NBA
Chuma Okeke going to New York Knicks’ training camp after all
After waiving Chuma Okeke on Sunday, the New York Knicks re-signed the former Auburn standout on Wednesday, the NBA team announced.
The Knicks released Okeke in their maneuvering to trade for Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns while not running afoul of the NBA’s Byzantine salary-cap regulations.
After sending guard Donte DiVicenzo and forwards Keita Bates-Diop and Julius Randle to Minnesota and guards Duane Washington Jr., Charlie Brown Jr. and DaQuan Jeffries to the Charlotte Hornets to obtain the NBA All-Star on Wednesday, New York re-signed Okeke.
The Knicks originally signed Okeke on Aug. 2. He was an unrestricted free agent after the Orlando Magic failed to make a qualifying offer to keep him this offseason.
New York again signed Okeke to an Exhibit 10 contract.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deal. If the player doesn’t make the NBA roster, the contract usually includes a provision that will pay the player as much as $75,000 if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s NBA G League affiliate.
A 6-foot-6 forward, Okeke played in 47 games for the Magic in the 2023-24 season. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game last season.
Okeke had 20 points and 11 rebounds in Auburn’s 97-80 victory over North Carolina when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during an NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game on March 29, 2019.
The injury caused Okeke to miss the entire 2019-20 NBA season after being chosen at No. 16 by Orlando in the 2019 NBA Draft, and his career has been dogged by injuries.
For his career, Okeke has averaged 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes in 189 regular-season games.
The Knicks will tip off their five-game preseason schedule against the Charlotte Hornets at 4 p.m. CDT Sunday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
New York will open its regular-season slate against the Boston Celtics at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at TD Garden in Boston.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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