Nba Champion Trey Jemison Iii Signs With Eastern Conference Rival

Former Knicks two-way center Trey Jemison III is signing with the Toronto Raptors, per Chris Haynes. He will be getting the same two-way contract he had in New York.

Jemison’s career has taken him on a bunch of different roads since going undrafted in 2023 after spending time at Clemson and UAB in a long college career. He debuted with the Wizards in January 2024, but found a role on the fledgling Grizzlies down the stretch, where he averaged 7.4 points and 5,8 rebounds in 23 games.

It wasn’t enough for him to keep a roster spot the following season, splitting 38 games in 2024-25 with the Pelicans and Lakers as a depth big and bouncing around on two-way and 10-day contracts. He once again was unable to secure a standard deal when the Knicks came calling last September, but made the most of it as the fourth center on the depth chart.

He only got into 13 games and played a grand total of 82 minutes as a Knick, but found his way into the rotation on Opening Night due to injuries and stepped up at certain points in the season while holding it down in Westchester, waiting for a prolonged opportunity that never came. As a Knick, he scored a total of 13 points and 18 rebounds.

While he wasn’t allowed to play in the postseason due to his contract status, he stayed in the public sphere through his wife’s Instagram posts of the playoff run and was a big part of the ensuing parade, bringing around the NBA Cup trophy to all the fans behind the barricades. He was also, funny enough, the only non-rotation player to show up at the ESPYs.

Now he’s off to Toronto, where I’d honestly not be surprised if he played important minutes there. A center rotation of Jakob Poeltl, Colin Murray-Boyles, and Trayce Jackson-Davis might be the worst of any team who’s trying to contend.