The New York Knicks need a center. After winning the 2026 NBA Championship, team governor James Dolan picked the road far more traveled. New York projects as one of 29 teams that will enter this coming season under the second apron.
The Denver Nuggets, the only squad on the other side of the budgetary limit, haven't exactly had an excellent offseason, either. They seem to be so invested in that group out of desperation, more than necessity. The Knicks, on the other hand, may truly need to surpass the second apron to keep all three of their impending free agents — Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride. That makes every roster spot, and every dollar, all the more valuable.
It's also why, despite technically having two open roster spots, the Knicks can presently only use one without spilling over the apron. James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is reportedly on his way to earning the final place on the end of Mike Brown's bench, according to the New York Post's Stefan Bondy. To help make that happen for himself, the big man will need to be locked in defensively throughout whatever preseason opportunities he's afforded.
Knicks just need spot rim protection, not a future star
The Knicks are going into next season high on their first and second-string centers: Towns and Andre Drummond. That means they don't plan to rely on their eventual third-string choice — whoever that winds up being — much at all.
Opportunities will still open up, one way or another, in a league that sees injuries stack up over the course of its 82-game regular seasons. Especially given the time he's spent out of the league in recent years, there's likely little Wiseman can show offensively throughout the preseason that will actually change his fate.
The 7-footer has certainly struggled on both ends of the court throughout his career, thus far. The defensive side of it, however, is where the majority of his troubles lie.
The last season in which he produced a reliable sample size was the 2023-24 campaign, which the big man spent on the Detroit Pistons. He appeared in 63 games and logged a Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus in the NBA's fourth percentile that season; 96% of the league had a more positive impact on their team's defensive efforts.
If Wiseman can prove to Brown and staff that he's mobile and adept enough defensively — not just to tread water on that end of the court, but anchor a unit with a target on its back — he'd represent the exact type of upside shot that a contending squad up against the second apron needs to be taking. Drew Eubanks and Tony Bradley have also bounced around from team to team, but are both several years older than the former top-two pick.
If it's more of the same with regard to his impressive straight-line athleticism, but lack of lateral flexibility and defensive instincts, New York's coaching staff might have too big of a project cut out for them. It wouldn't be an indictment of Wiseman's future NBA chances if the literal defending champions can't find room for him. It would, however, sting — given his connection to Brown from the Golden State Warriors, and the Knicks' clear need at center.
The Knicks will need to fight to earn home-court advantage back for the 2027 NBA Playoffs. Like last year, though, they'll also spend time developing young talent if they plan on building sustainably. Wiseman stands to be a potential beneficiary of the room New York has bought itself to rehabilitate young talent, so long as he can hold his own defensively in preseason play.
Brown has already pulled back the curtain, to a degree, on his rotational plans for preseason action. He said on Saturday his starters won't be playing much. That should leave plenty of chances for the five veterans who signed Exhibit 9 contracts, Wiseman included, to show their stuff.
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