Knicks waive three players

The Knicks on Saturday waived guards Trey Burke and Xavier Rathan-Mayes and forward Nigel Hayes.

The 6-foot-1 Burke, a former Top-10 pick out of Michigan, was originally signed on Oct. 11 and did not appear in the preseason. The 6-4 Rathan-Mayes, from Florida State, was originally signed on Aug. 18 and appeared in three preseasons games, scoring two points in 28 minutes. The 6-8 Hayes, from Wisconsin, was originally signed on Aug. 18 and appeared in four preseason games, scoring nine points in 33 minutes.

After an 0-5 preseason, the Knicks open the regular season Thursday against Carmelo Anthony in Oklahoma City.

They could opt to keep their second two-way spot open and keep point guard Jarrett Jack on the regular-season roster during Joakim Noah’s drug suspension for 12 games, as ESPN’s Ian Begley pointed out.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.