New Knicks Rumors Update James Wiseman, Bruce Brown Roster Competition Ahead of NBA Season

The New York Knicks waived veteran guard Bruce Brown on Saturday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania .

Charania noted that center James Wiseman is now set to earn a spot on the Knicks' regular-season roster as a depth piece.

New York has two open roster spots, but could only keep one player in order to avoid crossing into the second apron (h/t ESPN's Bobby Marks ).

Wiseman was competing with fellow big men Drew Eubanks and Tony Bradley for the reserve center role behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, although his path towards a spot on the roster became clearer after Eubanks and Bradley were waived on Thursday.

SNY's Ian Begley previously reported that there was "strong support" within the Knidks "to add Brown as well" as Wiseman, but a trade would have been required to keep him. A deal never materialized prior to his reported release.

As for Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency throughout his tenure in the association.

Still, he's just 25 years old and is coming off a preseason with New York in which he averaged 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game while shooting 81.3 percent from the field.

Wiseman also has some familiarity with Knicks head coach Mike Brown, as Brown previously served as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors when the center was a member of the organization.

New York will begin its 2026-27 season as the defending champions during a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET.