New York Knicks guard Miles McBride wants to continue playing at The Mecca. He's minced no words when discussing his desire to stay in New York. Unfortunately, the Knicks have tabled all contract extension negotiations for the time being.
As a result, New York may have sent McBride, who's on an expiring contract, a message about his future with the team. Thankfully for him, that means an even bigger payday could be just over the horizon.
McBride is a homegrown talent whom the Knicks selected in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. During his time with the franchise, he's played through injuries, committed to a role as a two-way player, and improved across every season he's been in the Association.
By almost every definition of the word, McBride deserves to be rewarded for the progress and sacrifices that he's made for New York.
Unfortunately, New York's entire starting lineup is flush with players on massive contracts. Furthermore, All-NBA starter Karl-Anthony Towns is extension-eligible and all three of OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart, assuming the Knicks accept his 2027-28 team option, will be looking for extensions next year.
With an expensive contract situation already on their hands, the Knicks putting off McBride's extension negotiations is thus a bad sign—but also a golden opportunity for the player himself.
Miles McBride can earn an even bigger deal despite no Knicks extension
McBride does everything a team could ask a backup guard to do. He's energetic and impactful on the defensive end of the floor, willing and able to play without the ball on offense, and capable of creating offense for himself and others without needing excessive volume to do so.
Though many swear up and down that teams can't win titles with smaller guards, the Knicks proved that to be a fallacy with not only Brunson, but Jose Alvarado and McBride playing pivotal roles.
McBride had his ups and downs during the playoffs, but he was also freshly returned from sports hernia surgery. Despite the ailment, he averaged a career-best 12.0 points in 26.3 minutes per game during the regular season, as well as 2.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.7 three-point field goals made.
In addition to posting strong numbers, McBride shot the lights out at 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. He also ranked in the 92nd percentile in perimeter isolation defense and the 97th percentile in off-ball chaser defense, per Basketball Index.
To put it simply: Those are the type of skills that every team will covet.
Miles McBride gets better every year—and teams tend to reward growth
In the event that McBride makes yet another leap in 2026-27, his market value should increase accordingly. That could ultimately put him in a position to make even more money than he may currently be asking for in extension discussions.
It'd be money well-earned considering he's made all of this progress and embraced sacrifice on the ultimate team-friendly deal at four years and $13 million.
As it stands, McBride is eligible for an extension up to four years and $60 million. Unfortunately, Fred Katz of The Athletic recently reported that McBride is "not close to receiving" an extension from the Knicks—and the team outright pausing negotiations across the board suggests that won't be changing any time soon.
The good news for McBride is that he can now play his way into a payday that far exceeds the current extension maximum if the Knicks are truly unwilling to secure his future now.
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