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Knicks Notes: Losing Streak, Brunson, Towns, Dolan, Brown, Yabusele

January 6th, 2026 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks were clobbered by the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, 121-90, on Monday. Jalen Brunson had a team-high 25 points but no assists while committing six turnovers in the team’s fourth straight loss.

“We just gotta respond. A lot more needs to be said. We keep it internal,” he said, per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. “If we want to be the team we say we want to be, we have to be better, simple as that.”

Head coach Mike Brown said the Pistons physically dominated his club.

“It’s pretty simple, they just physically kicked our ass. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it,” he said. “We had 20 turnovers for 33 points. They were into us the whole game. And then for us, we did it in spurts. And versus a team like that, you can’t do it in spurts. It’s got to be 48 minutes. It’s just as simple as that.”

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Karl-Anthony Towns scored in single digits for the fourth time this season after reaching double digits in all but one game last season under previous coach Tom Thibodeau. Towns is taking fewer shots under Brown’s offensive scheme. “Biggest adjustment is for me. Like Mike said, I make the biggest sacrifice,” Towns told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “We’re figuring it out. We’ve got a long flight, a practice tomorrow, we’ve got to sit down and figure out who we are and how we want to get back on track.”
The Knicks got run out of Detroit’s home court almost immediately after owner James Dolan declared the Knicks, as presently constituted, were good enough to win a championship. The owner said he doesn’t anticipate a big move before the trade deadline next month, whether for Giannis Antetokounmpo or somebody else, but a few more performances like Monday’s could alter his thinking, Bondy opines.
The Knicks are ranked 17th in the league defensively and Brown said “everything is on the table” regarding their defensive schemes, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards III. However, he also downplayed the losing streak to a certain extent. “You have to keep a perspective on it because you’re going to have ups and downs,” he said. “I’ve said this many times, ‘It’s not going to be just like this.’ When you do go down, you hope it’s not three, four or five games. That’s where we are now, but it’s not time to panic. We do have to make sure we are doing what we can do to help this group. Our guys have to try and take it to another level as a group, and not try to do too much, but take it to another level as a group in other areas.”
Free agent pickup Guerschon Yabusele continues to play sparingly in his fourth season in the league. He’s highly motivated to exercise his $5.8MM option on next year’s deal, rather than returning to Europe, BasketNews.com relays. “If you play three years in the NBA, you get a lifetime pension. After four seasons, medical expenses are covered for life,” Yabusele told a French YouTuber. “And after five years, the medical coverage is extended to the entire family. I want to play for five years here in the NBA so that my family can benefit from that lifetime care. You never know what can happen in life.”

Central Notes: Cavs, Jenkins, Brown, Bickerstaff, Potter

January 5th, 2026 at 2:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is mulling rotation changes after his second unit was gouged by the Pistons in a four-point loss on Sunday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Detroit staged a second-quarter rally and led the rest of the way.

“We gotta look at it,” Atkinson said when asked about some of the lineups used in the second quarter. “Obviously, wasn’t the right combination. Obviously, the bench play hurt us (Sunday).”

The second unit provided a spark last season, led by Ty Jerome, who signed with Memphis during the offseason. The Cavs have the NBA’s fourth least-productive bench this season.

“Maybe we keep two of our stars out there at the same time,” Atkinson said. “We’ve gotta help them. We started Sam (Merrill) tonight and that obviously hurts the bench, so we just gotta figure it out. It’s definitely, definitely hurting us in those minutes.”

