Knicks starters sit so Mike Brown can get look at back end of roster
Knicks forward Guerschon Yabusele, left, fouls Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George with Knicks guard Miles McBride during an NBA preseason game at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Credit: Ed Murray
With the Knicks returning the top seven players from the rotation that brought them to the Eastern Conference finals last season, there is little mystery about who will take the bulk of the minutes for the team this season.
But since a flurry of signings before training camp, there has been a competition for the last few spots in Mike Brown’s rotation and the final spots on the roster.
Nights like Monday can help clarify those mysteries.
The Knicks sat out — let’s take a deep breath — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, Ariel Hukporti and Landry Shamet as they hosted a skeleton crew of the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden.
It meant a disappointing night for fans who had hoped to catch the stars and instead were given a close-up view of the battle for the back end of the rotation and roster. Maybe it also was a cause for alarm about the depth the Knicks believe they have built.
The Knicks fell behind the Wizards by 36 points before a late rally turned into a less embarrassing 120-103 loss, their first in four preseason games.
“It’s important,” Brown said before the game. “We want to try to give some guys some extended minutes to take a look at them tonight. It’s important because they’ve all been busting their behinds, and making that decision is extremely tough.”
Some of the decisions are easier than others. Deuce McBride, who was in the starting lineup Monday, will be a key part of the rotation (unless he’s moved out in a trade to free up a roster spot or cap space or restock the Knicks’ draft pick assets). Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson have guaranteed contracts and also will be a part of the rotation.
But it gets curious from there with Malcolm Brogdon (who started at point guard Monday), Shamet and Garrison Mathews all in camp with non-guaranteed contracts and currently competing for one spot that the team can fit into the salary cap with the franchise hard-capped at the second apron.
It hardly has been a secret around the league that the Knicks have been taking and making calls to open a spot to be able to keep two of the veterans. Tyler Kolek, who led the Knicks with 20 points and six assists on Monday, and Pacome Dadiet are the preferred names being shopped (although McBride could be on the move, too).
Dadiet, 20, is an intriguing prospect with size at 6-7 and offensive skills, but he is far from ready to help right now.
“He’s just got to continue to understand how big he is,” Brown said. “He’s long. He’s a big wing and at times he doesn’t utilize it. We always talk about playing big, playing big, playing big. And if he doesn’t utilize it, that’s just being young. And then at times he’s a little bit quiet because he’s unsure of what he should be saying or doing. So just throw him into the fire as much as possible is something that I’d like to do.
“Come the regular season, I don’t know how many minutes he’s going to get per game, but he definitely has a chance to be a player in this league for a long time. And you want to speed that development up because you see a lot of good things. You could see that he can run, he can cut, so he does a pretty good of finishing. And he can shoot the basketball. And you couple that with his ability to play defense and you have a pretty good prospect, especially for his young age.”
McBride could have a huge role on this team as the Knicks chase a title with huge expectations, but he’s also the one who could net the biggest return. And if Brogdon were healthy — something he’s struggled with in recent seasons — the Knicks’ need for McBride off the bench would not be so dire.
The Knicks have one more preseason game Friday night and must make cuts by Saturday to avoid a salary cap charge.
“Yeah, that’s definitely part of it,” Brown said. “It’s unfortunate — Landry and Ariel, those two more so than the other guys, I was probably going to start Ariel, but he’s sick, and then Landry obviously is competing for a roster spot as well, and he’s sick as well.”
Notes & quotes: The Wizards, playing on the second night of a back-to-back set, sat out Alex Sarr, C.J. McCollum, Khris Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
