Getty Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
The New York Knicks will are adding 25-year-old forward Isaiah Roby to their roster for the remainder of the current season, as per a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Knicks are signing F Isaiah Roby for the rest of season and through 2023-2024, his agents Zach Kurtin and Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Deal includes significant guaranteed money. Roby’s averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 151 games with OKC and Spurs.
“The Knicks are signing F Isaiah Roby for the rest of season and through 2023-2024, his agents Zach Kurtin and Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tell ESPN,” Wojnarowski Tweeted. “Deal includes significant guaranteed money. Roby’s averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 151 games with OKC and Spurs.”
Roby was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2019, being taken with the 45th overall pick, and has amassed 151 regular-season appearances in his four years in the NBA. However, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Roby will be ineligible for the postseason, as he wasn’t waived by the San Antonio Spurs until March 3.
Since Wojnarowski’s Tweet, Fred Katz of The Atheltic has reported that Roby will receive $400K for being part of the roster on the last day of the season and will then be non-guaranteed heading into next season, where he can push to earn a spot on the roster.
Still, Knicks fans will likely be interested to see what Roby can bring to New Yorks’ front-court rotation next season and will be hoping he can show enough growth to earn himself a consistent spot off the team’s bench.
Carmelo Anthony Rumors Are False: Insider
In recent days, rumors have begun to swirl regarding a short-term reunion with Carmelo Anthony that would last until the end of the regular season. However, according to Katz, those rumors have no merit to them, and the Knicks front office has no such plans to bring Anthony back to the franchise.
Anthony has been a free agent since his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expired at the end of the 2021-22 NBA season, despite the former superstar proving capable of excelling in a bench role with a remit to provide buckets in a pinch.
In 69 games last season, Anthony averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and an assist per game while shooting 52.1% from two-point range and 37.5% from deep on 5.8 attempts per game.
Knicks Tipped to Progress Past Cleveland in Playoffs
After finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs in a series that could genuinely go either way. However, former NBA champion Richard Jefferson believes the Knicks are good enough to progress past the Cavaliers, although it may take the full seven games to do so.
“I think it’s a great matchup in general if everyone is healthy,” said Jefferson, who currently serves as an analyst for ESPN and Yes Network, home of the Nets games. “And I think the Knicks win that in seven [games] in a very, very tight one…I think they can. I think they can 100%.”
The Knicks have won three of their four meetings against the Cavaliers this season and will enter the series full of confidence. Furthermore, Jalen Brunson will likely relish matching up with Donovan Mitchell for the second straight year after sending him home during the Western Conference playoffs last season when the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks faced off against each other.
The Knicks have one more game remaining on the season as they prepare to face the Indiana Pacers on April 9 and search for their 48th win of the season.