ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the New York Knicks have waived Bruce Brown, a minor roster move that actually has plenty of downstream effects. The most notable among them: that Pacome Dadiet is safe for now, and that New York clearly wants to maximize its ability to make moves on the trade market as soon as possible.
Make no bones about it, the Bruce Brown decision has other implications. James Wiseman is now guaranteed to crack the regular-season roster. After waiving Drew Eubanks (injury), Tony Bradley (now in Utah), and Ochai Agbaji (a free agent again), the Knicks have also made it clear they won’t be adding another veteran before the start of the season.
Going this direction is the right call. Signing Brown (or another vet) would have forced New York to offload assets in a Dadiet salary dump, or to inexplicably move on from Tyler Kolek despite the team’s preferences to house as many ball-handlers as possible.
Most importantly, jettisoning either one of Dadiet or Kolek would have left the Knicks with just two trade-eligible non-starters on the roster, and materially limited their in-season options.
Small differences have huge consequences for the Knicks
Free agents cannot be rerouted until three months after they sign their deal or December 15—whichever is later. Right now, the Knicks only have three non-starters who can be moved before that date: Dadiet, Kolek, and Deuce McBride.
Shipping out Dadiet or Kolek to open another roster spot would have winnowed that number down to two players: McBride, and whoever stuck around between the aforementioned two. Brown wouldn’t have been trade-eligible for another three months.
On top of that, Dadiet’s roughly $3 million salary is $500,000 greater than the approximately $2.5 million Brown would have counted for on the books. A half-million bucks doesn’t sound like a big deal in the grand scheme of salary-matching, but it’s a low-key huge thing for the Knicks.
Remember, New York can’t take back more money in trades than it sends out. Dadiet gives them an extra $500,000 of financial padding in negotiations. That difference alone would let the Knicks combine his salary with draft equity for everybody’s favorite trade target, Moussa Diabate. They can’t do the same with Kolek’s salary, or with what would have been Brown’s money.
Dadiet’s additional money also comes in handy if New York makes a consolidation trade. Combining his salary with McBride’s would allow the Knicks to acquire a player earning just over $6.9 million. If you sub in Brown’s theoretical contract, the number drops to $6.4 million.
And again, Brown wouldn’t be immediately movable. The Knicks would need to pair McBride’s salary with Kolek’s money instead. Since he’s making under $2.3 million, trading him with Deuce only comes out to $6.25 million.
The Knicks are smart to preserve this optionality
There is absolutely a chance the Knicks do diddly-squat before December 15. Most teams tread water until then, since that’s when most players who signed contracts before the season can be moved.
But the Knicks would have basically locked themselves into inertia through the first two months of the season by dumping Dadiet or Kolek to make room for Brown. For a team that isn’t sold on their center rotation after Towns, has McBride entering a contract year, and barely has any flexibility underneath the second apron, keeping the door open for earlier season trades doesn’t just make sense. It's essential.
By waiving Brown, the Knicks are subscribing to this logic without saying a word. And that, by extension, makes them a more tantalizing team to watch on the trade market. Not in January. Or in December. But right now.
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