The New York Knicks seemed to be making a magical run in May when they knocked off the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. But the Indiana Pacers sent them home in the Eastern Conference finals, and their fans had to wait yet another year for that long-awaited world championship.
New York hasn't won an NBA title since 1973, and over the last couple of seasons, its lack of bench depth was cited as one reason it hasn't been able to get over the hump. But this offseason, it has made some strides toward rectifying that weakness.
It signed Jordan Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, and on Thursday, it brought back sharpshooting guard Landry Shamet on a one-year contract.
On Friday, the Knicks continued to bolster their backcourt by signing veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon to a one-year deal, per ESPN.
"Free agent guard Malcolm Brogdon has agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Knicks, agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation told ESPN on Friday morning," wrote Shams Charania.
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Although Brogdon was the No. 36 pick in the 2016 draft, he won the Rookie of the Year award by averaging 10.2 points and 4.2 assists in 26.4 minutes a game. His best season came during the 2020-21 campaign, when he put up 21.2 points and 5.9 assists per game as a member of the Pacers.
Last season, he registered 12.7 points and 4.1 dimes in 23.5 minutes per contest for the Washington Wizards. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award during the 2022-23 season.
Brogdon has been injury-prone over the years, and his 3-point accuracy tends to fluctuate from season to season. He has appeared in over 60 games in a season just three times, and he made only 28.6% of his 3-point attempts last year.
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Former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was fired a few months ago, was notorious for riding his starters hard and using his bench sparingly. New Knicks coach Mike Brown is sure to run a deeper rotation, and if his time with the Sacramento Kings was any indication, he will run a more modern, up-tempo offense than Thibodeau did.
Last season, New York's bench averaged 21.7 points a game, which was by far the lowest such figure in the NBA.
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This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 1:48 PM.