Knicks Notes: Brogdon, Brown, Hart, Brunson
Malcolm Brogdon got first-half minutes Saturday in Abu Dhabi as part of the competition for a Knicks‘ roster spot, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Coach Mike Brown is giving all three veterans with non-guaranteed contracts a chance to be on the floor with rotation players. Landry Shamet got his opportunity on Thursday, and Garrison Mathews is expected to be in that role during Friday’s game against Minnesota.
“Trying to see different guys we’ve signed with different combinations,” Brown said. “And putting them in at different — I may throw a guy in for three minutes. And if I throw him in for three minutes, part of that is I may use him that way in the regular season or I may use him that way if he makes the team in the regular season. So how does he respond? So I’m experimenting right now.”
Brogdon posted five points, four rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes as New York wrapped up a sweep of Philadelphia in their two overseas games. Playing in the second half, Shamet went scoreless in nine minutes and Mathews finished with six points while shooting 1-of-5 from the field.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Josh Hart was held out of action today after suffering a back injury that a team representative is calling “spasms,” Bondy adds in the same piece. Hart fell to the court in pain in the second quarter of Thursday’s game and was holding his lower back as he walked to the locker room. “It’s preseason and we’re going to err on the side of caution,” the representative told Bondy. “We’ll see where he is when (we get home).”
- The Knicks were more successful in implementing Brown’s up-tempo offense in their second game under their new head coach, Bondy states in a separate story. Brown wants his team to push the ball in transition, and Jalen Brunson said the guards ran to the corners every time Philadelphia missed a shot. “Pace doesn’t necessarily mean fast,” Brunson said. “Obviously we want to get the ball across half-court in a certain time frame. But it’s about playing smart, seeing what the defense does and just reading that. We weren’t really trying to leak out, but we were trying to sprint to corners and we were getting behind the defense and we were able to get layups. So as long as we come away with a stop, that allows us to run.”
- Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News assesses the players who saw court time in Abu Dhabi and examines how their games are changing with Brown in charge.
Knicks Notes: McBride, Dadiet, Hart, Towns, Brogdon, Mathews
If they want to keep Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon on their regular season roster, the Knicks will have to make a cost-cutting trade due to the team’s proximity to its second-apron hard cap. Both players are currently signed to non-guaranteed training camp contracts.
Assuming they’re both healthy, Ian Begley of SNY.tv thinks the two veterans will make the final roster.
While Miles McBride has been floated as a potential trade candidate, in part because the Knicks would likely receive positive for him, Begley reiterates that he would be surprised if the 25-year-old gets dealt.
Due to his “production, age and contract,” McBride is coveted by multiple rival teams, according to Begley. However, people familiar with the matter tell Begley the Knicks also highly value McBride and have — to this point — shut down trade talks regarding the 6’2″ guard.
Second-year wing Pacome Dadiet appears to be more likely to be moved, as the Knicks have reportedly discussed him with rival clubs. The 20-year-old got a surprise start during New York’s preseason opener due to a minor hand injury to OG Anunoby.
But Dadiet didn’t play very well on Thursday, and head coach Mike Brown suggested ahead of Saturday’s contest that the French guard/forward may not be in the rotation going forward.
“In terms of Pac in the rotation, I wouldn’t take into account too much that Pac started in the last game,” Brown said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- As expected, Anunoby was back in the starting lineup on Saturday, tweets Bondy. Mitchell Robinson got his second straight starting nod at center, while Josh Hart — who told reporters last week that he’ll likely have to wear a splint on his right ring finger this season after aggravating an issue which required surgery in July — was ruled out due to back spasms.
- After being traded to New York last October, Karl-Anthony Towns feels more comfortable as a Knick entering his second year with the organization, he tells Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). The five-time All-Star isn’t sure which frontcourt position he’ll log the most minutes at this season, but he’s willing to do whatever is asked of him. “I think for me, I’ve got a lot of experience playing both (power forward and center) now,” Towns said. “I’m still figuring all this out now for this year’s team. … I think it’s going to be a little more, feeling more seamless. Usually, you walk into a game, you know you’ll be the five today. You walk into a game, you know you’ll be the four today. I think for me, it’s going to be more of like I could be five for four minutes and then be four for two minutes, then go back to the five. So I think that’s going to be a little different for me, where I’m going to be so fluid on what my position is. I’m working on just making sure I’m ready for whatever the case may be with us, what I’m learning about our team and the way we want to play.”
