Knicks Make Roster Move Amid Jalen Brunson Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated Mar 31, 2025 6:28 PM ET

The New York Knicks have been battling to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference without their star point guard Jalen Brunson after he suffered an ankle sprain back on March 6. And while he appears to be close to returning, the team made a move involving veteran forward P.J. Tucker on Monday.

New York's backcourt depth has taken a hit recently, as Miles McBride and Cameron Payne have both joined Brunson on the sideline with injuries of their own. Despite that, Brunson recently said he anticipates returning before the end of the regular season, which is precisely what the Knicks want to hear.

"Realistically, I'm hoping to play before the playoffs," Brunson said when discussing his potential return. "It's good for me to get some game reps before we go into that type of stretch run, but the most important thing is trying to be 100 percent healthy."

With the team short on bodies, the front office turned to Tucker, signing him to a pair of 10-day contracts. Now that the second one is up, the team needed to decide whether they wanted to sign Tucker to a standard deal, and that's what they did, giving him a two-year contract on Monday.

"After two 10-day contracts, the New York Knicks are planning to sign veteran forward PJ Tucker to a two-year deal, sources tell ESPN. Tucker will return to the Knicks through the season and playoffs, with a team option for 2025-26," Shams Charania of ESPN reported.

After two 10-day contracts, the New York Knicks are planning to sign veteran forward PJ Tucker to a two-year deal, sources tell ESPN. Tucker will return to the Knicks through the season and playoffs, with a team option for 2025-26. https://t.co/traoEppmqt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 31, 2025

Tucker has only taken the floor once for New York during his time with the team, but he brings a wealth of postseason experience to the team that could help in just a few weeks. Long known as a three-and-d forward, Tucker can still defend with the best of them, and he did shoot 37.1% from behind the arc just a season ago.

After winning their past two games, the Knicks will be back in action against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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