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Pistons two-way guard Daniss Jenkins fell one point short of the franchise record for points scored in a second quarter on Sunday. Jenkins racked up 21 points in those 12 minutes, making all seven of his field goal attempts, including six three-pointers. Jenkins also closed out the game with four free throws. Jenkins’ 21-point quarter was the highest scoring by a bench player in franchise history. “He was unbelievable,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Coty Davis of the Detroit News. “It’s the trust factor, we talk about it all the time. We have 18 guys on our roster that we believe in. We have 18 guys who we believe can help us win when we put them in the game. They know how to play Pistons’ basketball. They play unselfishly. They play with a high spirit. They have the confidence to go out and do what it takes to get it done.” Jenkins is a prime candidate to eventually receive a standard contract.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown used to babysit Bickerstaff, James Edwards III of The Athletic reveals. They now coach the top two teams in the East. The Knicks and Pistons will square off for the first time since their playoff matchup last season on Monday. “He was strict,” Bickerstaff said. “He had a great way of making things fun but always organized and detailed. There weren’t going to be things that were missed, and he was scared to death of my dad (longtime NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff). He wasn’t going to let anything happen to me.”
Micah Potter, who signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers late last month, was one of the 12 players named to the USA Select Team in June 2024 that scrimmaged against Team USA in Las Vegas prior to the Paris Olympics. He was also one of three players who stuck with the team as practice players through its July exhibition tour, an unforgettable experience for the big man. “That was the, hands down, coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Potter told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I had no idea that was gonna happen until my agent called me out of the blue. Going into that kind of environment — Kevin Durant said it’s the greatest team he’s ever played on, and so with that, you could argue it’s the greatest team ever assembled which is incredible. You go down the list and look at the names and it’s incredible. So being in that kind of an environment, you see how those kinds of guys prepare, right? You see how they approach the game, mentally and physically. It’s one of those things where you go into that environment — and I ended up playing, which is nuts too, getting on the floor with all of them — you learn to gain confidence.”

Spurs’ Johnson, Celtics’ Mazzulla Named Coaches Of The Month

January 2nd, 2026 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson is December’s Coach of the Month in the Western Conference, while Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics is the Eastern Conference recipient of the award, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).

Johnson guided the Spurs to an 11-3 record in December, not including the NBA Cup final, which doesn’t count toward the regular season standings. San Antonio’s big month, which included three separate victories over the defending champion Thunder, occurred despite Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle each missing multiple games due to injuries.

In addition to posting the NBA’s best record for the month, the Spurs also had the fifth-best offensive rating (118.9) and sixth-ranked defensive rating (112.0), which helped earn Johnson Coach of the Month recognition over fellow nominees David Adelman (Nuggets), Mark Daigneault (Thunder), and Chris Finch (Timberwolves), per the league (Twitter link).

As for Mazzulla’s Celtics, they ranked eighth in the East entering December, but finished the month as the No. 3 seed in the conference after going 9-3.

Even without perennial All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, Boston had the NBA’s best offensive rating (124.3) and second-best net rating (+11.0) in December en route to wins over the Knicks, Lakers, and Raptors (twice), among others.

J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mike Brown of the Knicks, and Jordi Fernandez of the Nets were also nominated for the award.

Daigneault and Bickerstaff earned the monthly honor for games played in October and November.

Knicks Notes: Shamet, Robinson, McBride, Towns, Lineups

December 31st, 2025 at 6:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Knicks received some minor good news heading into the new year. According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (via Twitter), reserve guard/wing Landry Shamet has started doing some on-court work as he works his way back from the right shoulder sprain that has sidelined him since November 22.

Shamet has yet to start contact training, but says his rehab process has gone well so far, Edwards adds. The 28-year-old had the option of rehab or surgery and chose the former.

Newsday’s Steve Popper confirms the update (Twitter link), adding that Shamet said dealing with a shoulder injury and rehab last season helped prepare him for this one.

Shamet was playing some of the best basketball of his career at the start of this season. He averaged 9.3 points per game, tied for his career high, while shooting 42.4% on three-pointers in 20.9 minutes per night, the most he has played since the 2020/21 season. He had become a valuable part of coach Mike Brown‘s rotation before the injury derailed his season.

