Having carried just 12 players on their roster since July, the Knicks began officially filling out their 21-man preseason squad on Tuesday.
After signing Dink Pate and Bryson Warren to Exhibit 10 contracts, the team officially announced five more previously reported deals, confirming that Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet have signed their Exhibit 9 contracts (Twitter links), while Mohamed Diawara, Garrison Mathews, Tosan Evbuomwan have finalized Exhibit 10 agreements (all Twitter links).
Reports late last week indicated that Mathews, Shamet, and Brogdon were signing non-guaranteed contracts with the Knicks. Evbuomwan’s deal was reported on Monday, while James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link) stated earlier today that Diawara would be getting an Exhibit 10 contract.
The Knicks aren’t done making roster additions. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link), the team has also reached a training camp agreement with veteran center Alex Len, who was working out for New York this week.
The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len has been in the NBA for 12 seasons, primarily as a backup big man. In 2024/25, he appeared in 46 total games for the Kings and Lakers and played a very modest role, averaging just 1.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per night.
There has been no formal announcement yet regarding Len or veteran wing Matt Ryan, who is expected to re-sign with the Knicks on a non-guaranteed deal. The club also has a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Kevin McCullar Jr.
With 19 players now officially under contract, there’s not enough room for New York to sign Len, Ryan, and McCullar without making a cut, but more shuffling of players on and off the roster figures to occur in the coming days and weeks.
Pate and Warren will probably be the first players waived and appear likely to end up with the Westchester Knicks in the G League. Brogdon, Shamet, and Mathews are expected to be competing for a regular season roster spot — it’s possible Ryan and Len could be involved in that competition too, though they look like longer shots to make the team.
Diawara has an inside track for a standard roster spot because of the Knicks’ hard-cap situation, which requires them to carry a drafted rookie on a minimum-salary contract if they don’t shed salary in a trade. Evbuomwan, meanwhile, is a candidate to have his Exhibit 10 contract converted into a two-way deal.
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