Where Things Stand

Let's take a look at what might be in store for the Knicks over the rest of the summer. Plus, an accounting of New York's remaining draft picks.

Good morning! It’s been a few days and still no Julius Randle extension. I hope nobody was holding their breath. That’s one thing to keep our eye on over the rest of the offseason, but it certainly isn’t the only thing. That’s where we’ll turn our attention today.

Where Things Stand

On Thursday afternoon, the Knicks made yet another minor roster move, signing former 16th overall pick Chuma Okeke to an Exhibit 10 deal (which is code for “non-guaranteed contract”).

Okeke is a nice flyer with a defined NBA skill (defense), but there are better odds he gets cut before the end of training camp than that he has any sort of an impact this season. At the moment, he fills the 15th and final roster spot, but my guess is that changes before we get to training camp.

To explain why, and what else is at stake in the next two months, let’s begin the week with a five-pack of reader questions & comments, starting with one from JDri:

Jon, hope you had a good trip. With regard to the $5.2 million taxpayer MLE, can they take it into the season and use it when a real opportunity presents itself? Said differently, why use it now when it’s truly a human trade exception? Couldn’t you use it when you need it? For example, in January, they have a trade lined up for a center and need to add salary to Precious, could you sign and trade someone off the street? I know you mentioned a buyout guy but this (if allowable) would be another reason to save it.

As JDri points out, New York has their full taxpayer mid-level exception to use at any time. Considering they are $7.6 million under the $189 million second apron (which they are hard-capped at for this season), they can use the entire exception if they so choose.

There are a few issues with JDri’s plan though.