The New York Knicks are two months removed from winning the 2026 NBA Championship, where they beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
The NBA is currently deep into the offseason, and August is usually the month when either contract extensions get done or, in this case, do not.
Knicks guard Miles McBride was eligible for a contract extension this offseason as he is going into the last year of his three-year, $13 million contract with the team. The deadline for McBride and the Knicks to get a deal done was August 11, as “Deuce” now plays under his one-year, $3.9 million contract. His contract is fully guaranteed, and he will become an Unrestricted Free Agent in the summer of 2027.
Along with McBride, two more Knicks who are extension eligible are Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart. Despite the August 11 deadline, all three players can still sign contract extensions at any point up until the day before the regular season starts in October.
As two of the five starters, both have two years remaining on their contracts; it’s highly unlikely that either will be traded as they defend their title and compete to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors. However, McBride can be the odd man out as the February trade deadline is months away.
After winning the NBA Finals, going into the NBA Draft and NBA Free Agency, owner James Dolan said he didn’t want to go and write a check that goes into the second apron. As this free agency has passed, the Knicks lost their longest-tenure Knick at the time with center Mitchell Robinson leaving the team and signing with the Boston Celtics. Robinson signed a three-year, $47.4 million contract with the Celtics as the Knicks were not willing to resign him. Despite losing Robinson, the Knicks still have all their core guys locked in for this coming season.
The only NBA team that is currently in the second apron is the Denver Nuggets as they have given out big contract extensions to numerous players over the years. Now, Denver is currently struggling with giving Peyton Watson a new contract for there forward. The Nuggets also have to focused on there franchise superstar center an offseason from now where Nikola Jokić can sign a supermax deal with the team.
No doubt McBride has played out his current contract and has been a part of the Knicks success over the years. With the second apron intact for another couple years, the apron is not going any where. So, with the second apron not everyone can stay together on the team as you have seen it play out the last few years with teams. For example, the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Championship, and now two years later, only six players remained from the championship team with losing key starters and bench rotation players. The Celtics have lost Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and recently this offseason Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. The only remaining players are Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Jordan Walsh.
This is what the second apron can do to teams. There is a lot of tough financial decisions to make for teams and front offices. McBride is currently the longest-tenured Knick and has been with the team since 2021. “Deuce” was the 36th overall pick and on draft night, and the Knicks traded the 32nd overall pick Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to Oklahoma City for McBride. Over the years, McBride has become a fan favorite in New York and has developed into a good rotation player. Every single season, “Deuce”, has elevated his game and his role has risen with his coaches, teammates, front office, and the team trusting him. This past regular season, McBride averaged 12.0 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.
McBribe is a disruptive player as he entered the league as a defender and got minutes defending his tail off early in his career. Over the past few years, he has improved his three point shooting becoming one of the Knicks’ best shooters on the team. As McBride’s game has risen, it is impossible to take him off the floor as occasionally he can play minutes with the starters if he has the hot hand. It will interesting to see if the Knicks move on from him or if both parties can come to a resolution from now to next summer.
The Knicks guard rotation consists of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, Jose Alvarado, and Tyler Kolek. New York can look to give a younger guard like Kolek or any of the younger players more minutes if the Knicks were to move on from McBride. A few years ago, the Knicks traded for O.G. Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors for R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Quickley played a big role off the bench and was a finalist for the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year Award where he eventually lost to Macolm Brodgon. This trade opened the door for McBride to gain more minutes and play a bigger role than he was asked to in previous years. A couple years later, the same thing can happen to McBride if the Knicks are confident one of their younger cheaper players can replace “Deuce”.
Ultimately, the question is, is McBride’s time with the Knicks reaching an end or will the Knicks figure out a resolution to bring the fan favorite back to New York?
