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Knicks Notes: Towns, Robinson, Hart, McBride, Backup PG, Anunoby, Oakley

November 6th, 2025 at 8:23am CST by Dana Gauruder

More than a year after being traded from Minnesota to New York, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns still has trouble processing the deal.

“I’m still stunned, I mean, I’m still stunned. It’s weird,” Towns said, per Vince Goodwill of ESPN, after the Knicks defeated his former club 137-114 on Wednesday. “I feel more like a Knick now after everything we went through last year, but it’s weird to see that Wolves jersey — especially the fire black one — and not see ‘Towns’ on the back of it.”

Towns believes the Timberwolves will remain one of the Western Conference’s elite teams.

“Built something special there,” Towns said. “It’s different when you’re in process and now you’re going against the process. They’re a great team. To see what they’re doing right now, special, and I expect nothing less than greatness from them.”

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Mitchell Robinson is on a load management plan that has included sitting out games and a minutes restriction when he suits up. He proved why he’s so essential to the club against Minnesota, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. Robinson’s size, rebounding, defense, and rim protection were all impactful in a 16-minute stint. He finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. “I was just out there being me,” he said.
Despite battling some nagging injuries, Josh Hart delivered his best performance of the season, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes. He posted a season-high 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Miles McBride was also key off the bench with 14 points. “I gotta give a lot of credit to Deuce,” coach Mike Brown said. “Deuce was aggressive the right way. He played under control. If they tried to pick up full-court, he drove it by them. He touched the paint. He played off two [feet] and he sprayed it. And guys got great looks when he got us into our offensive. Josh was also a big catalyst in terms of trying to get us to push the pace and play the right way.”
With Brown already losing faith in Tyler Kolek, the Knicks once again find themselves in a familiar spot — seeking a reliable backup to Jalen Brunson. They are now using several players who aren’t true point guards in that role. Bondy identifies Jose Alvarado and Dante Exum as two options the club could consider on the trade market.
OG Anunoby is averaging a career-high 7.3 three-point attempts and making 41.4% of them. The Knicks want their versatile wing to keep firing away. “He’s a good shooter, and we want him to shoot the ball,” Hart told James Edwards III of The Athletic. “The offense is a little bit more ball movement, body movement. We want guys to put shots up and we’ll crash and do that. We want to, obviously, generate 3s.”
Former Knicks star Charles Oakley must pay more than $642K in lawyer fees to Madison Square Garden for deleting text messages during a court battle over his ejection from a game eight years ago, Priscilla DeGregory and Natalie O’Neill of the New York Post report. Oakley filed a defamation lawsuit against the arena firm and Knicks owner James Dolan in September 2017.

Knicks Notes: Towns, Rotation, Robinson, Bridges, Hart

November 4th, 2025 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Karl-Anthony Towns seems to be growing comfortable with new coach Mike Brown‘s schemes. The Knicks big man racked up 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 119-102 victory over the Wizards on Monday.

“KAT was a monster. He was a monster on the glass, he was really good defensively, he was a monster inside, outside,” Brown said, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “He’s starting to feel and find his rhythm in what we’re trying to do.”

Towns had scored fewer than 20 points in half of New York’s first six games.

“Really, we’re all figuring it out. Getting better every day, understanding what our roles are and what we’ve got to do,” Towns said. “It’s good, we’ve got two wins in a row but we’re obviously still a work in progress.”

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Brown has trimmed the rotation to nine players in the past two games, Winfield notes. Against the Bulls on Sunday, Brown went with Josh Hart, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson off the bench. On Monday, with Mitchell Robinson sitting for load management purposes, Shamet moved into the starting lineup and Guerschon Yabusele played on the second unit. “The last two nights were the best I’ve done for them in terms of rotations. They kinda sorta knew when they were coming out or going in, who was going to play together,” Brown said.
Robinson’s availability remains something of a mystery, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Robinson has only played a combined 33 minutes through the first seven games. Left ankle injury management is the club’s reasons for limiting his minutes and game appearances. Don’t expect that to change. “We’ll keep doing that throughout the course of the year. Whatever they tell me, I’m gonna do,” Brown said.
Mikal Bridges‘ all-around game has been on display this season, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. He has also been a lot more vocal in his second year with the club. Bridges, who signed a four-year extension in the offseason, is averaging 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per night.
Despite dealing with hand and ankle injuries, Hart contributed 12 points with 10 rebounds and five assists in just 26 minutes on Monday. “Basically been banged up and hurt for what, three months?” Hart said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Little frustrating, but it comes with the territory. It comes with being in a contact sport, so it is what it is.”