- Brown continues to experiment with different bench rotations during preseason, according to Bondy (Twitter link). Brown said Brogdon would receive first-half minutes on Saturday, while Garrison Mathews — another NBA veteran vying for a roster spot — will get first-half minutes in New York’s third preseason game next Thursday. Shamet received those minutes on Thursday.
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Hart, Dadiet, Brunson, More
After alternating between Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart in the starting five during training camp practices, Knicks head coach Mike Brown opted to start Robinson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns in the team’s preseason opener on Thursday, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required).
It was a move that “gained momentum” during training camp, Bondy writes, and one that paid off in the Knicks’ first game of October. Robinson racked up a game-high 16 boards despite not playing in the second half. New York led by 10 points at the half and ended up registering a 99-84 victory.
“He was phenomenal,” Brown said of Robinson. “Played 18 minutes, had 16 rebounds — 11 of them defensively — but more importantly for a big, he had three deflections. So Mitch, good job. I’ll get a plaque for you, Mitch. He was the player of the game for us.”
Brown told reporters prior to the game that the lineup change wouldn’t necessarily be permanent, but Hart took a hard fall and is considered day-to-day due to lower back soreness, as Bondy notes. That means Robinson is well positioned to at least keep his spot in the starting five on Saturday when the Knicks and Sixers play their second of two contests in Abu Dhabi.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- With OG Anunoby unavailable due to a minor hand injury on Thursday, Pacome Dadiet unexpectedly got the start in his place. But if it was an audition for a larger role with the Knicks or a showcase for a potential trade, it didn’t go great, says James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Dadiet went 0-for-5 on his three-point attempts and turned the ball over three times in 15 minutes of action while scoring four points and grabbing a pair of rebounds.
- Edwards and Bondy shared a few more takeaways from the preseason opener, with Edwards pointing out that Towns seemed comfortable in Brown’s new, free-flowing offense, while both Edwards and Bondy singled out Miles McBride as one of the game’s top performers. Bondy also observes that Landry Shamet was part of the first-half rotation, whereas Malcolm Brogdon didn’t get into the game until midway through the third quarter, once Brown had begun to lean more on his deeper reserves.
- While some star players around the league like to be consulted on major team decisions involving the roster or the head coach, Jalen Brunson tells Bondy (subscription required) that he’s not one of those players — the veteran point guard is happy to leave those moves to management and doesn’t feel the need to be involved. “My entire thing was, before anything happens, my job is to go out there and be the best player I can be. And do my job on the court,” Brunson said. “Anything that happens outside the court, with the organization, with the team, when it happens, tell me. But I don’t want any part in having a say in it or anything. It’s not my job to say who deserves to come, who deserves to go. It’s not me.”
New York Notes: M. Brown, Brogdon, Hart, KAT, C. Thomas, Powell
Knicks head coach Mike Brown made it clear on Tuesday that his philosophy regarding his minutes distribution for starters and rotation players won’t look the same as what the team got accustomed to under former coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required).
“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games,” Brown said. “There might be some games where maybe you throw the towel in early. It’s important to win, but you also have to understand, ‘Hey, I want to keep this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, instead of trying to extend everybody’s minutes.’ Because if the season is long, we don’t want anybody worn out by the end.”
As Bondy observes, Thibodeau’s approach often felt like the exact opposite of the one laid out by Brown. The former Knicks coach frequently faced criticism due to the perception that he overextended his top players, particularly by leaving them on the court late in games in which the team held a big lead.
Brown, who worked as a Warriors assistant from 2016-22, pointed to the 2015/16 Golden State team that chased – and achieved – a regular season record of 73 wins but seemed to run out of gas at the end of that season. That prompted the Warriors to more closely monitor their stars’ workloads in subsequent years.
“It kind of caught up to them [in 2016]. And from that point on, that’s when [head coach Steve Kerr] was like, ‘I’m not going to chase it anymore,'” Brown said. “If we get it, we get it, but I got to make sure for Steph [Curry], if we want him to only play 35 minutes or average 35 minutes a game, then that’s what he’s going to average.”
