Mitchell Robinson

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Barnes, Poeltl

The Knicks and veteran center Mitchell Robinson did not engage in any advanced discussions about a potential contract extension prior to 2025/26, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link), who is skeptical that a deal will come together during the regular season.

Still, assuming he’s healthy, Robinson should have plenty of suitors if he hits free agency next summer, Begley reported on The Putback.

The most likely path here is Mitchell Robinson … hitting free agency and then seeing what the market is like,” Begley said. “There’s going to be teams with cap space. If he’s healthy, he’s going to be very attractive on that open market.

Maybe the Knicks surprise me, and they do get a deal done in-season. … If he has this impact on the floor when he’s healthy, even though the Knicks are limiting him, teams know what he can do and he’s continuing to show it.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • In an extensive interview with Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard discusses his “relentless” desire to constantly improve his game. “I look at the word ‘relentless’ as a means to define who I am,” Pritchard told ClutchPoints. “It is an undying hunger to always keep getting better and better. Always striving for more. I am obviously very grateful for everything I have and will never take it for granted, but that relentlessness in me is always pushing for more. It’s always about getting to that next step in your career, life, or whatever it may be. Every day is a new opportunity to get better, and I live by that mindset. It’s a major reason why I’ve found so much success in my role with the Celtics.”
  • Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is off to a strong start to the season, particularly on the defensive end of the court, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen details, Barnes is at his best when he’s wreaking havoc as a weak side roamer — he is currently the only player in the league averaging at least 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game (he’s at 1.6 in both categories). “He’s been doing it for a long time, so there’s not much new there on the defensive end,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He’s just getting even more experienced. He’s getting to know the league and tendencies of the players even better. Scottie is a big part of our scouting preparation.”
  • Raptors center Jakob Poeltl will miss Saturday’s game in Philadelphia due to lower back injury management, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. It’s the second night of a back-to-back for Toronto, which won on the road in Atlanta on Friday for the team’s fourth consecutive victory following a four-game losing streak. The Raptors are currently 5-4.

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

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.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • 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

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.”

We have more on the Knicks:

  • 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.”

Knicks Notes: Bench, Adversity, Robinson, Donovan

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.

Here’s more from New York:

  • 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

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.”

There’s more on the Knicks:

  • 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).

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

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.

We have more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • 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.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Powell, Wolf, Oubre, Watford, Robinson

The members of the Nets‘ organization who are prioritizing a “good pick” in the 2026 draft likely aren’t overly upset about the team’s 0-4 start, but head coach Jordi Fernandez wasn’t pleased with the compete level he saw from his club in a blowout loss to Houston on Monday, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

“I need consistency and urgency. And that’s got to be like something that we cannot decide if we’re doing it or not,” Fernandez said. “It’s a matter of who we want to be, right? Giving up 42 (first-quarter points) to start, it’s not great. It’s just unacceptable to take an NBA game for granted. And our guys are trying. They just don’t know how much harder and focused they can do things. And I believe they’ll keep taking those steps. A lot of it is just lack of experience.”

Only two of the Nets’ five 2025 first-round picks were active in Houston, with Egor Demin (plantar fascia) ruled out and Drake Powell and Danny Wolf assigned to the G League. Still, seven of the 12 players who saw the floor for Brooklyn are under 25 years old, and three others are just 26.

As Lewis writes, the challenge for the Nets as an organization this season will be to lose enough games to get that high draft pick coveted by management and ownership while not establishing the sort of hard-to-break habits that will negatively impact the team’s culture going forward.

“A lot of these teams that try to bottom out by tanking like Brooklyn is doing, they think there’s no consequences,” one player agent told Lewis. “You risk eroding the environment you’re trying to create.”

We have more from around the Atlantic:

