Knicks push back on report they made offer to Ben Simmons; eyeing Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon

The New York Knicks have a couple of roster spots to fill before the season starts and they are going to bring in a reserve guard for one of them.

A report surfaced that the Knicks offered that guard spot to Ben Simmons, but he turned it down — the Knicks have pushed back on the idea that there was any offer. It’s not a coincidence that trusted Knicks reporters Ian Begley of SNY.TV and Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News both posted on X that the Knicks never made an offer to Simmons. Both said the conversations happened with Simmons’ agent (who is no longer representing Simmons), but there was no formal offer.

Begley added that New York is eyeing Landry Shamet or Malcolm Brogdon for that role.

Knicks have had dialogue with free agent Ben Simmons over the course of the offseason and certainly have had interest in him, but club has never made a formal offer to Simmons, per league sources. Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon among those on NYK radar for its lone roster spot

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 8, 2025

This story can get bogged down in semantics. The Knicks almost certainly never made a formal offer to Simmons, however, they could have informally told Simmons’ representative exactly what they might or even planned to offer, so that if/when the offer was made it was more of a formality. However it went down, Simmons and the Knicks were not on the same page.

Both Shamet, who played in 50 games for the Knicks last season, and Brogdon are likely better fits for the Knicks because they are better shooters (Shamet shot 39.7% from beyond the arc for New York last season, and Brogdon is a career 38.8% on 3-pointers). Shamet averaged 5.7 points per game for the Knicks last season, while Brogdon averaged 12.7 points and 4.1 assists with the Wizards.

What also doesn’t change is that whoever the Knicks bring in, all they can offer are veteran minimum contracts, and that deal may not be fully guaranteed.