Three Knicks players – Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby – placed among the NBA’s top six in minutes per game last season, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns also in the top 25.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon doesn’t just expect to make the Knicks‘ regular season roster — he believes he’ll earn a spot in the rotation as well, he tells Bondy (subscription required). “I view myself as having a skill set and being a versatile enough player to crack any rotation in the league,” Brogdon told Bondy. “So I expect to do that here as well.” A report from The Athletic indicated that New York is leaning toward keeping both Brogdon and Landry Shamet for the regular season, which would require the team to trade a player.
- Hart referred to it as “stupidity” to blame Towns for the Knicks‘ Eastern Conference Finals loss to Indiana last spring, according to Bondy (subscription required). As Bondy notes, Towns received some criticism due to his defense, but Hart doesn’t view that criticism as warranted. “I thought [Towns] played well in the playoffs. I mean, hey, I think the only one who should get blamed is me,” Hart said. “I had a terrible — I think I played well in Detroit, played well in Boston. With Indiana, I just didn’t have nothing left.”
- Nets guard Cam Thomas reported to camp looking leaner this fall, but he said the work he did on his body this offseason wasn’t related to his recurring hamstring issues last season, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). “No, it’s just something I want to do. Just me being me,” Thomas said. “Not really related to the hammies. … If I have the weight on or not, I’ll still be doing the same thing. It doesn’t really change how you play, really. At the end of the day, it’s how you look and how you feel. I feel good. Feel good, look good and you play good.”
- Rookie wing Drake Powell, one of the Nets‘ five first-round picks, has been cleared for full-contact work earlier this week, Lewis writes in a separate story. Powell, selected with the No. 22 pick, missed Summer League due to a left knee injury that surfaced during the pre-draft process.
Atlantic Notes: Porter Jr., Hart, Celtics Lineup, Simons
Michael Porter Jr. took a back seat offensively with the Nuggets while Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were the main options. That will change with the Nets, as the rebuilding club will look to Porter as its top crunch-time option, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes.
“Over here, it’s going to be completely different, and I have to be ready for that,” Porter said. “I have to be ready to be fresh as a go-to guy in the fourth quarter, and I’m aware of that. So, it’s going to be an adjustment. There’s going to be some growing pains and a growing period. But I’m ready for it.”
General manager Sean Marks confirmed that Porter, who was acquired this offseason, will have an expanded role on his new team.
“He’s another player that has something to prove,” Marks said. “He’s played on a championship team, and obviously, this is going to be a different market, a different environment, and probably different expectations.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks forward Josh Hart said he’ll embrace a sixth-man role if that is what new coach Mike Brown chooses but that he “deserves” to start, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post relays. “I had the best year of my career last year, but that’s in the past,” he said. “I think I’m a starter in the league. I think I deserve to be a starter in the league, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s best for the team. Last year, I talked about sacrifice the whole time and kind of being that separate mentality and being a good steward of my gifts and those kinds of things. So I think it would be extremely selfish for me to go out there and demand to start and all those kinds of things. So, whatever Mike wants to do or doesn’t wanna do, I’m cool with. And time will tell what that is, but I’m gonna figure it out.”
- Few teams changed their rosters more over the summer than the Celtics, who spent their offseason shedding salary in the aftermath of Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury. The NBC Sports Boston staff made their predictions on what the rest of the lineup will look like on opening night aside from returnees Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
- One of the key additions by the Celtics, Anfernee Simons, has an expiring $27.7MM contract. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe opines that the front office shouldn’t be eager to deal the high-scoring guard. While Washburn believes a strong season could earn Simons a contract in the $40MM-per-year range, he thinks the Celtics might be better off determining his impact and potential before making a decision next summer. If it does not go well, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens can always dangle Simons at the February trade deadline.
Knicks Notes: Hart, Towns, Rotation, Brunson, Bridges
Knicks forward Josh Hart underwent a procedure on his right ring finger in July, but he told reporters at the team’s media day on Tuesday that he recently aggravated that finger issue and will likely have to wear a splint this season, as Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.
Hart’s hope is that the splint will suffice for 2025/26 and he’ll be able to address the injury again next summer, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. While his goal is to be available for the entire season, the 30-year-old acknowledged that if he can’t play like himself as a result of the injury, he may have to address it earlier than the 2026 offseason.