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Mitchell Robinson will miss two games in the next four days as he continues to deal with injury load management, but he has experienced no setbacks, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Bondy writes that, in addition to missing Wednesday’s game against the Spurs, the plan is for Robinson to play in one of the back-to-back games the Knicks will play on Friday and Saturday. Brown was quick to shut down any notion that Robinson re-injured the ankle that has given him issues in the past. “It’s all load management,” Brown said. “If you look at our schedule [it’s been hectic], I was complaining about it maybe a little too much. We’re just trying to be smart with it.” Ariel Hukporti, who saw increased minutes in the Knicks’ last game with Robinson out, is questionable to play on Wednesday due to a mouth laceration, which could open up time for Trey Jemison.
Miles McBride was a rookie when Ray Allen came to Madison Square Garden to witness Stephen Curry break his all-time three-point record. During that game, Allen gave the young guard some advice that changed his entire shooting style, Bondy writes. “‘Get more elevation,”‘ Allen told him, according to McBride. “He said, ‘In the 15 minutes pregame, I work out hard. You can’t flip it on and off.’ Those type of things stick with me.” McBride added that he had always elevated on his mid-range shots, so doing the same thing from three made sense and eliminated the fear of getting the shot blocked. After struggling with his shot during his first two seasons, McBride has made 39.7% of more than 700 three-point attempts over the past three seasons.
Brown believes that there’s “no question” that Karl-Anthony Towns is an All-Star this season, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “KAT’s averaging a double-double. He’s over 20 points a game and over 10 rebounds a game,” Brown said. “And if you’re a top-three team in either conference and you’re the second-leading scorer — [and] the leading rebounder — you’re an All-Star. There’s no question about it. The only question is: Is he first, second, or third team All-NBA, you know?” Towns has dealt with an uncharacteristically cold shooting spell this season (his .476 FG% is a career low), but has managed to impact the team in many ways while undergoing a dramatic role change in Brown’s offensive system.
Brown’s lineup experimentation has proved incredibly effective, especially while the team deals with injuries, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Young, unproven players like Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Mohamed Diawara have all had monster games that helped seal wins of late, and the players credit Browns’ open-mindedness for keeping them in the headspace to succeed. “Knowing that you’re flowing, playing, now it gives you even more energy, because now you’re like, you feel like you contribute, whatever, knowing you might get called,” Mikal Bridges said. “So, it’s just a different energy for the bench and especially when we make runs and stuff, if there’s 10 guys that play, nine guys that play, everybody is so juiced up. … If (you) played three minutes, if (you) played four minutes just as that low man to help blitz — you did something.” The Knicks’ bench was considered a weakness coming into the season, but with internal growth from Kolek and Brown’s constant tinkering, the team has found ways to win on the margins, thanks, in part, to that depth.

Knicks Notes: Diawara, Towns, Bridges, Brown, Robinson

December 30th, 2025 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mohamed Diawara lasted until the No. 51 pick in June, which the Knicks acquired from the Clippers. The French forward admitted to James Edwards III of The Athletic that he was unsure if anyone would take him despite some positive feedback in pre-draft workouts.

“I didn’t know at all,” Diawara said. “I was hoping to get drafted but I had no clue if I would at all. I worked out with 13 teams. The feedback was pretty good. I did a lot of good workouts. I feel like I showed a lot of stuff to other teams. I felt confident that I wouldn’t regret anything.”

Diawara has been a pleasant surprise and made his biggest impact this season in a five-point win over New Orleans on Monday, contributing 18 points and two steals in 18 minutes in a starting role. Diawara is currently on a one-year contract and will be a restricted free agent after the season.

“His feel for the game is uncanny for someone his size and how young he is,” coach Mike Brown said. “Everything you try to teach him, he tries to absorb it. He works extremely hard. He’s long and a pretty good defender. He’s getting better. There are a lot of little things you watch and go, ‘Wow, oh my gosh.’ All of those things, when they add up, it gives you more confidence as a coaching staff to throw him out there and see what’s going to happen.”

