The New York Knicks may not have pulled off the big blockbuster many fans were hoping to see, but they still managed to come away from the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline as winners thanks to their addition of scrappy point guard Jose Alvarado.
With his arrival, the ball club has finally added long-needed depth behind Jalen Brunson to help carry the load in the handling department while bolstering the defensive reinforcements around their star.
Now, in the aftermath of Thursday's trade cut-off, Leon Rose and company could once again find themselves bolstering this club's collection of talent by way of the buyout market, though instead of paying for airfare, a simple swipe of the OMNY Card to bring their new talent aboard would suffice.
Knicks should inquire about signing Cam Thomas after Nets buyout
After falling short of finding a trade suitor ahead of February 5, the Brooklyn Nets opted to waive former first-round pick Cam Thomas, sending him to the open, unrestricted waters of mid-season free agency.
Despite his failure to establish himself as a "winning" player throughout his tenure on Atlantic Ave., at just 24 years old and with his reputation as a microwave scorer, it's widely expected that a number of clubs starved of an offensive punch within their second unit will end up inquiring about the fifth-year pro's services.
Despite what their second-seeded status and third-best offensive rating as a whole may suggest, the Knicks are a team that certainly fits this criteria.
Through 51 games played here in 2025-26, Mike Brown's reserves rank in as one of the worst units from an offensive standpoint, ranking 27 in points per game (31.1) and 28 in offensive rating (51.4).
On top of this, without Brunson on the floor, the Knicks' offense plummets to a lowly 27 percentile in points per 100 possessions.
Clearly, New York could use some added firepower in the scoring department, and, as Thomas put it to ESPN's Marc J. Spears, the team that winds up signing him will be adding "elite scoring" to their arsenal.
Throughout his five-year career, the former LSU product has established himself as a pure scoring guard who, since 2023-24, has boasted impressive per-game averages of 21.4 points on 35.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
While he may not provide much else outside of scoring, considering their lackluster production in this department from a bench production standpoint, coupled with the recent injury-induced shelving of Miles McBride, perhaps someone like Thomas could be well worth taking a low-cost shot on.