“I hate playing with anything on my hands,” Hart said (Twitter link via Edwards). “It might take a little getting used to. That’s the best scenario (playing with a finger splint).”
Here are a few more highlights from the Knicks’ media day:
- According to Edwards (Twitter link), Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns said today that he didn’t undergo any procedures on his finger or knee during the offseason, contrary to a June report. For what it’s worth, the wording in that ESPN report from June has since been updated to indicate that Towns underwent “treatment” on those injuries, rather than “procedures.”
- Asked today about the team’s lineup and rotation, new Knicks head coach Mike Brown said “it’s too early” to make a final decision on his starting five, adding that he anticipates using a nine- or 10-man rotation (Twitter links via Edwards).
- Multiple Knicks players, including star guard Jalen Brunson, expressed appreciation for former head coach Tom Thibodeau (Twitter link via Edwards). “It’s sad to see a man I’ve known for a long time part ways with this organization,” Brunson said. “He’s meant a lot to me. I’ve expressed that to him publicly and personally. He’s meant a lot to my career.”
- Mikal Bridges signed a four-year extension this offseason that came in about $6MM below his maximum extension. He said on Tuesday that he agreed to sign for $150MM instead of $156MM because he wants to “win bad” and knew it would help the organization if he accepted a little less. “I got a good amount of money,” Bridges said.
Jordan Clarkson Explains Why He Signed With Knicks
Joining the Knicks was an easy decision for Jordan Clarkson after he reached a buyout agreement with Utah in early July, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The veteran guard explained the process during a taping of “The Roommates” podcast Saturday night with new teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
Clarkson said he was at the Wimbledon tennis tournament when his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, called to ask where he wanted to go. Clarkson picked New York, and Paul contacted the team to see if there was mutual interest.
“It all happened in two minutes,” Clarkson said. “Then I was a Knick.”
Heading into his 12th NBA season, Clarkson is joining an organization that gives him his best shot at winning a title. The Knicks are coming off an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals and are considered by many to be the favorites in the East this season.
Clarkson said the passion of New York fans also played a major role in his decision.
“The arena (Madison Square Garden), honestly,” he said. “Feeling the energy from the fans. Knowing they’re going to let you have it if you’re playing like s–t. But when you’re playing great, it’s all love. At the end of the day, I just want to feel the energy. Get to play with y’all (Brunson and Hart).”
Brunson indicated that he and Clarkson have discussed teaming up in the past, telling the crowd at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, “I’m not going to say when, but me and Jordan talked about this a while ago.”
Clarkson only appeared in 37 games last season with the Jazz, but he was still productive when he was on the court, averaging 16.2 PPG in 26 minutes per night while shooting 40.8% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range.
He’s a former Sixth Man of the Year, earning that honor with Utah during the 2020/21 season, and the Knicks will be counting on him to provide instant offense off the bench. Bondy points out that at age 33, Clarkson will be the oldest player in New York’s projected rotation.
“Y’all been doing great things over here,” he told Brunson and Hart. “I just want to come in here and enhance what y’all got going on.”
Atlantic Notes: Andonian, Sixers, Knicks
Ariana Andonian will be named the general manager of the Sixers‘ NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
Andonian is already the Sixers’ VP of player personnel, a position she has held since last September. She was previously the Grizzlies’ director of player personnel and a scouting coordinator for the Rockets. She graduated from USC in 2015 and received her MBA from Duke in 2020.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- How can the Sixers regain relevance in the Eastern Conference chase? According to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, they must treat oft-injured stars Joel Embiid and Paul George with kid gloves. He suggests plenty of load management, including no back-to-backs for either one and even some road trip “vacations.” Hayes calculates there should be at least 17 games in which neither is available and believes both of them should play sparingly until around the trade deadline.
- The Knicks won’t begin training camp until Sept. 24 but The Athletic’s James Edwards III offers up his depth chart surprises, rotations and starting lineup changes. Edwards believes Mitchell Robinson should start in the middle with Josh Hart serving as the sixth man. Edwards rounds out the second unit with Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, Guerschon Yabusele and Ariel Hukporti.
- In case you missed it, the Raptors are making general manager Bobby Webster their full-time head of basketball operations. Get all the details here.
Knicks’ Josh Hart Undergoes Finger Procedure
Knicks guard Josh Hart has undergone a surgical procedure on his right ring finger, New York has announced (Twitter link).
