After being released by the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Jeremy Sochan intends on signing a contract for the remainder of the 2025-26 NBA season with the New York Knicks, league sources told ClutchPoints on Thursday afternoon.
Sochan, 22, was the ninth-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Spurs. An All-Rookie team performer during the 2022-23 season, Sochan was not a main part of head coach Mitch Johnson's rotations this season and has logged just 49 minutes since the start of January, leading to his release.
Many teams had been in contact with Sochan and his representation since his release from San Antonio, especially given that the buyout market for impactful forwards is light. Sochan was drawing interest from 10 different teams, including New York, according to ESPN.
Upon clearing waivers on Friday, Sochan will sign a minimum contract to be a key secondary player on the Knicks' bench. With the franchise seeing a clear opportunity to win the Eastern Conference this season, the Knicks have added yet another essential talent to their bench since the trade deadline.
Along with targeting Jose Alvarado, whom New York added in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans before last Thursday's deadline, the Knicks were also discussing paths to trade for Sochan from the Spurs, as reported on ClutchPoints. Ultimately, with the Spurs holding no interest in taking on Guerschon Yabusele's contract, the Knicks were able to swing deals with the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans to land Alvarado.
The Knicks had one open roster spot to fill in the buyout market, and this roster spot will be filled by Sochan on Friday. In doing so, New York, which is currently $1.1 million below their second apron hard cap before signing Sochan, will remain in good financial standing for the remainder of the year.
At 6-foot-8, Sochan will provide the Knicks with much-needed forward depth behind Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Between his athleticism and length, Sochan should be able to make a difference defensively when his number is called. In 212 career games with the Spurs, Sochan averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor.
Appearing in 28 of the Spurs' 53 games this season, Sochan averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in roughly 12.8 minutes per game.
New York is currently 35-20 entering the All-Star break and is a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
