New York Knicks guard Miles McBride is entering the final year of his contract with no extension in place, a situation that casts a shadow over his future with the team and adds to the "elephants in the room" coach Mike Brown has identified.
McBride, 26, is in the last year of a three-year, $13 million deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason unless an agreement is reached. While McBride expressed his desire to remain with the Knicks, stating, "I’d love to continue my career here, end my career here. Best fans, I feel like we’ve done, obviously, something great this past year and the years leading up to that and I want to continue with this team," there has been little progress on an extension.
He is part of a group of prominent Knicks players facing contract uncertainty, including Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart, who have publicly discussed the unease of not yet securing extensions. However, McBride is the only one currently on an expiring contract. Historically, the Knicks front office has shown a tendency to trade players on expiring deals rather than risk losing them in free agency without compensation, although Mitchell Robinson was an exception in the past offseason.
The Knicks' owner, James Dolan, has a directive to keep the team below the second apron of the salary cap. McBride, earning just under $4 million this year, represents significant value. Should he have another strong season, he is positioned for a substantial pay increase. The team already faces financial challenges in retaining its starting five and maintaining depth, making it difficult to offer lucrative contracts to bench players, even those who play vital roles. This financial reality contributed to Mitchell Robinson's departure.
Compounding the situation, the Knicks possess depth at backup guard positions with players like Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, and Jordan Clarkson. Their center position, however, lacks depth behind Towns, with Andre Drummond being the only other roster lock. McBride is viewed as the team's most valuable trade asset on the bench who could potentially be moved for a capable big man.
"I feel like in a sense, every year you have to prove yourself," McBride commented. "I feel like there’s uncertainty across the board for everybody in the league. Everybody’s going for big contracts and this and that. So I don’t let it really bother me. At the end of the day, I just want to go out there and give it my shot, play my best basketball."
McBride's contract situation, alongside those of Towns and Hart, could become a distraction as the team aims to repeat as champions. Coach Brown acknowledged the team will face adversity and emphasized the importance of balancing individual desires with organizational needs, expressing faith that the front office and McBride's representatives will navigate the contract talks.
His performance last season, even while playing through a sports hernia injury that required surgery, showcased his value. He shot a career-high 42.0 percent from three-point range before the injury sidelined him. Despite returning for the end of the regular season and playoffs, his effectiveness was diminished. "It’s kind of crazy, thinking about how unhealthy I was playing through that playoff run," McBride said. "You go through surgery in an area where you need it. The easy medical term is sports hernia but it was a lot more complex than that. … The pain, there’s only so much you can do with that."
Now healthy, McBride is focused on performing at his best, whether that leads to a new deal with the Knicks or elsewhere.