According to the Knicks, the 6’4″ guard first suffered the injury during New York’s playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The team expects him to return to the hardwood at some point later this summer.
The Villanova alum, 30, has endeared himself as a critical role player for New York across parts of the past three seasons.
In 2024/25, shifting into a full-time starting role for the first time since joining the Knicks, Hart averaged 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in a league-high 37.6 minutes per game across 77 healthy regular season contests.
Hart is entering the second season of a four-year, $80.9MM contract. He has two guaranteed years left, followed by a 2027/28 player option.
Despite finishing with a 51-31 record and making the Eastern Finals for the first time in a quarter century, New York let go longtime head coach Tom Thibodeau after five largely successful seasons.
Major injuries to All-Star players have lowered the playoff ceilings of the Pacers, Celtics and Bucks, leaving the East more open than in years prior. Having added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to augment their incumbent core players, the Knicks appears ideally positioned to via for the conference crown in 2025/26.
Knicks Notes: Kidd, Coaching Search, Offseason, Thibodeau
The Knicks‘ interest in reuniting with Jason Kidd, who played one season for them, this time as a head coach, has been well documented. But with Kidd under contract with the Mavericks, the likeliest pathway for New York to do so would be via trade, writes Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.
How exactly would such a trade work? Pincus suggests a deal that would see the Knicks sending out the 2026 Wizards’ protected first-round pick as well as top-four protected swap rights to their own 2026 first-rounder. Pincus compares the proposal to the Clippers trading a 2015 first-round pick to the Celtics in order to bring Doc Rivers into the fold, as well as the Bucks trading two second-round picks to the Nets to bring Kidd to Milwaukee.
The question for New York would ultimately be, with so few tradable assets available to them, would it make sense to use two valuable resources on a coach already under contract? Of course, if Dallas stands firm on its stance that Kidd isn’t available, the discussion may be moot.
We have more notes on the Knicks:
- While the Knicks’ 2025 offseason revolved around reshaping and finalizing their core moving forward, the 2026 offseason will see them focused on adding crucial bench depth once they address the coaching vacancy, Yossi Gozlan writes for Third Apron (Substack link). In his offseason preview, Gozlan predicts the Knicks will operate above the first tax apron but below the second in order to maximize their limited flexibility. Given their limited ability to add a higher-salary player if they don’t move a key rotation piece, Gozlan suggests targeting young wings who might face roster crunches, such as the Rockets’ Cam Whitmore or Magic’s Jett Howard.
- The Knicks will have formal interviews next week with Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown, two of their top head coaching candidates, reports James L. Edwards III for The Athletic. Edwards also writes that the Knicks may circle back on Kidd and Bulls’ head coach Billy Donovan, despite having their interview requests denied, confirming an ESPN report. The Knicks will also begin checking in on assistant coaches as they cast as wide a net as possible.
- Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart reiterated their appreciation for Tom Thibodeau on the latest episode of The Roommates Show podcast, Jared Schwartz writes for The New York Post. This was the first time Brunson, who has known Thibodeau his whole life, has experienced his NBA coach being fired. “To have Thibs to do what he did for my career, I’m just so grateful and thankful for. Not enough things can be said about what he’s meant to myself, my career,” Brunson said. Hart, who has experienced six coaches in eight seasons, also expressed gratitude: “He helped make me into the player that I am. I had a lot of instability in the early part of my career, and he kind of gave me that stability and that opportunity to flourish as a player in the league, as a starter in the league. I’m always gonna be forever grateful for him.” The two teammates and friends added that Thibodeau deserves a lot of credit for the strong Knicks foundation that has been built over the last few years.
- Former Knick Austin Rivers was less positive about his time under Thibodeau. “I’m not really a Thibs guy. I played for him, it wasn’t the best experience personally, didn’t treat me well at all,” Rivers said on a recent episode of his podcast Off Guard With Austin Rivers, via Alex Kirschenbaum of Athlon Sports. Rivers describes his first interaction with Thibodeau upon joining the team, saying, “Thibodeau comes up to me and says, ‘Hey man, excited for you to be here. I wanted Derrick [Rose], but you’ll do great…’ And he walked away.” Rivers’ grievances don’t end with the coach, though. He expressed frustration with how his trade was handled, saying, “They don’t do business the right way sometimes.”