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Karl-Anthony Towns wants to be an All-Star but he’d like to play for the World team under the new format in the annual event, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports. Towns was born and raised in the United States but has represented his mother’s native country, Dominican Republic, in international competitions, including the 2023 World Cup.
Mikal Bridges and Brown have had some long discussions and the forward feels a bond with his coach, Bondy writes. “I think we had some meetings and talked to each other and stuff. I think honestly right now is probably the most I’ve been close with Mike. I think right now, honestly, to this day,” Bridges said. “Just have some good conversations, talk to each other. And just picking his brain, hear what he’s thinking and me voicing some things. Kind of get that clarity from your coach. Because you never know what’s going on — playing hard and just talking to him, what he’s thinking about our team and stuff. I think we had a pretty good talk before Christmas, and I think our relationship is just — it was always fine. But I think it’s definitely going up.” Bridges signed a four-year, $150MM extension in August.
Mitchell Robinson will miss his second straight game on Wednesday against San Antonio due to left ankle injury management, Edwards tweets. Robinson hasn’t suffered a setback but the team is being cautious due to a heavy schedule recently. Josh Hart (right ankle sprain) and Landry Shamet (right shoulder sprain) remain out as well.

Knicks Notes: Banner, Hart, Brown, Robinson, Kolek

December 17th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks and Lakers raised banners in their arenas after winning the first two NBA Cups in 2023 and 2024, and head coach Mike Brown told his players prior to the 2025 final on Tuesday that the Knicks would do the same if they won.

However, the team has reversed course on that plan, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, who reports that the Knicks won’t hang a banner for this year’s NBA Cup championship after all. A league source tells Bondy that the decision was made because the Knicks are “focused on the bigger picture.”

The team will still celebrate winning the in-season tournament before Friday’s home game against Philadelphia, Bondy writes.

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The Knicks have won nine of 10 games since reinserting Josh Hart into their starting five. As Vincent Goodwill of ESPN writes, Brown referred to a November meeting between him and Hart as an important turning point. “I was open and honest,” the Knicks’ head coach said. “He hadn’t played a lot in the preseason because he got hurt early on, so I didn’t have a great feel for how to use him, when to use him, what his game was completely like.” Brown added that Hart took accountability for not playing up to his usual standard early in the season and said the candor in that meeting helped their relationship grow.
While Brown was focused early in the season on implementing his own offensive system, rival coaches believe he has pushed those changes less aggressively as of late and has been more inclined to simply let his players do what they do best, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “The first 10 or 12 games, it felt like they were running more,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Now, it seems like they’re settling into personnel. They’re playing a little bit more to the strengths of their main players, but at the same time try to implement ball movement and body movement. Obviously, they’re a very talented team, so it’s the right thing to do to focus on the strengths of those guys and let them be who they are.”
OG Anunoby (28 points) and Jalen Brunson (25) were the Knicks’ top scorers in Tuesday’s NBA Cup victory, but a handful of reserves provided crucial contributions off the bench. Bondy of The New York Post singles out center Mitchell Robinson, who racked up 10 offensive rebounds in just 18 minutes of action, while Jared Schwartz of The New York Post takes a look at the contributions the team is getting from second-year guard Tyler Kolek, whose 14 points and five rebounds on Tuesday would be career highs if the game had counted toward the regular season.
In case you missed it, we wrote earlier today about the Knicks players who benefited most from the $531K bonus for winning the NBA Cup.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Brown, Kolek, NBA Cup Final

December 14th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a league whose teams are increasingly seeking ball-handlers with size, Jalen Brunson‘s scoring mastery makes him something of a modern-day unicorn for the Knicks, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

“He’s got good pace, and he’s really smart. He doesn’t really get too bored with the game,” said Magic guard Jalen Suggs. “He doesn’t get too bored keeping it simple. He challenges you every possession. He’s one of the best players in our league. I love the fact that we get to play him four times a year. I’ve gotten better from our battles.”