Anthony Edwards Listed As Questionable To Play On Wednesday

November 4th, 2025 at 5:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks, the team’s PR department tweets.

Edwards has missed the past four games due to a right hamstring strain. Last Monday, when the injury was revealed via an MRI, the team announced Edwards would be reevaluated in one week. At the time, there was reporting suggesting that Edwards would be out for at least two weeks.

Edwards was cleared to resume contact basketball activities on Monday, according to a press release. The fact that Edwards could suit up on Wednesday is a huge boost for the Timberwolves, who have gone 2-2 without him. They have recorded road wins at Charlotte and Brooklyn heading into their trip to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks.

Edwards notched a 41-point outing against Portland and a 31-point performance against the Lakers before departing after three minutes against Indiana on Oct. 26. The three-time All-Star averaged a career-best 27.6 points and 4.5 assists per game last season while appearing in 79 regular season contests.

Josh Hart Reveals Nerve Damage In Shooting Hand

November 2nd, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

Knicks forward Josh Hart is suffering from nerve damage throughout his shooting hand, he revealed on Sunday to Fred Katz and James L Edwards III of The Athletic.

Hart previously acknowledged prior to training camp that an offseason procedure on his right ring finger didn’t sufficiently address the issue. Now he’s providing more details on the injury and suggesting it’s more wide-ranging than previously reported.

According to Katz and Edwards, not only is the injury impacting the fourth finger of Hart’s shooting hand, but it’s also causing him to lose feeling in his middle and pinky fingers throughout the day, whether on the court or off.

“It’ll probably be a process until I get full feeling back,” Hart said. “The hand will be what it is. I’m working (on shooting) all the time. That’ll come along. I’m not getting surgery.”

After missing much of the preseason and entering this fall with a different role than he played in the previous two seasons, Hart has gotten off to a slow start, averaging 2.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 22.3 minutes on .211/.100/.500 shooting splits over his first four games heading into Sunday’s contest against the Bulls.

With his minutes down significantly from the 35.5 MPG he averaged over the last two seasons with the Knicks, Hart is still seeking some stability and structure in his position with the team.

“If I’m not going to start, I’m totally cool with it,” he said. “I don’t want to be, like, the next starter up because then everything is varying by game. I want more of a consistent role so that I can affect that role.”

Knicks Notes: Bench, Adversity, Robinson, Donovan

November 2nd, 2025 at 3:51pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks were hoping to upgrade their bench when they added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, but the early returns have been disappointing thus far, writes Bridget Reilly of The New York Post.

Yabusele signed a two-year, $11.3MM deal with the Knicks after a solid season with Philadelphia. He got off to a slow start with New York during the preseason and that has carried over to the regular season as well, with the French forward/center averaging just 2.0 points while shooting 3-of-13 from the floor (.231%) through four games.

After missing one game with a knee sprain, Yabusele only played three minutes during Friday’s loss at Chicago and was benched for the whole second half, Reilly notes.

“He may play a whole bunch of minutes at times, he may play a few, he may not play at all,” head coach Mike Brown said. “And that’s part of what our guys have to accept before we figure out what we want to do.”

As for Clarkson, the 33-year-old guard is averaging career lows in virtually every major statistic for the Knicks. Brown seems to prefer using Landry Shamet, according to Reilly, who reports that Brown “pushed to keep” the veteran guard after he signed a non-guaranteed training camp deal this fall.

“I guess it’s whole new learning for me,” Clarkson told The Post. “New coach, new system, new team. Just trying to pick up on everything I can.”

As Reilly observes, the Knicks’ bench woes go beyond just Clarkson and Yabusele, but they haven’t certainly haven’t helped matters through five games.

