The defending champions have one veteran minimum slot to spend before Sept. 29, and three names left on the market fit the hole Mitchell Robinson left behind.
Andre Drummond is the only center the New York Knicks have added since Mitchell Robinson signed with the Boston Celtics in July, and a defending champion should not walk into training camp with a backup plan that thin.
New York has 13 players on standard contracts and two open roster spots, but the team sits only about $3.3 million under the second apron, which is enough room for one veteran minimum deal and nothing more.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranked the best players still available this week and put Jalen Duren at the top, but Duren is a restricted free agent priced far beyond a minimum contract, so the Knicks have to shop further down the list.
The biggest question is who plays behind Karl-Anthony Towns, and that thin spot has been the most obvious weakness on this roster since the summer began.
Kevin Love
Love turned 38 on Monday and will not protect the rim, but he does the one thing Drummond cannot.
In 37 games with Utah last season he averaged 6.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 16.6 minutes while shooting 37.3 percent from three, and a 6-foot-10 forward who can spread the floor would keep the offense moving whenever Towns sits.
Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic said last week that Love is open to returning to Minnesota and the Timberwolves have some interest, but a bench role on a champion is a better sales pitch.
Bruce Brown
Brown is 30, plays three positions at 6-foot-4 and did not miss a game for Denver last season.
He appeared in all 82 for the Nuggets and averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 38.5 percent from deep, the profile of a ninth man who survives a playoff rotation.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints has called the Knicks a realistic option for Brown and described a Josh Hart type of role for him.
New York has been tied to other names this summer without landing them, and Brown has already won a title in a supporting role.
Kelly Olynyk
Olynyk is the harder sell, because the 35-year-old played only 8.6 minutes a night in 42 games for San Antonio last season and averaged 3.2 points while shooting 25.5 percent from three.
The year before he averaged 8.7 points and hit 41.8 percent of his threes in 44 games for Toronto and New Orleans, and the 7-footer owns a career mark of 36.9 percent from deep, so the slump reads more like a lack of minutes than a lost skill.
Olynyk has been working out with former Spurs teammates and could end up back in San Antonio as the 15th man, so the Knicks would need to move first.
None of these three is Robinson, and the center depth chart is still going to be short.
But Siegel reported in late August that New York is in wait-and-see mode with an eye on teams cutting rosters before camp, and waiting around is how a champion ends up with nobody.
Sign Love or Brown at the minimum before Sept. 29, and keep Olynyk's number handy.
