The prevailing assumption is that the New York Knicks will make a trade so they can keep two of Malcolm Brogdon, Landry Shamet, and Garrison Mathews. It turns out they may not be the plan after all.
As SNY’s Ian Begley notes, “before these [three] players agreed to join the Knicks, the club told agents that there would be a true competition for the one open roster spot.” Notice the use of “one open roster spot.” Not two. Definitely not three. One.
Pacome Dadiet still has a chance to have his jersey hanging from the Madison Square Garden rafters.
More seriously, this could just be the Knicks covering their bases. Like Begley also says, they remain in contact with other teams about piecing together trades. Following a glimpse into Tyler Kolek’s true value during the most recent preseason game, everyone continues to see Dadiet as the most likely goner. And yet, it may not be that simple.
Malcolm Brogdon is giving the Knicks something to think about
For so long, Brogdon has seemed like the one veteran New York would unequivocally lock down. That tracks with the team’s need for another offensive organizer behind Jalen Brunson—unless, of course, Brogdon isn’t a huge upgrade from Kolek.
So far, he’s not.
While the Knicks didn’t sign Brogdon to be a scorer, his 33.3 percent clip on twos and 25 percent hit rate on threes are discouraging. New York as a team is already struggling from beyond the arc, and employ one backcourt wild card in Jordan Clarkson.
If Brogdon is going to be another, there’s a case for the Knicks to instead roll the dice on Kolek—the player they made one of the most handsomely compensated second-round picks in league history.
The Knicks’ final roster spots are nowhere near etched in stone
Whatever New York decides, it may say more about its faith—or lack thereof—in Dadiet.
Brogdon has not done nearly enough to sew up his own roster spot. Shamet and Mathews have been better, with the latter holding the clear advantage in quality of play.
Either way, the Knicks are unlikely to keep both. There’s so much redundancy in what they do best, and also what they do worst.
To be fair, Dadiet has not blown the doors off during his opportunities. But he plays a position of more scarcity. The Knicks do not have any wing safety nets after OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Dadiet is also on a cost-controlled deal that runs through 2027-28. Anyone New York signs now will slide off the books next summer, and does not come with Bird rights.
This may prove to be a case of yours truly galaxy-braining the end-of-roster battle. The Knicks are decidedly win-now. Faith in veterans is the default for most teams in their situation.
It is nevertheless notable they left the door open to avoid making a trade. Even more critically, it absolutely matters that the veterans—and Brogdon specifically—have yet to give the Knicks a definitive reason to exchange youth for experience.