Shannon Brown was waived by the Knicks on Thursday.
July 23, 2014 – New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has waived guard Shannon Brown.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) July 23, 2014
The journeyman guard had signed on with the Knicks mid-season last year, after a short stint with the Spurs. Brown managed just 7.8 minutes per game over the final 19 games of the season, most of them coming in garbage time.
It seemed the arrival of Phil Jackson might be enough to keep Brown around for awhile longer. After all, Jackon’s previous familiarity with those touched by the Triangle had been a positive. Brown even volunteered to participate in summer league – a rare act for a veteran – to preach the gospel of the Triangle. His act of good faith may have ended up hurting him, as Brown averaged just 7.4 points in 14 minutes per game.
At the end of the day it was the move that had to be made. The second year of Brown’s contract would have become fully guaranteed on August 1. The Knicks were already deep at the guard position (Hardaway Jr., Smith, Shumpert) and at the maximum roster capacity of 15. By cutting Brown the Knicks keep Jeremy Tyler, and his non-guaranteed contract, on the roster while also creating a spot for Cleanthony Early.