Jeremy Sochan chooses New York from 10 suitors after being released by Spurs

After that released by the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Jeremy Sochan intends on signing the contractt until the end of the 2025-26 NBA season with New York Knicksleague sources told ClutchPoints on Thursday afternoon.

Socan, 22, was the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Spurs. As a rookie during the 2022-23 season, Sochan has not been a main part of head coach Mitch Johnson’s rotation this season and has logged just 49 minutes since the start of January, leading to his release.

Many teams have been in contact with Socan and his agent since his release from San Antonio, especially given that the buyout market for power forwards is light. Sochan was attracting interest from 10 different teams, including New York, according to ESPN.

After clearing waivers on Friday, Socan will sign a minimum contract to be a key secondary player on the Knicks’ bench. With the franchise seeing a clear opportunity to win the Eastern Conference this season, the Knicks have added another core talent to their bench since the trade deadline.

In addition to targeting Jose Alvarado, whom New York added in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans before last Thursday’s trade deadline, the Knicks were also discussing trade routes for Spurs’ Socanas reported on ClutchPoints. Ultimately, with the Spurs not interested in taking on Gershon Yabusele’s contract, the Knicks were able to work out deals with the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans to acquire Alvarado.

The Knicks had one open roster spot to fill in the buyout market, and that roster spot will be filled by Sochan on Friday. That way, New York, who is currently $1.1 million below their second cap before signing Socan, will remain in good financial shape through the end of the year.

At 6-foot-8, Sochan will provide the Knicks with much-needed depth up front behind Mychal Bridges and Josh Hart. Between his athleticism and length, Socan should be able to make a difference defensively when his number is called. In 212 career games with the Spurs, Socan averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor.

Appearing in 28 of the Spurs’ 53 games this season, Socan averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in approximately 12.8 minutes per game.

New York is currently 35-20 entering the All-Star break and sits a half game behind the Boston Celtics for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.