The Knicks didn’t chase any headlines this summer. They re-signed the role players who made the headline stars work, locking up Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, and Mohamed Diawara while the rest of the East threw around blockbuster names. For a champion whose starting five is set and whose spending is capped by ownership’s second-apron mandate, the bench was the only place left to win or lose an offseason.
That is where New York quietly did its best work.
The stars are locked, so the margins matter
New York returns Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart, roughly $191 million committed to a group under contract for at least two more seasons. There is no cap room to improve the top of the roster and, under a James Dolan directive to stay beneath the $222 million second apron, little flexibility to add an outside name of consequence.
NBA: New York Knicks-Championship Parade
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When a champion cannot upgrade its stars, the second unit becomes the entire margin. Shallow benches get exposed over a title defense’s 82 games and four playoff rounds, and depth is the one lever Leon Rose could still pull. Re-signing the guys who already fit is not a flashy plan. It is the correct one for a roster this expensive.
Shamet became a weapon, and the Knicks paid to keep him
Shamet turned a journeyman reputation into one of the most productive seasons of his career. He averaged 9.3 points on 39.2 percent from three across 51 games, hitting 2.0 threes a night in 23.0 minutes. His shooting scaled up when it counted most, including a 13-point burst that fueled New York’s Game 1 comeback in the Finals.
Landry Shamet, NBA: Finals-New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs
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The Knicks handed him a four-year, $24 million deal, structured with only partial guarantees in the final two seasons and a player option. It is the rare bench contract that protects the team’s flexibility while still rewarding a rotation piece who earned it. Elite spacing next to Brunson and Towns is not a luxury for this offense. It is a requirement.
Alvarado and Clarkson give the second unit a pulse
Alvarado arrived at last season’s deadline from New Orleans and became exactly the disruptive backup guard Brown’s rotation lacked, posting 6.6 points and 3.8 assists in 28 games as a Knick. New York re-signed him to a three-year, $14.4 million deal. His full-court pressure and pace change give the bench an identity that the starters, built on half-court execution, deliberately do not have.
Jose Alvarado, NBA: Finals-San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
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Clarkson accepted a diminished role and delivered instant offense when the second unit stalled, averaging 8.6 points in 17.8 minutes on a one-year, $3.9 million deal. His numbers dipped from his scoring-guard peak, but a champion does not need his sixth or seventh man to carry a unit — it needs him to survive stretches without a star on the floor. Clarkson does that.
Player New contract 2025-26 line
Landry Shamet 4yr / $24M 9.3 PPG, 39.2% 3P (51 GP)
Jordan Clarkson 1yr / $3.9M 8.6 PPG (17.8 MPG)
Jose Alvarado 3yr / $14.4M 6.6 PPG, 3.8 APG (28 GP)
Mohamed Diawara 4yr / $11.2M 3.6 PPG (9.2 MPG, rookie)
Diawara is the bet on the future
Diawara is the one signing aimed past next season. The 21-year-old forward averaged 3.6 points in 9.2 minutes across 69 rookie games, but flashed real utility when Miles McBride missed 27 games with a sports hernia, posting 5.9 points on 40.5 percent from three in expanded minutes. New York re-signed him for four years, $11.2 million, a cheap, controllable contract on a developing wing.
Mohamed Diawara, NBA: Charlotte Hornets at New York Knicks
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For a team boxed in by the apron, a young player on a team-friendly deal is the closest thing to a cost-free upgrade. If Diawara’s shooting holds and his defense grows, he becomes rotation insurance the Knicks did not have to buy on the open market.
The bottom line
New York’s summer will not headline any offseason grades, and that is the point. The Knicks kept a title-winning core intact, re-signed the four role players who rounded it out, and did it without breaching the line ownership drew. A champion capped at the top can only get better on the margins. The Knicks spent the whole offseason there, and their bench is the reason the title defense has a floor.
The stars win the games everyone watches. These four decide the ones nobody remembers until April.
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Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo