The New York Knicks brought in five veteran players who will seemingly compete for one roster spot during training camp: Bruce Brown, James Wiseman, Ochai Agbaji, John Konchar, and Drew Eubanks.
Looking at the Knicks’ current roster, the biggest need appears to be a third center. That could give an advantage to the two big men among the five training camp invites—Wiseman and Eubanks.
Another reason Eubanks could have an edge over the others is his familiarity with Josh Hart. The two were teammates for about a full year with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Hart and Eubanks often shared the floor in Portland
Back in 2022, the Trail Blazers acquired Hart in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. A couple of weeks later, Portland added Eubanks on a 10-day contract, and they eventually agreed on a rest-of-season deal.
Hart and Eubanks remained teammates until the 2023 trade deadline, when Hart was traded to the Knicks.
Both players were in Portland’s starting lineup in each game they appeared in during the final couple of months of the 2021–22 season. Hart was a full-time starter again in 2022–23 before being traded, and Eubanks started 28 of his 78 games that season.
Those Trail Blazers teams weren’t very good and didn’t sniff postseason basketball. It’s unclear if Eubanks and Hart became close friends as teammates. There’s not much suggesting there was friction between them either.
Standing at 6-foot-10, the 29-year-old Eubanks would provide depth and could play in a pinch for New York if Karl-Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson were forced to miss time.
In 42 games with the Sacramento Kings in 2025–26, Eubanks averaged 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.1 minutes. He has to give the Knicks a reason to keep him by standing out in training camp and the preseason. Still, Hart has become one of the more trusted voices on the team — if he were to vouch for Eubanks, it's hard to imagine that Mike Brown, Leon Rose, and company wouldn't listen.
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