Normally, a batch of Exhibit 9 contracts wouldn't qualify as significant news. They're non-guaranteed training camp deals, after all, the sort that teams typically hand out in bunches this time of year. But in the case of the defending NBA champion New York Knicks, however, those deals are potentially significant.
On Wednesday, the Knicks signed five players to those contracts: Ochai Agbaji, Bruce Brown, James Wiseman, John Konchar and Drew Eubanks. The Knicks currently have 13 players under guaranteed contracts for next season with a bit more than $3 million in room beneath the second apron. That essentially leaves them the space to add one player before the season starts, and we now know the five players who will compete for that final spot.
This competition proved hugely significant a year ago, when the Knicks brought in Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon and Garrison Mathews to compete for their final roster spot under fairly similar financial circumstances. Shamet eventually became an essential role player for New York's championship run and has since re-signed on a four-year deal. The Knicks would obviously be thrilled to replicate that success with one of this year's five signings, but the odds of doing so are usually low.
Rarely does a player fighting for a team's final roster spot even get the minutes needed to have such an impact. And even if those minutes arrive, there's no guarantee that a player who was available for a camp deal in September would be able to take advantage of them. These are, in essence, low-odds signings.
There are only so many Landry Shamets out there. But they're notable components of New York's broader offseason plan, because, at least for the moment, the defending champions appear somewhat incomplete. In an effort to duck the second apron, the Knicks lost key backup center Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the rival Boston Celtics.
He was nominally replaced by Andre Drummond, but that's a downgrade to say the least. We know the Knicks want at least one more big man on the roster. Before they signed any of these Exhibit 9 contracts, they tried and failed to trade for Yves Missi of the New Orleans Pelicans.
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