Good morning! Before we get to a wonderful KYK from Ray Marcano, here’s some quick thoughts on New York’s quiet summer from me…
News & Notes
No, you didn’t miss a piece of Knicks news while you were (I pray) ignoring social media and basking in the championship afterglow of summer.
The last Knicks transaction indeed happened on July 10, when they inked Jordan Clarkson to a one-year veteran minimum deal. Before that, they made the contracts for Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara and Andre Drummond official on July 6.
And that’s it.
Tomorrow will mark 50 days since the Knicks have made a move of any kind. In that time, there have been (if I counted correctly) 71 transactions on the official NBA ledger, with yesterday’s news of Miami signing big man Nick Richards being the 71st.
It’s not that Richards was the straw that broke the camel’s back and inspired me to touch on this issue, first because Nick Richards isn’t all that good, and second (and more importantly) because this isn’t a criticism of New York’s front office in the slightest. But Richards was, as far as I recall, the last name who the Knicks were reportedly interested in that was still available. The Knicks are also the only team in the NBA with all three two-way spots open, with most teams having filled every spot and the rest having filled two. They have, by far, the fewest rostered players in the league, and there’s been no news of any kind regarding extension talks for Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart or Deuce McBride. The Knicks have had easily the quietest summer of any team in the NBA, and it isn’t particularly close.
Which begs the obvious question: what do they have up their sleeves? NBA teams are allowed to roster up to 21 players in the offseason, and they currently have 13. It’s one thing to retain a few open spots for additional flexibility, but eight open spots as we enter September seems like a bit much.
Again, this isn’t a criticism. After what the front office pulled off in bringing a championship to New York, with as much heavy lifting through savvy trades and signings as any title team in recent memory, they have a lifetime pass from me. More than anything, I’m just curious.
The answers that would be the most obvious under different circumstances - retaining flexibility to bring back many players in a trade in which they send out only one player, or signing and trading a bunch of players whose rights they’ve retained in order to balance out a larger deal for cap purposes, a’la the KAT trade - wouldn’t seem to apply here, first because they’re so close to the second apron, and second because all of their heavier salaried players seem like locks to return.
You could tell me that they’re waiting for other teams to release players as a result of impending roster crunches, but those cuts don’t usually happen until the end of camp. If they were waiting for better players to shake free, why not sign a bunch of warm bodies to Exhibit 10 contracts in the meantime? Those deals don’t count against the cap when a player is released before the season starts. You could tell me that warm bodies can be signed as easily on September 28 (the day before camp starts) as they can on August 28 or July 28, but again we’re left to wonder, why the delay?
I don’t have an answer, and I’d love to hear from anyone who does. The only thing I know with close to certainty is that Leon Rose values optionality as much any executive in the league, and in keeping so many spots open, they’ve certainly given themselves that.
But anytime this front office has left a door conspicuously open, they usually have some idea of what might later go through it.
Your guess is as good as mine on what exactly that something is.
A New York Legend You Knew: Malik Sealy
by Ray Marcano
I’ve teared up for two athletes when I learned they passed away.
The first one’s no surprise. I worked the night shift in the composing room at Westchester-Rockland Newspapers in 1978. I walked into the newsroom and saw some hard-scrabble editors trying to keep their composure, while others openly wept. One pointed to the television and that’s when I saw the news.
We had a few minutes of grieving before newspaper people do what they do --- they started planning coverage, asking for additional pages in the press run and adjusting deadlines.
The second time was in 2000, when a New York Sports legend, Mailk Sealy, was killed in a head-on crash by a drunk driver.
Sealy’s story starts well before he entered high school. The city basketball scene buzzed about the 13-year-old who played for the storied Riverside Hawks. That team routinely attracted the city’s best, including Tiny Archibald, Kenny Smith, Kenny Anderson, Chris Mullin, Rod Strickland and Elton Brand.
He attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School, where he developed as both a player and a leader. At Tolentine, in 1988, he led the team to the Catholic High Schools Athletic Association and state federation championships. The team finished No. 1 in the nation and Sealy led the way. He scored 26 points and grabbed 10 boards in the CHSAA win, and he put on a clinic at state: 21 points, 15 rebounds, two blocked shots, four steals and two assists.
He was the top city recruit, becoming known for leadership at a young age. He was class president and a member of the honor roll. Several stories credit his mother and father for instilling a strong work ethic.
“He personified a great person and a great athlete,” Adrian Autry, his high school teammate said.
And even with all of his early success, he said, while still in high school, “You just have to keep everything in perspective. You can’t let your head get big. You have to just go out and work hard every game. You take criticism from others and use what you can use, and what you can’t use, just put it aside…”
Literally every major college program, including Syracuse, Georgetown and North Carolina, recruited the 6'8" Sealy. But he decided to stay home and attended St. John’s.
His presence allowed the Johnnies to continue a run of post-season appearances. The team won the NIT in 1989 and then made three straight NCAA appearances with Sealy as the focal point. He got better every year and as a senior, he was a second-team All-American who averaged 22.6 PPG. He finished his career with 2,401 points, second all-time to Chris Mullin (2,440). He also scored in double figures in 102 straight games, still a school record.
Sealy had already answered one question when he transformed from a center in high school to a forward in college. But others remained. His scouting reports heading to the pros wondered whether his slight, 190-pound frame would hold up to the pounding.
But his other attributes, including a nice mid-range game and solid perimeter defense, made him a certain first-round pick in the 1992 draft.
The only question was, where?
The Knicks held the 20th pick and wanted a perimeter shooter, a role that wouldn’t immediately fit Sealy because in college he was poor from long range. But that didn’t stop the media from hoping the New York kid would fall to the Knicks, who were looking for shooting and athleticism.
