At the trade deadline, the Knicks were able to free up enough cap space to expedite their ability to sign another player to the roster immediately.
While they can’t sign anyone who was making $14.1MM or higher before being bought out due to their financial situation, they can add someone waived by March 1 and still have them be playoff-eligible. With that in mind, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III broke down five potential Knicks buyout candidates.
The players he lists as most likely to help New York this season are Chris Boucher, Marvin Bagley III, Haywood Highsmith, Drew Eubanks, and Mason Plumlee. Edwards views the third-string center as one of the remaining holes on the roster, hence the ample big man representation on his list.
He also notes that the team could try to add another wing that can guard ball-handlers. Highsmith is one such name, as is Jeremy Sochan, whom he mentions as another name to keep an eye on — his article was published before news broke that the Spurs were waiving Sochan.
Given rumors that the Knicks had checked in on potential deals involving Sochan before the trade deadline, it stands to reason that the versatile defender, who is significantly younger than anyone on Edwards’ list, could be of interest to the team that is thin on bench forwards with size.
We have more from the Knicks:
OG Anunoby is missing his fourth straight game tonight with a toenail avulsion on his right foot, and head coach Mike Brown says there’s no clear timeline for his return, Edwards reports (via Twitter). He’s currently listed as day-to-day with the injury. The Knicks are 1-and-2 during his absence heading into Wednesday’s game against the Sixers, having lost to the Pistons as well as the Pacers in overtime on Tuesday.
One player benefiting from the absence of Anunoby is their lone rookie, Mohamed Diawara. While the 51st pick in the 2025 draft has been impressing offensively, he showed out defensively against the Celtics and turned some heads while doing so, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. In that game, he guarded both Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown equally well and was rewarded by the team by being named the Defensive Player of the Game, a tradition the Knicks have started under head coach Mike Brown. “It was tough because they’re both great players, but I was ready to take the challenge to guard them,” Diawara said. “*And I was happy the coaches put me on them because that means they think I’m a great defender, and I appreciate it.*” Brown noted that it’s the little things Diawara has shown the willingness to do, such as diving on the floor, making the right pass, and defending hard, that have impressed him the most.
Jose Alvarado called his first game for the Knicks in Madison Square Garden “one for the books,” Dan Martin writes for the New York Post. “Playing for the Knicks is a huge thing, but I’m literally a kid from the same streets the fans are, and to be part of everything here, it’s a blessing,” the newly-acquired point guard said. “It’s something I had to get used to and to get it out of the way, let’s get the ball rolling.” It wasn’t Alvarado’s best performance, as he finished with four points and five assists in 18 minutes as the Knicks lost to the Pacers in overtime, but he believes it helped him deal with the nerves of his much-anticipated homecoming. “I was nervous today, for sure,” he said. “*There was a lot going on. I was glad I got it out the way. I can’t wait to come back and get better and win some games here.*“
Jordan Clarkson has struggled at times to adjust to his diminished role with the Knicks, and he recently took to social media to vent some of those frustrations, Stefan Bondy writes for the Post. “Stop saying my minutes I never had minutes,” Clarkson wrote in response to someone posting a question about how Collin Sexton would look with Clarkson’s playing time. Clarkson is playing the fewest minutes of his career and has struggled to find consistency, especially with his outside shot, though he is shooting 50.0% from three over his last five games.