The New York Knicks, in preparation for their first season in 53 years as "the hunted" by the rest of the league, signed five veterans to Exhibit 9 contracts ahead of training camp. Drew Eubanks, James Wiseman, Ochai Agbaji, Bruce Brown, and John Konchar all agreed to non-guaranteed deals. The five veterans are set to face off against each other in Tarrytown, as Leon Rose's front office decides exactly how the end of their bench is going to look.
Konchar making the team would give the Knicks another Swiss Army knife of a swingman behind Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson, following last season's revelation that the longtime scoring guru has the potential to impact games as a workhorse of a rebounder and defender.
The 30-year-old was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this offseason. Minnesota eventually waived-and-stretched his contract to make room for free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga. Their pursuit of the former Golden State Warrior and Atlanta Hawk was successful, with the Timberwolves planning to slot Kuminga into their starting lineup. The Knicks can thank the Timberwolves for deeming Konchar a necessary sacrifice, setting them up to add the veteran on an incredibly team-friendly deal.
Knicks may have kickstarted this whole process with their 2026 title
The most ironic part of the Knicks potentially benefiting from the Timberwolves' desire to add Kuminga is that New York at least partially started this entire process themselves. It was the Knicks' front office that offered enough to Minnesota in 2024 to get them to part ways with All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns. And more recently, it might have just been the Knicks' dominant run to the 2026 NBA Championship that inspired the Charlotte Hornets to trade Ball away in the first place.
With the Hornets looking to kick the can a few years down the proverbial road, their one-time All-Star guard in Ball went quickly from a franchise cornerstone to an expendable asset. Charlotte is leaning into the rest of their young core, allowing the Timberwolves to pay the rest of Ball's $200+ million max contract.
The Timberwolves are glad to do it, something they made clear this offseason by trading Naz Reid and two first-round draft selections to assemble their new-look, high-octane backcourt with Ball and Anthony Edwards. Last season, the Wolves fell short in the Western Conference Semi-Finals at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
While those Spurs went on to make the NBA Finals (and fall short themselves at the hands of the Knicks), Minnesota was clearly looking to shake things up. They did so in major fashion with their big swing for Ball. And Kuminga should help them mitigate the loss of former Knick fan-favorite Donte DiVincenzo, sidelined with a torn Achilles.
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