Knicks roster battle should have obvious frontrunner

The New York Knicks held training camp tryouts for its final roster spots last season and went on to win an NBA title. This season, they're trying a similar approach.

Veterans Bruce Brown, John Konchar, Ochai Agbaji, Drew Eubanks and James Wiseman all signed non-guaranteed deals this week with the Knicks. It's likely a competition for just one roster spot, and it all depends on how desperate the Knicks are for a big man.

New York Knicks are limited by second apron

The Knicks have two vacant roster spots, but they are only $3.3M under the NBA's second luxury tax apron, a line that functions for many teams as a de facto hard cap. That's largely due to the team's starting lineup costing $191.7M combined. A veteran minimum deal will cost $2.45M, meaning the Knicks will be limited to 14 players until deep into the season.

The way around these limitations is two-way contracts. Forward Tyler Nickel, the No. 47 pick in this year's draft, is likely to take one of them after an impressive Summer League where he sank 19 three-pointers in five games. Seven-footer Liam Robbins is a likely two-way candidate to back up Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond at center.

That suggests the Knicks will use their final roster spot on a wing player, especially with the less-than-impressive options of Eubanks and Wiseman, who has played just five NBA games in the last two seasons. They may want an extra big man for the playoffs, but the team has four months to figure out who that might be.

John Konchar is the best wing option for New York Knicks

Though Konchar is less famous than his training camp rivals at the wing, his skill set best matches what the Knicks need. They have solid bench scorers in Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson, and solid if undersized defenders at point guard in Miles McBride and Jose Alvarado.

Konchar is similar to Josh Hart in that he plays defense, blocks shots and rebounds like a forward, despite being guard-sized at 6-foot-5. Agbaji may be more impressive athletically, but Konchar was a consistently above-average defensive player every season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Advanced defensive statistics love Konchar, who has registered positive defensive box score plus/minus numbers his entire career.

He matches the energy and toughness the Knicks displayed in their title run. Konchar had a stellar college career at tiny Purdue University Fort Wayne, but went undrafted, then had to work his way from a two-way deal to a full NBA contract.

Many of the Knicks, from Jalen Brunson to Towns to Shamet, were underappreciated with their old teams. Konchar has had to have a chip on his shoulder and play bigger than his size, something the Knicks have excelled at in the Brunson era.

Konchar's all-around game and toughness make him the ideal 14th Knick and a player the city of New York could rally around. All he needs is a solid training camp and perhaps some well-timed posts for superfan Ben Stiller to lock in his spot on the roster.