the three players above will earn that final coveted spot on the team.

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Published Sep 28, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.