The New York Knicks are signing forward MarJon Beauchamp to a two-way contract, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Beauchamp, 24, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 24th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-7 forward was traded from Milwaukee to the Los Angeles Clippers for Kevin Porter Jr. during this season’s trade deadline. He then played only three games for the team before being waived on March 1.
Beauchamp has averaged 2.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists on 40.7% field goal shooting and 37.5% from three through 29 games this season.
A Yakima, WA native, Beauchamp spent his lone collegiate basketball season close to home in JUCO, where he averaged 30.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists through 12 games with the Yakima Valley College Yaks.
He then spent the 2021-22 season with the G League’s now-defunct Ignite team, where he averaged 15.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and a steal and a half per game in 34.6 minutes.
The Knicks will now have one more roster spot available to fill following the March 3 waivers of forward Matt Ryan and forward Jacob Toppin.
Both Ryan and Toppin were on two-way contracts, which allows the Knicks to add another player on a two-way deal (in addition to Beauchamp) while still preserving the flexibility to sign another player to a standard NBA contract. In short, the 15th spot on the Knicks is still available.
Per SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks will be picking from a free agency pool that includes recognizable names such as Mo Bamba, Moses Brown, T.J. Warren, Chuma Okeke, P.J. Tucker, Marcus Morris Sr., and Taj Gibson.
Brown, Warren, and Okeke have spent most of this season with New York’s G League affiliate, Westchester Knicks. Brown has also appeared in 13 NBA games this season for both the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks, where he’s averaged 5.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 9.2 minutes per game.
Following the torn meniscus suffered by Knicks’ rookie center Ariel Hukporti, it would not be surprising for New York to be looking to add another backup big man to help bolster their availability at the position heading into the postseason.
