Isaiah

Roby

Three days after the Knicks waived Roby, he’s back on an Exhibit 10 deal. The team currently has two open two-way contract slots, so it’s possible that Roby will transition into one of those deals. New York doesn’t have much depth behind starting power forward Julius Randle, which could boost Roby’s chances of remaining with the team.

The decision to waive Roby is a bit surprising, as the Knicks lack depth at the power forward position behind Julius Randle. And he played well in Tuesday’s exhibition loss to the Celtics, accounting for 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, and three 3-pointers in 16 minutes off the bench. As for Martin, he was on a two-way contract and played three minutes total in the Knicks’ first three preseason games.

With the Knicks trading Obi Toppin to the Pacers and not making a significant move in free agency, a few Summer League players may be competing for the right to back up Julius Randle next season. Jeffries had the best performance on Saturday, while Isaiah Roby (7/5/2/1) played 26 minutes and shot 3-of-8 from the field. The Knicks could still make a move between now and the start of training camp (Christian Wood is still a free agent, for example), so it isn’t a lock that Jeffries or Roby will slide into the backup role. But they’ll still look to do all they can to earn themselves the opportunity to win the job in training camp.

Even with Jericho Sims (shoulder) ruled out, Roby won’t be in the rotation Friday night, as Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein are both healthy.

Roby is far behind in the Knicks’ frontcourt pecking order when healthy, so his absence won’t be noticeable for Game 2 against Cleveland.

New York signed Roby through the end of next season on the last day of the regular season, but he never suited up for them before that. His absence won’t impact Tom Thibodeau’s rotations whatsoever.

Roby wasn’t much of a fantasy contributor for the Spurs earlier this season, and it’s unlikely that he’s anything more than a depth piece for the Knicks. If he’s available to play on Sunday, he should play big minutes, but he won’t see the floor much in the playoffs or next season.

Roby has been a DNP-CD in each of the last five games, and he averaged just 11.3 minutes per game prior to that. The Spurs have devoted their backup big man minutes to Charles Bassey, so perhaps the efficient, per-minute Bassey sees an extra minute or two with Roby out of the fold? Unless Roby lands with a tanking squad, he’s unlikely to become fantasy relevant this season. Ditto Mamukelashvili.

Roby’s continued absence won’t significantly impact fantasy basketball, as he was on the back end of the rotation most nights when healthy. If anything, his absence protects the fantasy value of Charles Bassey, who’s been close to a top-100 player in 9-cat formats over the last month. Bassey’s rostered in 5% of Yahoo leagues.

Langford hasn’t played since January 23, Roby has missed the Spurs’ last three contests and Birch has yet to debut for his new squad. Langford is the only one of the trio worth considering once healthy, but with Malaki Branham balling and Devonte’ Graham now contributing, he’s not the most enticing option.