The New York Knicks have all but determined their final roster ahead of the 2026-27 regular season as they look to become the first back-to-back NBA champions in nearly a decade, but they still have some unanswered questions to face as the season goes on. 

The biggest question will be what to do with their longest tenured player, Miles McBride. The fan favorite guard is heading into the final season of his current contract and he's set to make just shy of $4 million, but the Knicks now have to address if they'll be able to hold onto McBride long-term. 

While McBride's camp and the Knicks have reportedly been in communication about a contract extension and McBride has publicly stated how much he loves New York and wants to stay with the team that drafted him, the current financial situation of the defending champions has put that possibility into question. 

At the beginning of the offseason, Knicks owner James Dolan made it clear that he wasn't willing to take team payroll into the second apron under any circumstances, and after a productive offseason where the team was able to secure several free agents from last season's roster, the Knicks now sit just over $3 million below that threshold. 

With several other players like Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart all looking of extensions as well, that self-imposed limit could mean that McBride becomes the odd man out and could enter free agency at the end of the season instead of being extended. 

Although that's a situation that the Knicks would want to avoid considering the value that McBride provides coming off the bench, the other option ahead of the Knicks beyond extending McBride or letting him walk would be to try and trade him this season by the deadline.

"Yes, McBride on an expiring contract is one of the most valuable trade chips in the league,"  Ian Begley of SportsNet New York wrote. "He would garner significant interest if New York made him available via trade, either in-season or in the offseason. We're certainly not there yet. But logic tells you that's where things could be headed."

McBride had a career year last season, averaging 12 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, and he could be a major producer on another team where he could be given more of an opportunity. 

But that isn't a scenario that either side may truly want. McBride has only ever known the Knicks in his NBA career and just won a championship with the team and the Knicks aren't in much of a place to lose McBride considering their thin depth. 

Begley also mused that the Knicks could free up their cap space by trading other players or Dolan could change his mind about avoiding the second apron, in which case a McBride extension would be far more likely, but the Knicks do have to at least prepare for a scenario where they say goodbye to McBride and at least try to get some value out of his departure.