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The Knicks went 0-3 on their road trip and enter Sunday’s rematch with Chicago facing a bit of early-season adversity, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Knicks aspire to be title contenders after reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2024/25, but they didn’t play like it in the past three losses. “This is a great test for us,” Brown said. “It’s early, but it’s a great test for us and I’m looking to see what type of resiliency we have as a group.”
Center Mitchell Robinson didn’t offer any answers on Friday for why he was held out of the first four games of the season with what the team called left ankle injury management, according to Bondy. “I ain’t telling you nothing,” Robinson said. The 27-year-old big man denied he experienced a setback on the ankle, which required two different surgeries, saying the absences were “part of the plan,” though he doesn’t know if said plan will be in place throughout the season. Robinson remains questionable for Sunday’s game.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan recently discussed the Knicks’ interest in speaking to him about their coaching vacancy over the offseason, as Bondy relays (via Twitter). “It never really got to me,” said Donovan, who subsequently signed an extension with Chicago. “They reached out to the (Bulls) front office. The front office spoke to me about it, I spoke to (Bulls owner) Jerry Reinsdorf about it. I’m very, very happy in Chicago. I’ve known (Knicks president Leon Rose) for a long time. I have great respect for him growing up in New York. But I was under contract and it got resolved pretty quickly. So it never went anywhere, so to speak. For myself, I did not talk to them. But I think the relationships that have been established with myself, with ownership, with the front office, I’ve enjoyed those. And I certainly felt obligated and committed here.”

Knicks Notes: Coaching Change, Towns, Hart, Robinson

November 1st, 2025 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

After they got off to a 2-3 start, including a 10-point loss at Chicago on Friday, Steve Popper of Newsday wonders whether the Knicks‘ offseason coaching change was necessary or if they were trying to fix something that wasn’t broken.

Management decided to replace Tom Thibodeau after he took New York to the conference finals last season and brought in Mike Brown, who promised to give more minutes to bench players and institute an up-tempo style. Popper points out that the Knicks still have a roster filled with players who were acquired to fit Thibodeau’s slower-paced, defensive-minded approach. When they faced the Bulls, who are built for a faster style of play, they gave up 135 points.

Popper states that the adjustment has been particularly difficult for Karl-Anthony Towns, who is projected to spend more time at power forward after primarily being used as a center last season. Popper believes Towns is miscast by being asked to run the floor in transition like a wing.

Towns didn’t address his individual role after Friday’s loss, but his comments reflected the overall frustration of the team.

“Just obviously we’re not happy,” he said. “We had three winnable games and we didn’t do enough to close the game out. For someone like us, that was our identity last year — close games we usually win. So obviously it’s a different feeling not being able to close the games out.”

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Josh Hart told Brown that he doesn’t want to move back and forth between starting and sixth-man duties, so he’s now a full-time reserve, Popper adds in the same piece. Hart said even though it was his idea, there might be times that he struggles with not being a starter. “I think throughout the season it’ll be a battle of, you know, kind of fighting the egotistical view of it,” he said. “I think I did have a good year last year. And you know, with a different role, now it’s totally different. I think the biggest thing, I’ve had to sacrifice my whole career. I talked about it the whole time last year. You know, that’s something that I try to do every year and try to make sure whether I’ve got to sacrifice or not, make the team the best that we can be. So it’s never like, OK cool and it’s seamless. There’s going to be days where I’m just like, ‘Man, that’s some bull.’ You know what I mean? But it’ll be a constant thing of fighting that, but making sure I know that this is what’s best for the team and locking in on that.”
Hart told reporters on Friday that he’s not considering another surgical procedure for an injured finger on his shooting hand, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Hart wants to avoid a prolonged recovery that could sideline him for several months.
Brown was sharply critical of the Knicks’ defense following the loss to Chicago, relays Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. The Bulls scored 72 points in the first half and finished the game with six players in double figures. “Our defense tonight was nonexistent and it starts with guarding the basketball,” Brown said. “We have to be better guarding the basketball. And it has to be with a sense of physicality because if we don’t, teams are gonna do exactly what Chicago did tonight on the offensive end of the floor.”
After missing four games due to left ankle injury maintenance, Mitchell Robinson made his season debut on Friday, posting four points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes. He’s being listed as questionable for Sunday’s rematch with the Bulls in New York, according to James L. Edwards of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Knicks Exercise 2026/27 Option On Pacome Dadiet

October 31st, 2025 at 10:06pm CST by Rory Maher

The Knicks have exercised their third-year team option on Pacome Dadiet, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv (via Twitter).

