The New York Knicks and forward Chuma Okeke agreed to a contract in free agency on Thursday, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Okeke, who will turn 26 on Aug. 18, was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Auburn, and he spent his first four NBA seasons with the Orlando Magic.
The Magic made Okeke an unrestricted free agent in June when they declined to give him a qualifying offer.
Over the course of his four NBA campaigns, Okeke has appeared in 189 regular-season games, averaging 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 three-pointers made per contest, while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
After averaging over 25 minutes per game in his first two seasons and 19 minutes per game in 2022-23, Okeke saw a sharp decrease in playing time last season.
He played just 9.2 minutes per game in the 47 games he appeared in and averaged a career-low 2.3 points per game as a result.
Playing time will likely be tough to come by in New York as well since the Knicks have been hard at work this offseason adding to a roster that had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference last season at 50-32.
In addition to re-signing OG Anunoby to play alongside the core of Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets
The Knicks did lose Isaiah Hartenstein and Alec Burks in free agency in addition to trading away Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes and Bojan Bogdanović, though, meaning Okeke could be important in terms of providing depth to the back end of the roster.
