Where the Knicks’ Roster, Contracts Stand After Last-Minute Tweaks

The New York Knicks are less than a week away from their opening preseason game of the new season.

They’ll be bringing along 21 players along for the ride, and here’s how things break down based on the type of contracts they have after Wednesday saw a flurry of moves made by the Knicks.

Guaranteed (13)

Jose Alvarado, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Jordan Clarkson, Pacome Dadiet, Mohamed Diawara, Andre Drummond, Josh Hart, Tyler Kolek, Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, Karl-Anthony Towns

These players are virtual locks to make the roster, but if enough non-guaranteed players impress, the Knicks could look to dump Pacome Dadiet elsewhere. There’s also the possibility of Leon Rose striking a deal for an intriguing young big man such as Moussa Diabate and that would likely include Miles McBride and/or Tyler Kolek.

Miles McBride on contract extension: “I love New York… I want to continue my career here … and end my career here.” Says he’ll let his agency and Knicks front office handle any extension talks
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 30, 2026

Speaking of McBride, who is now the longest tenured Knick in the wake of Mitchell Robinson’s departure, he'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer and is one of three players looking for extensions.

Karl-Anthony Towns has a $61 million player option for next season and Josh Hart has a $22 million team option. All three players discussed this week their desire to remain in orange and blue longterm. But they also voiced frustrations with not having deals in place yet.

Non-Guaranteed (5)

Ochai Agbaji, Tony Bradley, Bruce Brown, Drew Eubanks, James Wiseman

The Knicks have enough financial wiggle room to sign one veteran minimum contract as things stand, so at least one of these guys is likely to make the roster. The Knicks could open up an additional roster spot with a trade and if not, they'll eventually have enough space under the second apron to sign a 15th player—likely in early January.

Mike Brown, in part, on Tony Bradley: “We’re looking for bigs; Tony’s a veteran guy. He’s still in his prime… and he’s hurt us in the past… so to be able to add him to camp was a positive for us… we’re looking at that position (reserve center) heavy.”
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 30, 2026

While it's essentially a battle of five players for one spot, there's reason to believe any of them can make the roster. That said, there is a massive center need right now, and James Wiseman already appears to be making headway on carving out a potential role.

Plus, they just added another option to the mix with Tony Bradley. He is taking the tryout spot from John Konchar, who recently signed on but is dealing with personal matters and was waived on Wednesday to tend to that. With now three big men and only two wings, the most likely signing would be a center at this point.

All five players are on Exhibit 9 deals, which is a non-guaranteed deal that allows teams to waive the player before the regular season with no cap penalty. An Exhibit 9 clause protects an NBA team in the event that a player suffers a significant injury in training camp. If that happens the team could waive the player and only be on the hook for a one-time payment of $15K.

Two-Way (3)

Jaden Akins, Kevin McCullar Jr, Tyler Nickel

The Knicks were the last team in the league with all three two-way spots open, but Rose put a rest to that last order of business, at least for now, by signing Tyler Nickel, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Jaden Akins.

It's important to note the Knicks aren't truly tied to any of these players and the only one with some semblance of security is Nickel, who was drafted 47th overall earlier this summer and signed a two-year pact.

"There's a lot of skill in that possession we just saw"

–– Jeremy Lin on Jaden Akins

Akins 11.3 points per game was 3rd highest on the summer Knicks

He joins the big squad as a 2-way pic.twitter.com/66E8YZ5H2P
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 30, 2026

The Knicks can waive Akins or McCullar Jr. without incurring any cap penalty in the weeks or months ahead. Teams still have roster trimmings to do and there's a chance someone shakes free that the Knicks are more sold on ahead of opening night, which leaves room for a swap to be made.

Otherwise, two-way deals allow each player to suit up in a maximum of 50 NBA games while also playing in the G League. This offers a valuable development opportunity for both them and New York, which could lead to a promotion to the main roster later this season if the Knicks have room.

Get Knicks On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google