Dadiet, the 25th overall pick in last year’s draft, will now earn a guaranteed $2,983,680 in 2026/27. New York will have until the end of next October to decide whether to pick up its fourth-year option on Dadiet.

A 6’7″ guard/forward, Dadiet only played 111 minutes in 18 games with the Knicks as a rookie last season. He has yet to make an appearance in year two.

The French wing received more playing time at the G League level in ’24/25, averaging 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23 games (31.8 minutes per contest) for the Knicks’ affiliate team in Westchester. Scoring efficiency was an issue for the 20-year-old, who posted a shooting line of .402/.296/.826.

There were rumors that the Knicks might look to trade Dadiet this fall to clear enough room below their second-apron hard cap to keep two veterans on their roster to open the season instead of one. However, Malcolm Brogdon‘s surprise retirement likely ended any speculation on that front, and now Dadiet will be under contract through at least next season.

Today was the deadline for teams to make decisions on rookie scale team options for 2026/27. All of those decisions can be found here.

Knicks Notes: Towns, McBride, Novak, Bridges

October 31st, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After expressing some uncertainty ahead of the regular season about his fit in Mike Brown‘s offense, Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns has gotten off to a shaky start this fall. The big man is shooting just 35.2% from the floor through four games and scored a season-low eight points on 2-of-12 shooting in Tuesday’s loss in Milwaukee.

As Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News writes (subscription required), Towns attempted just one shot in the first half of that loss to the Bucks while playing the way Brown wants him to — making quick decisions and giving up the ball when the defense zeroes in on him. He was a +15 in those first two quarters. In the third quarter, Towns began hunting for his own shot and was a -14 while making just 1-of-9 field goal attempts.

“(Towns’) first half was beautiful. He played the right way. And that’s all you can ask your All-Star guys to do,” Brown said. “If you’ve got an All-Star, and they’re taking him out with a second guy (double team), believe in your teammates, believe in the process. When those guys make plays, eventually they won’t double as much, and you’ll get it back.”

While the Knicks’ first-half success as a team (they were up 71-59 at the break) back up Brown’s comments, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required) argues that it’s “unreasonable” for the new head coach to ask the Knicks’ maximum-salary star to embrace a style that results in him attempting a single shot through two quarters.

Brown is attempting to make the Knicks’ players adjust to his system rather than adjusting his system to the talent on the roster, according to Bondy, who suggests that some tweaks may be necessary to better take advantage of Towns’ elite scoring ability. For his part though, the five-time All-Star continues to try his best to fit into Brown’s scheme.

“I got to do whatever’s needed to win, and first half I played how we needed me to play,” Towns said after Tuesday’s loss, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required). “And the game, I felt, switched up and I tried to get going just in case we needed me, and I just didn’t make a shot so I pressed a little bit too much. I have more experience than to do that, but I didn’t do what we needed me to do, and that’s on me and I take full responsibility.”

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Miles McBride has rejoined the Knicks after being away from the team for family reasons for two games, according to Bondy. The team’s bench scoring has slipped during McBride’s absence, and Brown is happy to have him back. “He does a lot of things on both ends of the floor,” the Knicks’ coach said. “His energy is contagious, he’s a two-way player. He can play on the ball, he can play off the ball defensively. He can play on the ball or off the ball offensively. Even though he’s a small guard, his athleticism and power obviously make him a good offensive rebounder. He can defensive rebound too. So there’s a lot he can bring to the table besides scoring that you miss when he’s not around.”
Former NBA sharpshooter Steve Novak, who appeared in 135 regular season games for the Knicks from 2011-13, has joined MSG Networks as a game analyst, per Bondy. The plan is for Novak to work about a dozen games this season when Clyde Frazier is off.
Veteran forward Mikal Bridges has embraced a mentorship role with younger Knicks players like Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “You can see that when he was a younger guy in the league that he had those vets, too,” Kolek said. “They built a culture of brotherhood. You don’t see that every day in the NBA nowadays. (Mikal) was so welcoming and teaching us the little things, and not just the basketball stuff. He shows us how to move, how to be a man and be an actual professional.”
Speaking of Dadiet, he’s the only player with a 2026/27 rookie scale team option who hasn’t had that option exercised or declined yet. The deadline to pick up that option is the end of the day on Friday, so the Knicks’ decision should be reported in the coming hours.
In case you missed it, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson went through a full practice on Thursday and is considered a game-time decision for Friday’s game in Chicago. Robinson has yet to play this season due to what the team has referred to as left ankle injury management.