Only seven players are currently averaging more points per game than Brunson, and of those seven, Edwards says, only two do so at a similar height: Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Maxey, both of whom possess athletic gifts that Brunson cannot replicate. That’s why Edwards refers to Brunson as, “pound for pound,” the best scorer in the NBA.

Despite Brunson’s All-NBA level play in recent years, skeptics continue to question whether a guard of his size can lead a team to a championship. As Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the Knicks star is beginning to win over some of those doubters.

“No one thought that a team shooting a lot of threes could win a title until Golden State did it,” said Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade. “Charles [Barkley] is always talking about, ‘You can’t win shooting threes.’ So obviously anything is possible. Is it hard? Yes. It’s really, really hard. So that just means for Jalen to be as great as he needs to be, that means everybody else around him needs to get better. … But it is yet to be seen. We’ve got to see it, too.”

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This year’s version of the Knicks has proven more resilient than in previous seasons, and much of that is due to new head coach Mike Brown, opines Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. Brown’s insistence on playing with pace has made New York’s offense less predictable, and his emphasis on hitting first in terms of physicality has made the team’s defense less toothless than last season. “I think our physicality is extremely better,” Josh Hart said. “When you’re able to be physical on the perimeter, you’re able to throw teams off what they do and now your defense is more impactful. You can be in passing lanes and do those kinds of things, protect shots at the rim. So I think our physicality is something that’s driving that, and that’s something we have to do.” Winfield notes that between those changes and getting Karl-Anthony Towns to play his best on defense, Brown may be laying the groundwork for a third Coach of the Year campaign.
Miles McBride‘s ankle injury has given Tyler Kolek an opportunity to prove that he can be the backup point guard the Knicks need, and Saturday’s win against the Magic was a step in the right direction, Bondy and Jared Schwartz write for the New York Post. Kolek was a team-best plus-17 in his minutes and was on the court for a crucial part of the game at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, as the Knicks took control. “Tyler did a fantastic job today, our young fella, of impacting winning,” Towns said after the victory. “He did that on a big stage tonight. I think one of his finest games as an NBA player was tonight, and may not show up on the stats sheet, but everybody in our locker room knows how important he was to us tonight.”
The Knicks are trying to prove that they belong among the NBA’s true contenders, and Tuesday’s matchup against the Spurs in the NBA Cup championship will be a key battleground for them to do so, writes Steve Popper for Newsday. The Spurs knocked off the league-best Thunder in their semifinal matchup and have managed to hold onto the fourth-best record in the Western Conference despite battling injuries and having a core group of players that skew very young. Popper suggests that a disappointing performance could give the Knicks an indication heading into trade season that some adjustments to the roster might be needed to secure a spot in the NBA’s upper echelon of contenders.

Kerr, Spoelstra, Lue Top List Of NBA’s Highest-Paid Coaches

December 10th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is the NBA’s highest-paid head coach, with an average annual value of $17.5MM on his current contract, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Erik Spoelstra of the Heat and Tyronn Lue of the Clippers round out the top three at $15MM per year, Badenhausen adds.

While Kerr is the highest earner among head coaches in the short term, his deal with Golden State expires at the end of the 2025/26 season, whereas Spoelstra (eight years) and Lue (five years) signed longer-term extensions in 2024, so they’re assured of far more overall guaranteed money.

After that top three, there are several coaches in the range of $11MM annually, per Badenhausen: Doc Rivers of the Bucks, Ime Udoka of the Rockets, Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics, and Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.

The Knicks‘ Mike Brown is the only other coach with an average annual value of at least $10MM, with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd coming in at $9.5MM per year and Lakers coach JJ Redick at $9MM annually.

Interestingly, while Spoelstra, Kerr, and Lue are three of the NBA’s four longest-tenured head coaches, the other member of that group – Billy Donovan of the Bulls, the league’s third longest-tenured coach – doesn’t crack the list of top 10 salaries shared by Badenhausen.

