New York Knicks Waive Thanasis Antetokounmpo, 4 Others

The New York Knicks wasted no time trimming down their roster for the regular season. The Knicks roster sat at 19 players Thursday following their preseason finale against the Boston Celtics. Now, it sits under the league maximum of 15 for the regular season, as the Knicks released five players in preparation for the regular season.

Most of the waived players will not surprise you, as the Knicks were auditioning some players for their D-League team, the Westchester Knicks. That is where Travis Trice, Darion Atkins and Wesley Saunders will more than likely land. All three had partially guaranteed NBA contracts for the preseason, which is more than they would make if they received the biggest contract you are allowed to get in the D-League.

It is a nice loophole that the Knicks can use with a single affiliated D-League team. DaJuan Summers, the former Georgetown product, could find his way onto the D-League team as well, as the Knicks would like to have players there that are comfortable in their system in case a problem arises with the NBA team.

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The biggest surprise, at least to many Knicks fans, will be seeing Thanasis Antetokounmpo on the waived player list. Antetokounmpo, who was a second round pick for the Knicks last season, turned down more money to play overseas to stick with the D-League Knicks. Phil Jackson said that he would get a chance to compete for a spot this season, and that is what he did. Unfortunately, the Knicks are nowhere near as lacking for talent this season as they were last season, and there just wasn’t a spot for Antetokounmpo on the roster.

This is a move that will surprise many people, but in reality it should not come as a big surprise. In the numbers game, Antetokounmpo was a long shot, as the Knicks have a ton of players at small forward. It looks like Carmelo Anthony will be spending a lot of time there with Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup. Behind him, free agent signee Derrick Williams and last season’s other second round pick, Cleanthony Early, is fighting for minutes on the wing as well. Veteran Lance Thomas also gets minutes at small forward, and depending on the lineup, we could see Arron Afflalo get minutes there also.

While that is a big reason for Antetokounmpo being left off the roster, the bottom line is that he just isn’t that good. He hasn’t shown the improvement the Knicks were hoping for, as he still has no semblance of an offensive game or jump shot. Many people want him to stick around and only know about him because of his brother, the “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo. Unlike Giannis though, Thanasis does not have the same raw skills or size.

Thanasis has a motor and would bring hustle and energy, but his struggles on the offensive end would be extremely hard to make up for. While the number game was not in his favor, the bottom line is that he didn’t improve as they were hoping.

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So, instead of holding onto him because he was a second round pick last season, the Knicks decided to move on and hold onto the extra roster spot, something that will come in handy if an injury arises or the Knicks are attempting to make a trade.

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It will disappoint some Knicks fans to not see Antetokounmpo get a chance, but in reality there just wasn’t one for him on the Knicks. Unlike the other four players waived, he is unlikely to return to the Knicks D-League team.