Getty DaQuan Jeffries of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane dunks against the Nevada Wolf Pack.
We are a little over a month out from the team’s first game of the 2022-23 campaign and currently found on the roster for the New York Knicks are two vacant spots in need of filling.
While some are hoping to see the franchise either make a splashy trade or snag one of the bigger names remaining on the free agent market to plug in these aforementioned openings, recent rumblings suggest that the Knicks may be looking to training camp as an opportunity to workout players to potentially fill out the roster.
Per a September 14 report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Leon Rose and company have signed fourth-year wing DaQuan Jeffries to a training camp deal.
The New York Knicks are signing forward DaQuan Jeffries on a training camp deal, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Jeffries spent parts of the last three seasons with the Kings, Rockets and Grizzlies.
After putting forth an impressive senior season at the University of Tulsa in 2018-19, where he averaged 13.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.2 blocks per game, the wing declared for the 2019 NBA Draft where he went undrafted and, ultimately, signed on with the Sacramento Kings.
From there, Jeffries has suited up for three other organizations, most recently the Memphis Grizzlies where he signed a 10-day contract via the hardship exemption on January 1, 2022, before heading back to the G League to play for the College Park Skyhawks.
Jeffries Played For Knicks in Summer League
Though the 25-year-old may be struggling to find his place in the NBA, throughout his four-year tenure he’s managed to snag several opportunities to showcase his craft.
This offseason, specifically, Jeffries found himself logging minutes for the Knicks’ Summer League team where he played in five games and posted solid averages of 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and just shy of a block per contest on 48.3% shooting from the floor and a team-best 46.2% shooting from distance.
With his signing, the Oklahoma native takes one of the five available training camp slots for the Knicks and will look to try and prove his worth as a possible reserve option behind franchise centerpiece, RJ Barrett, out on the wing.
Knicks Could Sign Veterans
While DaQuan Jeffries is the most recent signing by the New York Knicks, this doesn’t mean that he’ll be the last.
As stated earlier, the ball club finds itself with two roster spots in need of filling before the start of the season and though the six-foot-five wing will have a chance to earn one of them during training camp, currently on the open market are several noteworthy names looking for employment.
Just recently, Marc Berman of the New York Post listed several potential free agent options in a September 14 article that the Knicks could consider pursuing, with names ranging from former All-Stars such as Blake Griffin and Carmelo Anthony to career journeymen like Cody Zeller and Hassan Whiteside.
Of the many intriguing names that were mentioned, Berman noted that seven-time All-Star and 17-year veteran LaMarcus Aldridge could prove to be an ideal addition to Tom Thibodeau’s rotation, especially if New York winds up trading Julius Randle.
“The 37-year-old Aldridge would make the most sense in the event Randle gets traded because he still could be a serviceable low-post scorer as a backup to Toppin,” Berman wrote.
After having made a comeback from his short-lived retirement, the big man signed a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets last season where he would go on to post averages of 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and a block through 47 games played.