Knicks waive Bruce Brown to pave way for James Wiseman to get final roster spot

The Knicks roster is now set. 

They waived Bruce Brown on Saturday, meaning it will be center James Wiseman who takes the 14th and final roster spot. 

They only had room to keep 14 players on the roster in order to stay under the second apron.

It set up a competition in training camp and the preseason between five veterans — Wiseman, Brown, Drew Eubanks, Tony Bradley and Ochai Agbaji — for that spot. 

New York Knicks guard Bruce Brown (1) and Toronto Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) battle for the ball during the second half of a preseason game in Toronto, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP

Ideally, the Knicks would have liked to keep both Wiseman and Brown. But that would have required making a trade to clear up cap space, and they were unable to find a deal, The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported. 

And with the Knicks needing a third center behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, Wiseman always had the leg up on Brown, who is a wing. 

Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft, now gets a shot to resurrect his career with the defending champions.

He played a total of just five games over the last two years after tearing his Achilles in the first game of the 2024 season. 

After failing to live up to expectations with the Warriors, Wiseman had brief stints with the Pistons and Pacers. 


New York Knicks center James Wiseman dunks the ball during a game against the Washington Wizards.
New York Knicks center James Wiseman (35) dunks the ball in the second half of a preseason game at Madison Square Garden, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

He will fill the role that Ariel Hukporti served last year as the third-string center. With Towns’ bad habit of getting into foul trouble, it’s a role that is certainly important. 

The center position behind Towns has been completely revamped, with Mitchell Robinson having left to join the Celtics in free agency. He was replaced by the much cheaper Drummond. 

Brown, who has been a useful bench piece in the league, became a victim of the NBA’s apron system — which has made it harder for the middle class of players and veterans like Brown to get contracts above the minimum.

The Knicks, with their starting lineup all commanding significant money, had little money to spend on bench players and remain under the second apron. 

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