  • Powell played just two minutes in the Nets‘ opener, while Wolf has yet to make his regular season debut. Both players have been dealing with ankle injuries, but Fernandez suggested on Monday that they’ll likely get a look in the NBA after they spend some time with Long Island in the G League and get healthy. “We have a plan for everybody. Sometimes, those plans have to be made on the go because we didn’t know they’d sprain their ankles,” Fernandez said, per Lewis. “They did. Now, they’re ready to practice. Now, they can get real practices. That’s very good that they can do that, so when we need them, they’re ready to go. I’m very happy with the resources we have, how we use them, and it’s good that they have this practice and then they can help us soon.”
  • While the backcourt duo of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe has deservedly gotten much of the credit for the Sixers‘ hot start head coach Nick Nurse was effusive in his praise for the team’s third-leading scorer, Kelly Oubre Jr., after the forward racked up 25 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s win over Orlando. As Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports tweets, Nurse raved about Oubre’s defensive versatility and effort on the boards. “Kelly was awesome,” Nurse said. “That was one of Kelly’s best games, if not his best game, as a Sixer. He was awesome from the beginning.” The 29-year-old is on an expiring $8.38MM contract and was considered a possible trade candidate during the offseason.
  • Forward Trendon Watford will make his Sixers debut on Tuesday in Washington, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Watford, who signed with Philadelphia as a free agent over the summer, has been sidelined since training camp due to a right hamstring injury.
  • The Knicks have ruled out center Mitchell Robinson for a fourth straight game to open the season due to left ankle injury maintenance, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Robinson has yet to play this season despite no indication from the team that he suffered a new injury or a setback this month.

Knicks Notes: Towns, Robinson, Brown, Depth, McBride

The Knicks fired former head coach Tom Thibodeau over the offseason shortly after they made their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years. However, star big man Karl-Anthony Towns tells DJ Siddiqi of RG.org that he doesn’t view 2025/26 as a championship-or-bust season.

I feel all 30 teams in NBA are walking in saying the same thing,” Towns said. “It’s unfair just to say that’s for us. I think every team walks in saying the same thing. We’re just focusing on being the best version of ourselves every single day. Every year, you have to earn the respect of the city, continue to earn the respect of the city and the give the fans something to cheer for.

Just be the best version ourselves when it comes to that point, when the postseason rolls around and play our best basketball. To build as a team so we can play our best basketball when we need to.”

In case you missed it, Towns said after Wednesday’s opening win versus Cleveland that he’s battling a Grade 2 right quad strain.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Although head coach Mike Brown continues to insist that Mitchell Robinson hasn’t sustained a new injury, it’s concerning that the 27-year-old center will miss his second straight game on Friday against Boston with what the team calls left ankle injury management, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson has made just 48 regular season appearances over the past two campaigns largely due to issues with his left ankle, which has been surgically repaired two times over that span, Schwartz notes.
  • Wednesday’s win was a good example of how different Brown’s vision for the Knicks is compared to Thibodeau’s, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post details in a subscriber-only story. With the obvious caveat that it was only one game, the players seemed to be bought in to Brown’s fast-paced offense and energized by the fact that the new coach used an extended rotation. “I truly believe this team is a deep team,” Brown said. “Give (president) Leon Rose and his group a lot of credit. It’s my job to keep trying to find combinations out on the floor that work. Just like they’ve got a lot of room to grow, I’ve got a lot of room to grow, too. I’m still learning. The good part about is there are a lot of different ways I can go with it and I can learn on the fly because we have guys that can play. I like to play a lot of guys. I don’t know if I’ll play 11 guys every night but we like to play as many as we can. We want everybody to be ready in case their number’s called anytime.”
  • Tyler Kolek and Ariel Hukporti didn’t get much playing time as rookies last season, but earned minutes — and praise — from Brown on Wednesday, per Peter Sblendorio of The New York Daily News. “I thought both guys came in and tried to do what they’re capable of doing,” Brown said of Kolek and Hukporti. “We don’t need anybody to come in and play hero ball or anything like that. Play to your strengths, and both of those guys, they can do some things out on the floor.”
  • Miles McBride played a critical role in Wednesday’s opener, scoring 15 points on only seven field goal attempts and recording a team-high plus/minus of +17 in 26 minutes, according to Schwartz, who says the 25-year-old guard looks like an ideal fit in Brown’s pace-and-space offense. McBride will start on Friday, tweets Bondy.

New York Notes: Robinson, Thibodeau, Demin, Thomas

The Knicks are facing the ghosts of injuries past as recently anointed starting center Mitchell Robinson opens the season inactive due to load management, writes Kristian Winfield for the New York Daily News.

Winfield notes that there’s no official timetable for Robinson’s season debut, a dissatisfying data point in a confusing saga that began when Robinson sat out the second half of the team’s October 9 preseason game after playing the first half. According to head coach Mike Brown, that uncertainty may not be resolved in the near future.

