Knicks Invite a Few More Kids to Camp

The additions of O'Connell, Baugh, Okeke and Warren bring the Knicks roster count up to 20 (one shy of the max).

We finally received the long-awaited announcement on Wednesday: Karl-Anthony Towns is now, officially, a Knickerbocker. 

"We are beyond excited to welcome Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks family," Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose said in a statement. "Karl-Anthony brings a skillset that is unique to the game of basketball. He possesses a blend of playmaking, shooting, rebounding and defending that in combination with his size allows him to compete at a level that is rare in this league. Karl-Anthony has demonstrated throughout his career to be a high caliber player and person on and off the court who will complement the type of team and culture we continue to build in New York."

By trading away Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo and placing Marcus Morris and Chuma Okeke on waivers as a precursor to the swap, the Knicks had five open roster spots as of yesterday afternoon (teams can carry up to 21 players during training camp and the preseason). So, the front office got back to work. 

The team announced Wednesday evening that they had signed Alex O'Connell to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract. The 25-year-old O'Connell played collegiately at Duke and Creighton but went undrafted in 2022. He spent the 2022-23 season in the G League with the Stockton Kings, averaging 9.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. The Westchester Knicks acquired O'Connell's rights from Stockton before the 2023-24 campaign, but he ended up playing overseas for Reyer Venezia in Italy. O'Connell reportedly impressed the Knicks coaching staff at a free agent mini-camp in June.

New York signed Damion Baugh to an Exhibit 10 deal as well. Baugh, who played collegiately at Memphis before transferring to Texas Christian, was in training camp with the Lakers in 2023 and spent last season with LA's G League affiliate, averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 37 games. Baugh, 24, had a few impressive outings playing for the New York entry at the Las Vegas Summer League in July.  

The Knicks also announced they were bringing back Chuma Okeke on a new Exhibit 10 contract. Okeke was drafted 16th overall in 2019 by the Orlando Magic but sat out the entire 2019-20 campaign due to an ACL tear. He suited up for 45 games the following year and had his best season in 2021-22, when he averaged 8.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 25 minutes per game over 70 appearances, including 20 starts.