The New York Knicks are looking to take the next step this season under the leadership of Mike Brown, and the team is going to move on from certain aspects of Tom Thibodeau’s culture.
In his five seasons as head coach of the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau took them from missing the playoffs seven seasons in a row to making the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
It wasn’t enough, as the Knicks fired him after last season, replacing him with Mike Brown. Interestingly, the Knicks haven’t parted ways with any key players, although they did add Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele as depth pieces.
Under Thibodeau, the Knicks rarely used the bench unit, although their signings suggest that will change. On top of that, New York expects five players to break through.
In the 2024 NBA Draft, the Knicks added Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, Ariel Hukporti, and Kevin McCullar Jr. They also signed youngster MarJon Beauchamp to a two-way contract.
All five of those players combined for only 74 appearances last season, although they have improved, flashing progress in the Summer League.
While the chances of the Knicks adding all five fringe players to the regular rotation next season are low, the franchise is set on developing them and looks forward to a more even distribution of minutes.
“This is a tough rotation to crack,” an unnamed Knicks’ scout told Spotrac. “We have a lot of NBA veterans who are going to play a lot. But Pacome looked a lot more comfortable this year than last year.
“Tyler got some run last year, and we’re comfortable with playing him more this year. Ariel was forced to play at times last year, and he’s more ready if that happens again this year.”
Even McCullar Jr. and Beauchamp, who didn’t get much run last season, have made a name for themselves in the Knicks’ camp this offseason.
“Kevin and MarJon both looked awesome out here [in Summer League],” added the scout. “We’re still figuring out the rest of the roster, but we hope all of those guys factor in somehow.”
After adding Clarkson to the backcourt rotation, Kolek is expected to remain buried on the bench. Clarkson, Miles McBride, and Jalen Brunson can all handle the ball.
Hukporti is in a similar spot, as veterans Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson are ahead in the depth chart.
However, while OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are solid shooters, when they sit, the wing rotation gets shallow. Dadiet and Beauchamp, if they can reliably hit shots, should see a massive usage increase.
While the Knicks ranked last in bench minutes last season, a Mike Brown-led team has been below-average in bench minutes in each of the last three seasons, so the unproven players will really need to shine in training camp.