Injury Notes: Robinson, Joe, Garland, Collier, Barlow

October 30th, 2025 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson went through a full practice on Thursday and head coach Mike Brown says he’ll be a game-time decision for Friday’s contest in Chicago, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter links).

Robinson has been held out of the first four games of the regular season with what New York has deemed left ankle injury management. There has been no indication from the Knicks that the 27-year-old big man has suffered a new injury or setback.

Robinson didn’t make his 2024/25 debut until February 28 while recovering from offseason ankle surgery and only played in 17 regular season contests down the stretch. He also appeared in 18 playoff games for New York last spring.

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Thunder wing Isaiah Joe will be available to make his season debut on Thursday vs. Washington, tweets Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. After averaging a career-high 21.7 minutes per game in 74 outings for Oklahoma City last season, Joe has been inactive to open the 2025/26 campaign due to a left knee contusion.
Coming off toe surgery, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland isn’t facing any restrictions in practices and has been “scrimmaging and everything,” a source tells Spencer Davies of ClutchPoints. The team is being cautious with his return and won’t bring him back too early, but Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints recently reported that a return during the first half of November is very much in play for the two-time All-Star.
Second-year Jazz point guard Isaiah Collier has been cleared for full on-court work, the team announced today (via Twitter), adding that he’ll be assigned to the G League on Friday as he ramps up his conditioning ahead of his season debut. Collier has been sidelined while recovering from a right hamstring strain.
After starting the first two games of the season, Sixers forward Dominick Barlow has missed the past two and will remain out for at least two more due to his right elbow laceration, per the club (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports). That means Barlow, who will be reevaluated early next week, won’t play against Boston on Friday or Brooklyn on Sunday.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Giannis: Trade Speculation ‘Doesn’t Concern Me One Bit’

October 29th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Luke Adams

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their third win in four games to open the 2025/26 season on Tuesday, scoring 37 points en route to a 121-111 victory over the Knicks.

The first matchup between the two teams this season came just three weeks after ESPN reported that the Bucks and Knicks had brief discussions this offseason about the possibility of a trade involving Antetokounmpo, who reportedly conveyed that New York would be a preferred landing spot if he ever left Milwaukee. Asked on Tuesday about that report, Antetokounmpo pleaded ignorance, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

“I don’t remember that,” Antetokounmpo said, shaking his head when asked about the ESPN story (YouTube link). “Right now, I’m here representing my team. And that’s it. We beat the Knicks. That’s all. Doesn’t really matter. What matters right now is we have a game in two days against Golden State, try to stay locked in and get two in a row.

“But I didn’t read that article. I try to stay away from all that rumors and speculation and trades and all this. It doesn’t concern me one bit.”

Antetokounmpo, who has been with the Bucks since being selected 15th overall in the 2013 draft, has repeatedly expressed his love for Milwaukee over the years while also stressing that being in position to continue competing for championships is important to him.

The Bucks’ past three seasons have ended with first-round playoff losses, so the outcome of the 2025/26 campaign could go a long way toward determining whether or not Antetokounmpo’s long-term future is in Milwaukee. He has two guaranteed years left on his contract, followed by a player option, meaning he could reach free agency as soon as 2027.

While Antetokounmpo dismissed the trade speculation on Tuesday, he acknowledged that the victory over the Knicks meant a little something extra to a Bucks team with aspirations of winning the Eastern Conference.

“For sure, there was a lot extra,” Antetokounmpo said. “They swept us last year. Swept us. They were way better than us last year. We didn’t make it tough for them. It was very easy, in my opinion. As the leader of this team, I remember. I don’t forget things, and I try to – from early shootaround – set the tone for the team and try to remind them, ‘Last year they swept us.’ Same with the Cavs. So I think the team responded in the best way, so I’m happy.”

The Bucks weren’t able to exact the same form of revenge on the Cavaliers on Sunday that they did on the Knicks on Tuesday, falling 118-113 to their division rivals in Cleveland. However, Antetokounmpo had a monster game in the Bucks’ only loss so far this season, racking up 40 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. He’s playing at an MVP level in the early going — Milwaukee has a +12.5 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -6.2 mark when he sits.