There may be a stretch of five games where we may sit him. There may be a stretch of two games where we may sit him,” Brown said. “There’s no definition of what load management is. You just go along … myself and the medical team and the front office will go along as we see fit, and we’ll decide if we want to sit him during practice or we want to sit him in a game. It’s as simple as that.”

Stefan Bondy of the New York Post also expresses some confusion regarding Robinson’s status, writing that he doesn’t understand why the big man is sitting out on opening night if he didn’t suffer some sort of injury or setback during the preseason. Bondy also relays Brown’s explanation for Robinson missing the team’s season opener.

Just because he might be able to play tonight, he might be able to practice today, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m gonna play him or I’m gonna practice him,” Brown said.

We have more from around the world of New York basketball:

  • The Knicks‘ decision to part ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau this summer after one of their most successful seasons in recent memory came down to a philosophical misalignment with certain members of the front office, writes Ian O’Connor for The Athletic, who says those front office executives were focused far more on Thibodeau’s flaws than his strengths. “In their world, the players were 51-0 and Tom was 0-31… He also had a sense of betrayal,” a source close to him said. “When you find out that people you helped either weren’t with you in the end or didn’t fight for you like you fought for them, that stings.”
  • Egor Demin was intent on preparing his body for the Nets‘ season as he recovered from plantar fasciitis, writes Peter Botte for the New York Post. Demin has added over 10 pounds of muscle since being drafted and he said the difference is noticeable. “[I wanted] to be able to compete against athletes as we have [in the NBA], so I can be a little bit heavier to be stronger on defense, on offense, to get into the paint, and things like this,” Demin said. “As long as I’m above that [number], it’s good, but not too much [because] I want to still be able to run. But I think I’m in a good balance right now with my weight, muscles and condition.” Demin came off the bench on Wednesday in the Nets’ season opener against the Hornets.
  • Cam Thomas will return to free agency in 2026 after accepting his qualifying offer following a lengthy standoff with the Nets this summer. However, he’s not struggling to keep his eye on the ball, literally, as he enters another contract year, writes The New York Post’s Brian Lewis. “I’m not really worried about that. It’ll take care of itself,” Thomas said of his place in Brooklyn and his contract situation going forward. “The main goal is just being on the court and playing, being out there. I love to hoop, I love to play, so that’s really the main thing I’m trying to do this year. Whatever happens, happens. I’ll let that take care of itself.” After a season shortened by injuries, Thomas came into this year slimmed down and ready to take on an even bigger role.

Knicks Notes: Hart, Robinson, Towns, Brown, Yabusele

One of the questions facing the Knicks this preseason was whether new coach Mike Brown would choose Mitchell Robinson or Josh Hart as the team’s fifth starter. As it turns out, neither will play in the season opener against Cleveland on Wednesday. They’re listed as out on the official injury report and another starter, Karl-Anthony Towns, is questionable due to a strained right quad, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.

Hart is dealing with lumbar spasms, according to Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. In terms of the oft-injured Robinson, it’s essentially left ankle injury management.

“With Mitch, we just have to be smart,” Brown said. “That’s part of load management. Just because he might be able to play tonight, he might be able to practice today, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m gonna play him or I’m gonna practice him.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Brown has been tasked to bring the Knicks a long-awaited championship. He says they can’t skip any steps along the way, Schwartz writes. “The good part about it is, the Finals or the championship round doesn’t happen until June,” Brown said. “We’ve got a long time to get there. It starts on the daily. We can’t skip any steps. We just wanna keep taking steps, because it’s gonna be a process. Knowing that we might take one or two steps backwards, but hopefully we can regroup and continue to take three, four, five more forward.”
  • Towns isn’t entirely sure how his skill set fits into Brown’s offensive schemes, which are more up-tempo with a heavier emphasis on movement compared to Tom Thibodeau’s more methodical system. “Honestly, I don’t know, but we’re figuring it out. It’s just different,” Towns told Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. Brown is confident Towns will adjust. “First thing is, it’s going to be a process, especially with him missing the last couple of games,” the Knicks’ new coach said. “He’ll be in the strong corner, he’ll be in the weak corner, he can be the push man, or he can be the weak wing, and also he can be at the top of the key and in the dunker. That will help him, the movement.”
  • Guerschon Yabusele has tipped the scales after signing a two-year contract as a free agent, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post. The new Knicks forward weighs in at 283 pounds, 18 pounds more than last season with the Sixers. “I did not ask him to put on weight or take off weight,” Brown said. “That’s something that our performance people talk to him about.”