1:04pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).
9:16am: The Knicks have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The deal is expected to be an Exhibit 10 contract for Kidd-Gilchrist, per Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link), which is essentially a non-guaranteed, one-year minimum-salary deal.
Regarded as a solid defender, Kidd-Gilchrist has ties to the current Knicks organization as current president Leon Rose represented him at CAA and is longtime friends with executive vice president and senior basketball adviser William Wesley. The 27-year-old appeared in just 25 games between the Hornets and Mavericks last season after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Charlotte organization.
The Kentucky product was taken second overall by the then-Charlotte Bobcats in the 2012 NBA Draft and subsequently developed into a solid starter for the team. After three solid seasons, the Hornets rewarded Kidd-Gilchrist with a four-year, $52MM contract extension in August 2015.
Right shoulder injuries limited him to just seven games in his first season post-extension in 2015/16 but Kidd-Gilchrist returned to start 81 games and then 74 games in the two campaigns proceeding it. However, starting in 2018, Kidd-Gilchrist lost his starting role whilst battling a barrage of injuries.
Ultimately, Kidd-Gilchrist fell out of the rotation and was waived by the Hornets earlier this year before latching on with Dallas for 13 games down the stretch.
Second overall pick
Age 27
Exhibit 10 pact
yup sillyman… that’s what the article says. but thanks for telling us a 2nd time.
First overall pick Anthony Bennett will sign an exhibit 10 with Knicks?
He’s not a bad athlete but can’t shoot
He’s not G-League eligible, right?
How is this guy getting chances in the league? If we criticize players who can’t play defense (Jimmer) but can shoot the ball, and they still don’t get chances to play, why do guys who can’t shoot and are liability on the offensive side of the court get a chance? Double standard if you ask me.
Waste of a roster spot for a team that needs to evaluate unproven talent. MKG you know is already a proven scrub and bust.
It just shows it’s defense that wins games.
Yet we continue to progress towards “pace and space”? I mean what is “defense” anymore in the NBA? When was the last time a team held teams UNDER 100 PPG in a season? I think the narrative of “defense wins games” is misleading, you can win a game 132-130 and is that really playing defense?
Not Defense in a vacuum. but defense relative to competition and the times.
You young people…Why play D…Why play the regular season…blah blah blah…so much wisdom.
Name me the last team that won an NBA title that was below average or even middle of the pack on defense?
You ever even played a pickup gm. If you play D in NBA. You can stick. Cause you reb and set picks and keep ball moving and can run make layups. If all you do is shoot. You don’t play cause you have to get open to shoot. Means no handle not athletic enough to play. NBA is for real athletes. Defense is half the gm. Teams can always use D guys. Don’t need shooters. You use guys who can shoot. That know how to get their shots. Or can get off shots. College is not the NBA lol
there it is
Other guys can take shots while you do other stuff like set picks, rebound and floor space. No one can guard your guy on defense. Jimmer Fredette could guard MKG though.
I feel like the Knicks are just throwing darts at a dart board and hoping one in every ten will end up being a solid pick up.
I think the ghost of Anthony Mason can guard MKG to be honest. I’m honestly intrigued on how much PT he will get. 10-15 MPG? Maybe strictly as a 12th man off the bench? His days getting starters minutes are long over.
Oh, cool. Another forward.
I called this one last week when they signed Nerlens Noel. 5th former Wildcat on the NY roster. Cauley-Stein and Gabriel have signed, but Skal Labissiere is still available.
Is Skal so awful? His stats are not bad… 10 reb & 2 blocks per 36′, mediumPER, plus on/off, 35%3s, good movement, active when I see him…
I don’t think he is awful at all. I do think he left college way too early. I believe he would have unlocked a lot of his potential with another year or two of learning. The guy didn’t even start playing basketball at all until he was in his mid teens (he was a soccer player from Haiti) and was in the NBA by 19. A couple of more years of learning the game under Coach Calipari without the pressure of trying to learn while maintaining your job has just been too much for him. Instead he is not likely to get another “real” opportunity to make an impact in the NBA again.
The comment wasn’t so much a swipe at Skal, but instead a suggestion of another available Wildcat. It could have worked equally well with Tyler Ulis or Isaiah Briscoe instead.
Yep. He seems so close. I made light of him at Sacto, and he has the look of overpromotion, but now it’s concerning!
First off the contract is not guaranteed. Did you read that part. NBA you can always use guys who play D. It’s a 2way sport. You can make a nice living just playing D. You ever watch the NFL. Every sport needs a great defender. Wake up .
Looks to me like they are probably going to make another trade. So you need guys for roster. Best to have guys you know can play. He is a solid rotation guy if he accepts that only 27. Every team needs guys who can guard wings today. Cause of constant switching. He can guard 1-4. That is worth something today. Most likely to be traded are Randle, Smith, Payton, Knox. At this point who do you think we are suppose to get AD. No one is out there. Next moves are trades or the TD. Knicks are one of youngest teams. Always a good idea to have solid character vets. You expecting the East finals or something. It’s a rebuild. Next yr is deepest draft in a long time. This yr is all about Thibs weeding out the players he don’t want. Toppin was a great start. We got a C, SG, PF all under 22 starting. With very bright futures. That’s what the future is about. Not this signing. Relax
@KnickerbockerAl… why do u waste your time with these clowns that post about killing the knicks?? Most but not all have no clue what they talking about.
Now the roster is at 17 or 18 players. Who will get cut?
Defense and rebounding win games! But you do need to have some balance with some players who can put the ball in the hoop.
Thibs is a defensive coach so l am curious to see how the team will be molded-it’s leading towards a defensive team.
The Knicks need an identity. I would like to see a combination of hitting the open man (69-70) Knicks and the (94) Defensive Knicks (Oakley Harper mason starks & Ewing.
This combo style will win you some games and hopefully attract free agents
If this roster is coming down to the 3 players mentioned then It will be between MKG and Iggy.
The only other thing that may happen is a trade unloading 2-3 players. We will see
Iggy never has a chance to showcase what he can do. He looked very good in college, here come the Knicks drafting and his development has been hindered but coaches who don’t know what they are doing and bad management who keep on adding veteran players/borderline busts/ busts to play in front of him
I thought this year was the year the Knicks would allow those Kids to showcase their talent. But no, they are the same mistakes again by bringing back Elfrid Payton, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, those. The Knicks won’t gain anything from adding those guys to the roster. However, I am all for Rivers, and Noel’s additions.