While the bulk of the New York Knicks’ roster is set for the start of the 2025-26 season, the team still has some loose ends to tie up before the start of the season.
After signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, who took slightly less than the taxpayer midlevel exception to come to the Knicks, New York can round out its main roster with one more veteran minimum player and a second-round rookie exception player.
It’s far too early to make too many sweeping conclusions about how the depth chart will look under new head coach Mike Brown, especially considering the Knicks still could add a rotation-level player with the minimum. You know what, though? It’s the middle of August and there’s not much going on. So, I’m going to give my way-too-early prediction about how the depth chart will look to begin the season, along with some thoughts. I’ll do another depth-chart prediction toward the end of the preseason.
Let’s get into it.
Way-early NYK depth chart prediction
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jalen Brunson |
Mikal Bridges |
OG Anunoby |
Karl-Anthony Towns |
Mitchell Robinson |
|
Miles McBride |
Jordan Clarkson |
Josh Hart |
Guerschon Yabusele |
Ariel Hukporti |
|
Tyler Kolek |
Pacome Dadiet |
Change to the starting lineup?
Let me start with this: I think Josh Hart deserves to be a starter, and if he ends up not being one (as I predict), I think it says more about the Knicks and Brown wanting to improve the defense than it does Hart. Having Mitchell Robinson as the anchor of the frontline will help do that. Furthermore, if there were to be a starting lineup change, Hart would handle it the best of anyone in last season’s starting lineup.
The starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns struggled in the postseason, despite the team making the Eastern Conference finals. That five-man group played a playoff-leading 335 minutes together and had a minus-6.2 net rating. Midway through the postseason, former head coach Tom Thibodeau, with a push from Hart himself, swapped Robinson into the starting lineup.
That Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Towns and Robinson lineup didn’t set the world on fire, but it performed better than the previous starting group (albeit with a smaller sample size). The new starting lineup had a minus-3.7 net rating in 65 total playoff minutes.
Ultimately, I think Brown and his staff end up inserting Robinson into the starting lineup permanently in order to best maximize the defense. My guess as of mid-August is that Robinson will be the first player to come out of the game for Yabusele so that New York can lean into a more five-out system, with Towns shifting to center.
It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if Brown did keep Hart in the starting lineup. He’s a big fan of Hart’s hustle and ability to connect the offense. We’ll see.
How many players will Brown have in his rotation?
While I had Ariel Hukporti listed as “backup center” in the above chart, I don’t think he’ll be the backup center. I’m assuming that Towns, Robinson, Yabusele and Hart will eat up all of the frontcourt minutes, with one of Towns or Robinson always being on the court. Maybe Brown sprinkles in a few minutes for Hukporti, particularly because of Robinson’s injury history, but I don’t see him being a fixture in the rotation to start the season (again, unless Robinson misses every three games or something for load management).
My hunch is that Brown will consistently use a nine-man rotation. Here is who I think it will consist of: Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Towns, Hart, Robinson, Miles McBride, Clarkson and Yabusele.
I don’t think the Knicks have the depth to go 10 deep, though it may benefit the organization to find occasional minutes for someone like Pacôme Dadiet. New York could still use a backup point guard, as I view McBride more as an off-ball guard. However, if the Knicks were to use their final veteran-minimum spot on Landry Shamet, which I’m led to believe is a real possibility, McBride will likely be the backup point guard.
Who could the Knicks sign as two-way players?
I wouldn’t be surprised if New York ended up signing second-round pick Mohamed Diawara to one of its three two-way spots. I’ve heard rumblings of that potentially happening since summer league.
After that, Kevin McCullar could return in one of the other two-way spots. It is my understanding, after talking to several people around the league, that McCullar isn’t eligible for the second-round exception slot on the main roster because he has one year of service. That spot has to go to someone who hasn’t had an NBA contract, and McCullar played last season on a two-way deal. For McCullar to make the main roster, the Knicks would have to sign him using their veteran minimum slot or make a trade to open up another space. I don’t see the former happening.
For the third spot, someone like Dink Pate or Ron Harper Jr. could make sense for New York.
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)