UPDATE: April 12, 1 p.m. ET: The deal for James Singleton fell through due to some issue with his being released from his Chinese team, so the Knicks signed Solomon Jones instead.
April 10: The Knicks need frontline help, with so many of the veterans they brought in to fill those positions having been lost due to injury.
The team had been stubborn with the roster spots of Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby, and Rasheed Wallace up until this point, preferring to wait out the injuries instead of cutting someone loose to create a roster spot in order to bring in a healthy contributor.
With New York riding a 13-game winning streak, and with just five games left in the regular season, the Knicks have finally decided to shore up their roster before their run through the postseason begins.
From Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:Knicks close to reaching deal with free agent forward James Singleton the Daily News has learned. A player, likely Kurt Thomas, must be cut
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) April 10, 2013
Isola later confirmed that Thomas would be released, and is scheduled to have surgery on his injured right foot next week.
Singleton is about the same size as Thomas, but plays a more athletic and less prodding game than Thomas does at this stage of his career. He played in China most recently, and averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds in 21 games during their 2012-13 season.
As far as NBA experience goes, Singleton has had stints with the Clippers, Mavericks, and the Wizards, while appearing in 12 games for Washington during the 2011-12 season.