As a fan, I hoped Sealy would fall in the draft. I thought Sealy was athletic enough to play small forward and occasionally handle the two guard. But I really wanted him to drop because he was one of my three favorite college basketball players to that point (Chris Mullin and Notre Dame’s Toby Knight were the others) and it would have been nice to see him regularly in the Garden.
That wasn’t to be. The Indiana Pacers (damn them) took Sealy at No. 14.
That began an eight-year NBA odyssey in which he played for four teams and was traded or released three times. He was a solid contributor at every step, with his best year for the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996-97. He was second on the team in scoring, at 13.5 PPG, and chipped in three boards and two assists per game. He also shot .356 from three, well above his career average (.292).
But his most impactful seasons were the last two of his career and life.
Sealy signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1998 after being released by the Detroit Pistons. The Wolves had a young superstar, Kevin Garnett, who at the time was shy and had a difficult time handling the fame that came with his on-court play.
In Sealy, he met a man he had admired since high school, where Garnett wore No. 21, Sealy’s number at St. John’s. They quickly become friends and more importantly, Sealy became a mentor.
“Malik was my guy, my big brother, someone I looked up to, someone who was always in my corner.” Garnett told the Basketball Network.
Sam Mitchell, who was also close to Garnett, said in an interview, “Malik and Kevin were brothers. Best friends. Kevin was still kinda shy. Didn’t go out much, didn’t do much because people would be on him. And Malik was just like, ‘Screw that, man. Let’s go.’”
He added, “Malik brought Kevin out of that shell. Malik taught Kevin how to be comfortable with being a superstar.”
While playing, Sealy started preparing for another career --- acting. He played the self-centered Stacy Patton, who wore No. 20 for the on-screen Knicks, in the basketball comedy “Eddie.” He also had small parts in a few television shows.
He also started a family. He had a son in 1997 and married his wife, Lisa, in 1999.
On May 20, 2000, Sealy and others attended Kevin Garnett’s 24th birthday party.
“Every person that was close to me was in there, Sam (Mitchell) was in there, Malik was in there. After, I went home and I got into bed and I just sat there, man, God, thanks for this beautiful day and night,” Garnett said in a 2010 interview.
Driving home at 4 a.m. his car was hit head-on by a drunk who was driving the wrong way on a Minnesota highway. Sealy died on impact.
“I’ll never forget that my aunt damn near kicked my door in saying something happened to Malik… When she said it felt like time had stopped,” Garnett said.
Upon hearing the news, his college coach, Lou Carnesecca, told the New York Times, “This just hits you so hard. If you don’t have faith, this kind of thing would blow your mind because he was so young and he was such a good kid. I’m numb.”
Sadly, it was the second time that year an NBA player was killed in a car crash. In January, Bobby Phills of the Charlote Hornets died instantly when he lost control of his Porsche and slammed into another vehicle.
The accolades for Sealy poured in. More than 3,000 people attended his funeral on May 26, a gathering as curious for who attended than who didn’t. The Knicks and Pacers were locked in a duel in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers beat the Knicks the night before in Indianapolis and didn’t arrive back in the city until 3 a.m. The funeral was at 10 a.m. and the Knicks had a 2 p.m. practice, so the team didn’t send anyone to the service.
Yet, five Pacers showed up: Former Knick and St. John’s product Mark Jackson; Brooklyn native and St. John’s alum Chris Mullin; New Jersey’s Al Harrington; Dale Davis; and Reggie Miller, the tormenter of MSG.
I remember thinking at the time, how in the hell can Reggie Miller and the Pacers players show up but the Knicks can’t? Sealy didn’t play for them, but he was an icon of New York hoops. I thought it was sad.
The Timberwolves retired his No. 2 in November 2000, and he was posthumously inducted into the New York Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was inducted into the St. John’s Hall of Fame in 2014, and the No. 21 he wore there has been retired. As a tribute to his lasting legacy, several podcasters, newspapers and content creators paid tribute to him on the 25th anniversary of his death.
Sealy, from an early age, knew that basketball was a part of his life, not the part. He knew there was more awaiting him. He just didn’t get there.
At his funeral, his young wife said: “He was a great dad — he cooked, he changed diapers, he did laundry — a great example... He never got the big contract, he never got the accolades in the NBA, so give him a standing ovation as he leaves us.”
Ray Marcano writes for some of the country’s biggest brands and has been named best columnist in Ohio two straight years (2025-26). You can read his free newsletter, the Bourbon Resource, right here on Substack.
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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Beautiful piece of Sealy Ray. Thanks.
Jonathan, you’re right. The Knicks front office has accrued enough good will to last a lifetime (or at least three seasons). However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t perturbed.
#1, the Knicks are not a perfect team.
#2, the Eastern Conference has improved significantly
#3, sh*t happens, meaning there will be injuries, regression and aging.
Thus, you would think it would behoove the Knicks to carry at least 18 guys into camp and at least two of the three allowed two-way contracts. You never know when a diamond in the rough becomes something more and the Knicks interior D was certainly harmed by the loss of Mitch. Plus, KAT is going to miss games, as well Drummond. Thus, a quality back -up center is a necessity.
As to why the Knicks have been so quiet I have to imagine it has to do with finances. The team is a hairsbreadth away from the second apron and maybe Dolan has decided to minimize losses and sign as few players as the NBA allows (they will need to get above the NBA floor of 13 roster players.). For as much goodwill as the Knick front office has built, I still can’t stand Dolan so somehow this must be his fault.