The New York Knicks won the NBA championship in June, and the high left over from that experience has been powerful enough to probably drown out the fact that the team has done little right since. Rather than tempt the fates of the NBA salary gods by shelling out to keep the team’s roster together and going into the NBA’s dread second apron, the Knicks let key reserve big an Mitchell Robinson bolt in free agency. And that may well just be the beginning of financially motivated moves that chip away at the Knicks’ title roster.
Over the past week, the Knicks’ talks with Karl-Anthony Towns on a contract extension have stalled out, which means that the secondary talks on a new deal for Josh Hart have also stalled–the presumption is that the Knicks will make their move on Towns first, then fill in with Hart once Towns is done. Or, if he gets done. Both Towns and Hart are potentially free agents next summer.
Knicks Dealing With Multiple Issues
Lost in the shuffle of those two big-time starter deals is a potential move on the contract of Deuce McBride this year. Both Hart and Towns can be free agents, but Hart has a team option and Towns has a player option–they’re not certain to be free agents. McBride’s contract is in its final year, at $4 million. He will be a free agent.
McBride expressed some disappointment in not having a new deal done. For coach Mike Brown, that frustration is understandable. His job is to work his players through it.
“We’re gonna face a lot of adversity and challenges throughout the course of the year,” Brown said on Wednesday, via the New York Post. “I addressed the group on that. I addressed individuals on that. There will probably be a time and place that I talk to [McBride] because he’s human, we’re all human, and we all want what’s best not just for ourselves but for our family as well as the organization, too. That’s a nice balancing act. But at the end of the day, he wants to be here, we want him to be here, and that’s something that I have faith in [president] Leon [Rose] and even Deuce’s representatives to figure that out.”
Deuce McBride: ‘Love Being in New York’
McBride was a second-round pick in 2021, and averaged a career-high 12.0 points last season, playing solid defense and shooting 41.5% from the 3-point line. He signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Knicks in 2023, which has proven to be an excellent value.
McBride does not want to be a value guy, however.
“Obviously I love being in New York,” McBride said. “I’d love to continue my career here, end my career here. Best fans, I feel like we’ve done, obviously, something great this past year and the years leading up to that and I want to continue with this team.”
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