One of two things is going to happen after the New York Knicks signed Malcolm Brogdon, Garrison Mathews, and Landry Shamet to non-guaranteed contracts: Either only one of them is going to make the final roster, or the Leon Rose-led front office is gearing up to make a trade.
New York is currently $3.7 million below the second apron. That leaves it with enough room to sign one player with NBA experience to a guaranteed contract. While it initially looked like Shamet had sewn up that spot, we now know that he, Brogdon, and Mathews are on training-camp deals.
This could be the Knicks’ attempt to foment competition for the final veteran’s slot. And hey, that’s a pretty good idea! But this could also signal that they want two more veterans, a desire that they’ve hinted at before.
The Knicks will have to make a move if they want two vets
A minimum contract for a non-rookie will count as $2.3 million on the Knicks’ cap sheet. Double-up on that kind of deal, and they get to $4.6 million. That’s almost $1 million more than they currently have to spend.
Striking a trade is the only way to open up that additional money. And while this will not be a precursor to New York feverishly shopping Josh Hart or Mitchell Robinson, it would put youngsters like Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet at risk of becoming collateral damage.
Whether shedding one of them is worth landing two of Brogdon, Shamet, and Mathews is all sorts of debatable. If someone does end up getting the boot, though, it’ll most likely be Kolek.
The Knicks’ insistence on targeting guards to round out the roster says all we need to know about their trust in the 24-year-old. Kolek already had an uphill climb to regular minutes before the team bought looks at Shamet, Brogdon, and Mathews. Even with just one of them in tow, his path to court time gets exponentially harder.
New York’s next move is tough to parse
All of this isn’t to say New York will definitely dump Kolek, or someone else. For all we know, the plan could be to have Brogdon, Shamet and Mathews duke it out in training camp, guarantee one of their deals, fill the 14th roster spot with Mohamed Diawara, and leave it at that.
Still, the framing of these recent additions suggests the Knicks are contemplating the two-vet path. ESPN’s Shams Charania portrayed the signings of both Brogdon and Shamet as if they are locks to stick with the roster.
Initial reporting can always fail to encapsulate the bigger picture. So, this could be nothing. It could also be something. And if it is something, we know what comes next for these Knicks: a trade.