After busting the engine to start 2026, losing 9 of 11 games, #NeverForget, blown out most nights, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson in and out of the lineup, sky falling, air raid sirens blaring, Knicks fans returning to their doomsday shelters built to protect themselves from Kevin Knox bricks, the team kinda looks like they’re putting in effort again, smiling on the bench, looking like championship contenders.
Only took a public beatdown by the Dallas Mavericks G-League affiliate on national TV, in front of all the hoes and podcasters, followed by a player’s only meeting and some sly shots at Karl-anthony Towns but it looks like the Knicks will hold the fort, protect this house, give it one last effort at an NBA championship without making a massive roster change, again, midseason for a superstar.
So let’s talk about some interesting players on the fringes of the league with the potential to unlock some doors for a team desperate for consistency right now.
This list will become increasingly obscure until you won’t even recognize the last player on it:
1. SG Ayo Dosunmu
- 14.5 points per game
- 51% from the field
- 45% from 3
- 3.4 assists
- 26 years old
- $7 million expiring
- 6-foot-4
Been fun to see Ayo Dosunmu’s developments over the last few seasons.
Qualities we saw be elite on the collegiate level, growing to impactful on the NBA level. pic.twitter.com/zkbsnMxSoq
— Stephen PridGeon-Garner 🏁 (@StephenPG3) January 19, 2026
3-point shooting, perimeter defense, passing, hustling, Ayo Dosunmu brings reliable spacing on the court. But what the Knicks need most from him is his willingness to bounce off the hardwood, retrieving loose balls.
If the Knicks have a constant rotation of OG, Hart, Bridges, and Ayo, hands in passing lanes, hitting corner 3’s, running the fastbreak, the Knicks will never have a moment without a reliable 2-way wing on the court.
2. SG Cam Spencer
- 11.8 points
- 48% from the field
- 46% from 3
- 5.7 assists
- 25 years old
- 2-way contract
- 6-foot-3
I’ve enjoyed my time with Tyler Kolek, the Knicks truly could not have won the NBA Cup without him relieving some pressure from Jalen Brunson but Cam Spencer is just a better basketball player, stepping up in Ja Morant’s absence as if he was always going to be the Memphis Grizzlies starting point guard from day one.
“YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO GET HIM OFF OF ME”
CAM SPENCER LIGHTING IT UP AND TALKING THAT SHIT pic.twitter.com/pLybHU7OtE
— eric (@EricTweetsNBA) December 16, 2025
The Knicks need more shit-talkers. Too many sweetie-pies on this team. I want Cam Spencer barking at guys like Jordan Clarkson was supposed to.
3. PF Marvin Bagley III
- 10 points per game
- 61% shooting from the field
- 5.7 rebounds
- 26 years old
- $2.2 million expiring
- 6-foot-10
With Karl-Anthony Towns always wearing foul trouble like Butch Coolidge wearing his father’s watch and Mitchell Robinson limping like Frankenstein, the Knicks need a backup big to maintain their size and rebounding.
Yabusele is not a big man.
He is very small and not very good.
Marvin Bagley is a former lottery pick, ACC Player of the Year only 8 years ago. Ariel Hukporti is a raw product, not yet properly fermented.
Marvin Bagley is a vet who knows where to stand, more than I can say about Karl.
4. C Day’Ron Sharpe
- 7.8 points per game
- 60% from the field
- 6.2 rebounds
- 24 years old
- $6.2 million ($6.2 million team option)
- 6-foot-10
I don’t know why the Brooklyn Nets would give up on a potential 12-year starting center, especially considering Nic Claxton’s handcuffed to Barclays Center, only to be freed when a team pays his ransom of several first-round picks, his talents do not warrant. The Nets have Cam Thomas’s family locked in the basement.
They do not trade their talent.
But if the Knicks can sneak Day’Ron Sharpe out through the fire escape, perhaps he can be molded into the next Mitchell Robinson (Mitch on an expiring contract, likely to taste free agency for the first time in his career, ready to be courted, wined and dined, get out of New York/liberal country)
5. PF Karlo Matković
- 4.9 points
- 62% from the field
- 42% from 3
- 3.1 rebounds
- $1.9 million ($2.2 million team option)
- 6-foot-10
Earlier this month, Karlo Matković scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting (2-for-3 from 3) with 2 steals and 2 blocks in 20 minutes.
The Knicks need a Croatian hitman on the roster.
Karlo Matković’s talents wasted on Bourbon Street, Zion showing up late to the team plane, blue chews falling out of his sweats, his phone always receiving an incoming FaceTime from a woman shaped like a chello case.
Give me the backup big man who could space the floor and spell KAT when he’s on the sidelines, awkwardly grinning following on the most disgustingly blatant fouls anyone’s ever seen, his 5th in the 3rd quarter.
6. PF Giannis Antetokounmpo
I know no one really watches the bottom-feeding teams. Charles Barkley and Shaq won’t stop telling me that they don’t care and I shouldn’t either. So it’s possible you may have missed this guy on the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Don’t know much about him, I don’t watch Greek basketball, pardon me, but it’s worth taking a risk on a high-ceiling guy. IDK. I’m just a writer.
Pacome Dadiet for Giannis, who says no?
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