Candidates for the Knicks Final Roster Spot

Who might the Knicks consider adding before the start of training camp next month? There are some interesting options left on the open market...

The Knicks currently have 14 players under contract for the 2024-25 campaign: Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride, Precious Achiuwa, Keita Bates-Diop, Cameron Payne, Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek and Jericho Sims. The first 13 have guaranteed deals, while Sims' pact becomes fully guaranteed on August 16th.   

Thus, New York can sign one more player to a guaranteed contract between now and opening night (they must enter the season with at least 14 players on their roster).

So, who might the Knicks consider adding before the start of training camp next month? There are some interesting options left on the open market, as some talented players have slipped through the free-agent cracks.

Jae Crowder:
The 'Bockers have plenty of depth on the wing, but Crowder is the type of reliable veteran who has played in plenty of big games and makes sense for a win-now club such as New York. He's been a solid defender his whole career and developed into a solid three-point shooter. Dating back to the start of the 2020-21 campaign, he's shot 37% from behind the arc and nearly 42% from the corners. Just as importantly, signing Crowder (or any of the names listed below) to the taxpayer's midlevel exception ($5.2 million) would also allow New York to use that player's salary at the trade deadline, which may be quite important come February.  

Guerschon Yabusele:
Arguably, no player has boosted their stock more during the 2024 Olympics than Yabusele. The Dancing Bear was a crucial contributor for Les Bleus as they powered their way to the Gold Medal match vs. America. Over France's final three contests (a quarterfinal victory over Canada, a semifinal victory over Germany and the heartbreaking loss to the USA), Yabusele averaged 19.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 57.7% from the floor and 81.8% from the charity stripe. He set the internet on fire Saturday night when he dunked on LeBron. 

He looked to be on a mission to prove he was ready to return to the States. 

Yabusele was initially drafted by the Celtics with the 16th overall pick in 2016, yet appeared in only 74 games for Boston over two seasons from 2017 through 2019 before bouncing around Europe and Asia. He had the best all-around professional season of his career last year when he averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 made three-pointers per game for Real Madrid in EuroLeague play while shooting over 56% from the field, over 48% (!!) from downtown and over 85% from the free-throw line. 

According to Marc Stein's latest Substack, Yabusele has one season left on his contract and has an NBA buyout of $2.5 million (his buyout was just $1 million before July 15. 

On Sunday afternoon, Yabusele tweeted, "Been waiting for a 2nd chance.. I'm ready."

The issue for New York is that he would have no clear path to consistent playing time with the Knicks. Would he be willing to leave a featured role for Real Madrid for uncertainty in NYC? 

Mathias Lessort:
Lessort was another Frenchman who turned heads in Paris this summer. In fact, he played so well that the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, was benched for most of the team's biggest games. In quarterfinal and semifinal games, Gobert logged a grand total of eight minutes, while Lessort tallied 23 points (on 75% shooting) in 35 minutes.