Ranking the Knicks' 2026 Offseason Moves From Worst to Best

The offseason still isn't over. Like a few other teams, the Knicks still have work to do.

It likely won't come in the form of a blockbuster trade, such as the one that landed Karl-Anthony Towns just days before the beginning of the preseason. But New York is still looking to fill out the end of its bench, very likely with a third string center.

Assuming that's all they end up doing to round out the offseason, though, the bulk of the Knicks' summer dealings are behind them, making this a perfect time to rank their offseason additions and returns. Let's start at the bottom and work our way to the best.

Re-signing Jordan Clarkson

Calling this the "worst" offseason move feels a bit wrong because it's not necessarily a bad one. It’s just the one that least moves the needle amongst the few moves that the Knicks did make.

After a slow and inconsistent start led to a diminished role, Jordan Clarkson reinvented his game this season in a way nobody expected. The former Sixth Man of the Year started off the year being a scoring-minded microwave that little very little elsewhere.

Midway through the season though, Clarkson transformed himself into a pressing defender and one of the better offensive rebounding reserve guards in the league, all while still being a solid scorer.

Clarkson’s role may be inconsistent once again with a full year of Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet’s return, and the expected improvement of Mohamed Diawara, making this deal even less significant.

But for a team with aspirations of winning back-to-back championships, bringing back a veteran who proved he can be play a very specific role for a championship team doesn’t hurt by any means. And it’s not like they were going to get a player with much more value at his price point.

Trading down for Jack Kayil and Tyler Nickel

The series of trades the Knicks made to pick later in the draft was an unpopular one to say the least. Many fans wanted New York to make at least one pick in the first round to secure a backup center or a young wing in a loaded draft class that could produce plenty of top tier elite talent as well as nice depth pieces.

Instead, the front office decided to trade down. As frustrating as it may have been for fans, it makes sense looking back.

Nobody was sure how much money they would need to bring back Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet, making saving every dollar possible a major priority. Everything ended up working out , ut the potential downfall of losing one of those two key pieces because of a draft pick would have been a tough pill to swallow for a contending team.

And it’s not as if they came out of the draft with nothing. Jack Kayil possesses some intruiging skills that he showcased at Summer League, even though he might need a little extra seasoning before he joins the NBA ranks.

While Nickel likely has a lower ceiling than Kayil, his elite shooting and defensive effort could eventually earn him minutes as early as this season. Is he going to play as much as any of the potential rookie big men the Knicks could’ve? Unlikely. Could his movement shooting give them a new look that could move the needle more than Clarkson? Potentially.

Trading down on draft night is almost never a fun move to root for, but this one made sense and they did still fill out the roster with some solid pieces.

Signing Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond unfortunately will continue to get compared to Mitchell Robinson. It’s understandable because that is the player he is directly replacing. But it’s unfair because Drummond is a different player coming in at a much cheaper contract.

Drummond can’t and won't replicate Robinson’s defensive ceiling, nor will he be the elite play finisher around the rim. Yet, as long as he maintains the kind of elite rebounding numbers he’s always provided, while also working to clean up his shot diet, he’ll be a very serviceable backup center during the regular season.

Come postseason time, though, there’s a chance that Drummond is either not playing, or barely surviving his minutes. I’ve decided to refuse believing that Drummond is their long-term answer to their postseason backup center minutes. And as long as that is the case, this move is not too bad.

If Leon Rose foolishly and uncharacteristically believes that Drummond is their lone solution, however, this move starts to look worse.

Re-signing Mohamed Diawara

It remains to be seen how big of a win it was this offseason to get Diawara back. But it's undeniably a great thing for the franchise hold onto a player who flashed some real promise as a rookie. Especially when he's under contract for four years now and won't even cross the $3 million salary mark until 2029-30.

Diawara's ugly Summer League showed he still needs to work on his craft. Perhaps that will serve as a harsh reminder he hasn't made it yet even though he just signed his first big NBA contract.

But if he can become a true three-and-D player, he'll already be a steal. And his playmaking gives him a chance to be an even more powerful force for New York as long as he keeps ascending.

Re-signing Jose Alvarado

Amongst the few weaknesses the Knicks had last season was their lack of ball handling outside of Jalen Brunson. New York rostered plenty of secondary and tertiary ball handlers, but none of them were good enough to get the ball over half court and set up an offense against elite ball pressuring defenses like the Thunder and Spurs.

In Jose Alvarado, they found a backup point guard that can do exactly that, while also providing good defense and just enough scoring. The Brooklyn native won’t post eye-popping stats, but his constant energy and ability to organize the offense can be extremely valuable for a team that already has a lot of talent elsewhere.

The spark plug will also now have a full training camp to integrate even more with the team. Much like the other returning bench pieces, Alvarado was a major factor in winning the Knicks a ring, and his return at a pretty team-friendly price figures to be of pretty good value.

Re-signing Landry Shamet

Landry Shamet struggled at times in the Finals, but he was by far the most important bench player the Knicks had in the postseason, and arguably all season long.

The journeyman just had arguably the best year of his career as an improved shooter and even more improved defender. When healthy, Shamet came through routinely with timely threes and tough, physical defense despite drawing some very difficult matchups.

It was reported that Shamet turned down better offers from other contenders, proving that the Knicks’ loyalty and trust in Shamet was returned. Considering players like Kevin Huerter, Dean Wade, and Keon Ellis all got better or similar contracts, the Knicks came away big winners in this deal.

He should once again thrive in the same role as a three-and-D specialist capable of starting when needed.

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