The New York Knicks reshaped the race for their final roster spot on Wednesday. They waived John Konchar and center N'Faly Dante, signed veteran center Tony Bradley to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract and signed guard Jaden Akins to a two-way deal.
Konchar was one of five veterans the Knicks brought in on September 16 to compete for what is, in practice, a single place on the regular-season roster. He had agreed his deal the day before. The team gave no reason for either waiver. SNY's Ian Begley reported that Konchar had been away from the team this week tending to a personal matter, and that the two sides had decided to part ways for now to give him more time away. Konchar, 30, has played 363 NBA games, 337 of them for Memphis.
Three centers and two wings
Bradley's arrival keeps the field at five but changes its shape. He joins Drew Eubanks and James Wiseman at center, while Bruce Brown and Ochai Agbaji are the two wings left. The need shows on the depth chart. Andre Drummond is the only backup center on a guaranteed contract behind Karl-Anthony Towns, who is still waiting on an extension of his own. Mitchell Robinson, last season's backup, agreed a three-year, $47.4 million deal with the Boston Celtics on July 1.
Bradley, 28, was the 28th pick in the 2017 draft and has played 234 games over eight seasons. Last season he appeared in 41 for Indiana and Atlanta, averaging 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11 minutes. New York has seen plenty of him lately. He played against the Knicks for Indiana in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals and for Atlanta in April's first-round series.
Mike Brown made the case for him after the second day of training camp in Tarrytown on Wednesday, saying the Knicks were "looking at that position heavily."
Tony's a veteran guy that's still in his prime and has a good feel for the game, knows how to play the game the right way and he's hurt us in the past.
Mike Brown, after practice on Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News
Brown also explained why the depth matters to him. He wants to move Towns between center and power forward, and said OG Anunoby could play a little more at center this season than last. To do both, he said, the Knicks need enough centers on the roster.
The two-way spot
Akins fills the Knicks' third and final two-way slot, alongside Tyler Nickel and Kevin McCullar Jr. New York had signed and waived him twice earlier this offseason. The team also signed forward Toby Okani to an Exhibit 10 deal on Wednesday and waived him the same day.
The two contract types explain those moves. An Exhibit 9, like Bradley's, is a non-guaranteed minimum deal that mainly protects the team if a player is hurt in camp, while an Exhibit 10, the kind Dante and Okani had, can be converted to a two-way contract or pays a bonus if the waived player joins the club's G League affiliate.
What comes next
The arithmetic from September has not changed. New York carries 13 guaranteed contracts, needs a 14th, and has room under the second apron for only one more minimum deal. Fully non-guaranteed contracts can be waived without a cap charge until October 17, and rosters are set on October 19.
The first chance to see the five in a game comes on Monday, when the Knicks open the preseason at the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET. The 76ers are the opponent again on October 20, when New York raises its championship banner at Madison Square Garden.
