With two weeks before their first practice, the Knicks still have two open roster spots.
They are late in filling the very back end of the roster because the franchise was involved in Donovan Mitchell trade negotiations into early September.
And they still could angle for another major transaction involving Julius Randle and Evan Fournier, who is playing for France in the EuroBasket tournament.
As one personnel director said this week, “There was almost no one on this team that wasn’t available this summer.”
Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge — a pair of former All-Star power forwards who spent last season with the Nets — are still free agents, as is veteran point guard Eric Bledsoe and, of course, Brooklyn native Carmelo Anthony.
The Post has reported previously the Knicks have had internal talks regarding Anthony, who is amenable to returning to New York to finish his career.
Griffin, Aldridge and Anthony could serve as mentors for Randle and Obi Toppin. However, the Knicks don’t see any of those vets a good fit at the moment. The 37-year-old Aldridge would make the most sense in the event Randle gets traded because he still could be a serviceable low-post scorer as a backup to Toppin.
Other available free agents include journeyman big men Tristan Thompson, Dwight Howard, Cody Zeller and Hassan Whiteside. Howard could be a mentor for Jericho Sims and Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks lost sage center Taj Gibson in free agency to Washington.
The wings still out there include grizzled defensive specialist Andre Iguodola, Rodney Hood, Jabari Parker and DeAndre’ Bembry. Among the remaining guards are Avery Bradley, Facu Campazzo, Wayne Ellington and Ryan Arcidiacono, who finished the season in New York.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has a history of making his 15th man someone who doesn’t care about playing time. The Knicks cut former Magic guard Dwayne Bacon last training camp to keep Wayne Selden, who was replaced by Arcidiacono.
The Knicks also have a pair of two-way contract players in forward Feron Hunt and Trevor Keels, the second-round pick out of Duke who appears destined for a season in the G League. They could promote Hunt to a full-time contract.
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