Why the 26-27 Knicks Should Give a 2022 NBA Champion Center the Final Roster Spot
For the 26-27 New York Knicks training camp, the team signed a bunch of veteran players to compete for the final two roster spots. 2023 NBA Champion Bruce Brown was signed last week on September 16th, and the day before, guard John Konchar's deal was finalized. However, New York also signed 2022 NBA Champion center James Wiseman the same day Brown was signed. The Knicks are in desperate need of a third-string center after losing Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti in free agency. Reports have indicated that Wiseman has impressed the Knicks at training camp thus far, and the 25-year-old should get the opportunity to get a restart in his career in New York.
The 25-year-old center was selected as the second overall pick by the Golden State Warriors during the 2020 NBA Draft. Wiseman didn’t make his NBA debut until more than a month into the season on December 22, 2020. He struggled in Golden State, playing a total of 60 games in nearly two seasons. Wiseman dealt with injuries, struggled to adapt to the Warriors system, and his raw inexperience, only playing three games at Memphis before preparing for the NBA Draft. Before the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, the 2022 NBA Champion was traded to the Detroit Pistons as part of a four-team deal.
The 2022 NBA Champion would play a bigger role in Detroit but still did not reach the potential he or the Pistons hoped he could achieve. Wiseman would sign a two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers, but on the Pacers 24-25 opening night, the 25-year-old center would tear his Achilles. In February 2025, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors for a 2026 top-55 protected second-round pick; however, Wiseman was waived. The 25-year-old center would re-sign with Indiana during the 2025 NBA Free Agency on another two-year deal but was waived to open a roster spot for Mac McClung. Wiseman would sign multiple 10-day contracts but would be released by the Pacers once again.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown was an assistant coach with the Warriors when Golden State selected Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft. Back in 2021, Brown said, “James, he does stuff on a daily basis that makes you sit back and go, ‘Wow. Did he just do that? Am I seeing that?’ The sky is the limit for him. I don’t know if there’s anything that he’s not gonna be able to do when he reaches his peak.” The high admiration for the 25-year-old center back then shows there’s still hope in his young career even with all the injuries he’s sustained. During his rookie season, Wiseman averaged nearly 12 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a block in 39 games played and 27 starts. He would tear his right meniscus, which would be just the start of his injury history, but it showed how special a talent he can be at his size.
Wiseman and Drew Eubanks should be looked at as potential favorites to be signed, as the Knicks need another big man. Yet, if Konchar, Brown, or Ochai Agbaji signs, New York should trade 26-year-old guard Miles McBride during the upcoming season. The 2022 NBA Champion center has been working extremely hard to get his NBA career back on track and become the center many fans expected and hoped he’d be. Putting him behind all-star centers and great rebounding centers like Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond can surely restore his confidence in becoming a solid player again. He has the tools at his size, and with his strength, Wiseman has shown it in the past, averaging eight rebounds a game in 24 games with the Pistons back in 2023. Even though he’s suffered some serious injuries in the past, the Knicks simply need a third center. It should come down to either Wiseman or Eubanks performing the best in training camp.
