Knicks Sign Drew Eubanks: What it Means Heading Into Training Camp

The New York Knicks addressed the lack of depth in their center rotation on Tuesday by signing eight-year veteran Drew Eubanks to a non-guaranteed deal. The 29-year-old will come to training camp and compete for a roster spot, per SNY's Ian Begley.

In that regard, it is similar to the contract taken by Landry Shamet prior to last season’s training camp, with the sharpshooter making the squad and the rest being history. It’s almost impossible to strike scrapheap gold in consecutive offseasons, but that's exactly what Leon Rose is trying to do.

In adding Eubanks, coach Mike Brown will have at his disposal, at least for the preseason, another experienced big body alongside Andre Drummond, who was signed to a veteran minimum deal earlier in the summer, to reinforce things up front behind Karl-Anthony Towns following the departures of Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti.

The Knicks are trying to fill the void left by Robinson on the cheap

The 6-foot-10 big man is a tad bit on the smaller side for an NBA center with zero outside ability, but he's a solid rebounder, efficient with his touches and brings physicality on both ends. Eubanks isn't a household name, but he's a guy willing to do the dirty work.

Eubanks is coming off an injury plagued season where he saw action in 42 games, including 11 starts, for the moribund Sacramento Kings. In 13.1 minutes per game, Eubanks chipped in 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds before being shut down in March due to a torn UCL in his left thumb.

After going undrafted out of Oregon State, Eubanks spent his first three and a half NBA seasons with the Spurs, where he bounced between the big club and their G League affiliate in Austin. Since then, he's had stops with the Blazers, Suns, Jazz, Clippers and Kings. In 426 career games, he holds career averages of 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game.

Eubanks has been around the bloc — LA Clippers forward Drew Eubanks (15) shoots the ball against New York Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa (5) in the first half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The last time the journeyman big man cracked at least 20 minutes per game was during the 2022-23 season with Portland, where he played his best basketball. In 78 games, which included 28 starts, Eubanks averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game.

If he could provide the Knicks with those types of numbers, it would be a home run. New York is expected to carry only 14 players under standard contract at the start of their season, due to the vaunted second apron. They currently have room for one more veteran minimum contract.

Some roster juggling might have to happen for Eubanks to break camp with the defending champs, but there’s a clear path for him to make the team with a third center being all but a necessity. As of this very moment, it's his job to lose.

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