OCTOBER 18: The Knicks have officially re-signed Early, the team announced today (Twitter link).
OCTOBER 13: The Knicks will re-sign forward Cleanthony Early, sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Early will likely start his season in the D-League as he continues his rehab from a hamstring injury, Charania adds.
The 6’8″ Early, 25, has played both of his NBA seasons with New York. He appeared in 17 games last season, including two starts, and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. During the 2014/15 campaign, he appeared in 39 games, including seven starts, and averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.6 minutes.
The Knicks have mulled bringing back Early for quite some time and ultimately decided to give the former second-round pick another chance. They renounced their rights to him in early July in order to sign high-profile free agents, including Joakim Noah.
Early’s 2015/16 season was marred by an incident in late December which he was shot in the right knee and robbed. He did not return to action until the beginning of April.
Early’s hamstring injury occurred prior to the summer league, preventing him from participating with the Knicks’ entry in Orlando in July, and is apparently still affecting him. He’ll eventually give new coach Jeff Hornacek another option at the small forward spot.
They’ve given him another chance…. But I hope it’s the last one… I’m kinda tired of seeing his name on the roster for this team. He hasn’t done anything worth while for this team. IMO he’s a waste of a roster spot.
Dude the guy got shot in the leg. He only played 17 games last season. what did you expect from him?
My thoughts are for the N.Y. Knicks and not for an “individual” who got shot. Yes it’s sad… Yes it should’ve happened… But this is a team right.. It’s a business too right… His roster spot could be had by a better player right.. So if you owned a team you would want the best possible roster on the floor.. That’s my reply.