Details on the other 20 NBA head coaches’ contracts aren’t included in Badenhausen’s report, but he notes that the lower end of coaching salaries is approximately $4MM per year. Presumably, that figure applies only to coaches who have the title permanently, rather than assistants who have received in-season promotions and are serving as interim replacements, such as James Borrego in New Orleans or Tiago Splitter in Portland.

For what it’s worth, the NBA’s estimated average salary for players in 2025/26 is $13.87MM, so just three of 30 head coaches are earning more than an average player in the league.

Daigneault, Bickerstaff Named Coaches Of The Month

December 2nd, 2025 at 4:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Mark Daigneault of the Thunder and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons have been named the NBA’s Coaches of the Month for games played in October and November, the league announced in a press release (Twitter links).

Daigneault won the award for the Western Conference, while Bickerstaff claimed the honor in the East.

After Oklahoma City held the best record in the NBA in 2024/25 at 68-14, Daigneault led the defending champions to a 20-1 record over the first month-plus of the season — unsurprisingly, that is once again the top record in the league.

Bickerstaff led the upstart Pistons to a 16-4 record during October and November, the top mark in the East and only trailing the Thunder for the best record in the NBA.

According to the league, David Adelman (Nuggets), Mitch Johnson (Spurs), Jordan Ott (Suns) and Ime Udoka (Rockets) were the other nominees in the West, while Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers), Mike Brown (Knicks), Jamahl Mosley (Magic), Darko Rajakovic (Raptors), Quin Snyder (Hawks) and Erik Spoelstra (Heat) were nominated in the East.

Knicks Notes: Yabusele, Shamet, Hart, Trade Needs

November 26th, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Guerschon Yabusele doesn’t understand why his weight has become an issue with some Knicks fans, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Yabusele, who signed with New York in free agency over the summer, said he hasn’t put on any pounds since he played for Philadelphia last season.

“About this, because I heard it, and I could if I wanted to talk about it, but I just decided not to,” he said. “People say whatever they want to say. If you guys check with my weight from last year, it’s the same. So last year it wasn’t a problem, why is it a problem this year? And I’m actually less than last year.”

The Knicks list Yabusele at 283 pounds, which makes him among the league’s heaviest players. Bondy notes that some websites had him at 265 pounds last season, which appears to be a mistake because was at 279 pounds in the Sixers’ media guide.

The focus on Yabusele’s weight is likely a result of his decreased production this season. He’s averaging 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15 games while playing just 10.5 minutes per night. His .349/.276/.500 shooting numbers are also disappointing for a player who was much more productive in his return to the NBA last season.

“I’m not focusing on none of that. I’m just doing my thing,” Yabusele said of the weight complaints. “I feel good and in great shape. So it is what it is.”

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Landry Shamet will miss at least four weeks with a right shoulder sprain, but Ian Begley of SNY.tv doesn’t believe he’s in any danger of being waived despite his non-guaranteed contract (Twitter link). Begley points out that teams are obligated to cover the salaries of injured players throughout their recovery process, so there wouldn’t be any financial benefits for the Knicks to part with Shamet. Coach Mike Brown voiced his support for keeping him on the roster, per Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). “That’s something that (team president Leon Rose) and his group will discuss,” Brown told reporters. “But Landry is a really big part of what we’re doing and I’ll give up my salary for him.”
Josh Hart credits Knicks shooting coach Peter Patton for helping him improve his jumper while wearing a splint on his right ring finger, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Hart revealed that he and Patton “made small tweaks here and there, but we’re just smoothing everything out.”
In the same piece, Edwards acknowledges that depth at center and power forward is an issue for the Knicks, but he believes finding a reliable backup point guard should be a greater priority in trade talks. Edwards speculates that Yabusele, Miles McBride and some of the team’s younger players are most likely to be moved in any deal.