The New York Knicks have one roster spot available and are widely believed to be in need of a third big man to back up the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond.
With this, it only seems logical that Leon Rose and company would be mulling over ways to address this rotational vacancy heading into 2026-27.
Unfortunately, at the moment, there aren't all that many enticing options available, with the most realistic free-agent targets at the position being highly limited veterans like Bismack Biyombo or extremely inconsistent youngsters such as Nick Richards.
Because of this, it actually may be in the best interest of the Knicks to take their time when it comes to filling their 15 and final roster spot, and see what kind of routes open up as the season progresses.
Frankly, the most ideal third big man option could realistically wind up becoming available closer to the February trade deadline, though, sadly, the path to acquiring such a talent may require giving up beloved backup guard Miles McBride in the process.
Knicks flipping Miles McBride may be necessary to land ideal backup big
Despite being an established core piece of New York's title-winning rotation, and with the club facing severe financial issues beyond next year's campaign, McBride being in his final year under contract may be seen more as a sell-off opportunity for the Knicks than a potential precursor to a re-up, especially if it can net them a quality third-string center.
Yes, McBride is certainly a solid two-way player who is coming off a career-best campaign in year five, where he posted 12.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 41.3 percent from distance.
On the one hand, this kind of production certainly proved a luxury for New York's bench unit; on the other hand, another year like this would almost certainly price him out of James Dolan's presumed spending range.
Fortunately, the Knicks have a slew of quality backcourt talents already in tow and locked into multi-year deals with the likes of Jose Alverado, Jordan Clarkson, and Tyler Kolek to make up for his absence should he be used in some sort of in-season deal.
Considered by many as New York's best trade chip off the pine and, according to Bleacher Report, the fifth-most underrated player in the association, there should be no shortage of inquiring ball clubs looking to attain McBride's services in some sort of deal and, with his $3.9 million salary, he could easily be flipped for a long coveted target in, say, Yves Missi and his $3.5 million payday.
Even lesser buzzed-about commodities like Charlotte's Ryan Kalkbrenner or Moussa Diabate could be enticing enough to consider pulling off a one-for-one simple swap. Either way, unless the Knicks are willing to settle, it seems the path to finding the best possible option to fill their third center spot may have to come via a McBride trade.
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