Knicks to guarantee salaries for two players

The Knicks will keep guards Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk on their roster through the NBA’s leaguewide salary guarantee deadline, locking in their full cap hits for 2022-23, reports Steve Popper of Newsday.

This season’s salary guarantee date is Jan. 10. A team wanting to avoid guaranteeing the salary for a player on a non-guaranteed contract must cut the player Saturday so that he clears waivers before that deadline.

Arcidiacono, 28, has played a very limited role in just 10 games for the Knicks this season, logging only 25 total minutes. However, the sixth-year point guard is considered a Tom Thibodeau favorite — Arcidiacono also signed a pair of 10-day contracts and a rest-of-season deal with the Knicks last season despite not being part of the rotation.

Mykhailiuk has played marginally more than Arcidiacono so far in 2022-23, logging 39 minutes across 12 games. The 25-year-old wing has made 6-of-10 three-pointers in his limited run, increasing his career rate from beyond the arc to 35.6%.

Both Arcidiacono and Mykhailiuk are on minimum-salary contracts and will count against the Knicks’ cap for $1,836,090 this season.

Although their salaries are now guaranteed for the rest of 2022-23, that doesn’t necessarily mean Arcidiacono and Mykhailiuk will finish the season with New York — they could be included in trades or could be cut if the club needs to open up a roster spot. The Knicks aren’t in any immediate danger of surpassing the luxury-tax threshold and could afford to eat their modest full-season cap hits down the road if necessary.