Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Pacome Dadiet (4) during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Knicks Deep-Trench Battles Worth Watching

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The New York Knicks may have made great strides in consolidating their bench depth this summer, but they still he work to do in narrowing down their expanded assortment of role players to a functional opening-night rotation.

Their starting lineup is just as dense as it was last season, and they now have the reserve scorers to give them that necessary playoff padding. The star New Yorkers will need to be rested and balanced by the spring should they look to take their championship hunt seriously, which the Knicks' front office has provided the resources for in signing Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele and various veteran guards for the journey ahead.

Those new faces will look to contend for regular bench minutes, but that leaves some of their incumbent contributors in awkward spots. Some of last season's fringe players are now pushed to the outskirts of the rotation, making for a noteworthy wrinkle for new head coach Mike Brown to sort out in this week's combination of preseason practices and exhibition games.

"After the Knicks were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals, the priority this offseason was improving a bench that ranked last in minutes per game," ESPN's Bobby Marks wrote. "Their starters, on the other hand, averaged 94 points, the second most since the 1986-87 season."

"The quest to strengthen their reserves ranged from internal development of their former draft picks, Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek, to exploring trades and seeking lower-cost options in free agency. Although Dadiet, Kolek, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson remain, New York went out and signed Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in early July and also signed Malcolm Brogdon, Garrison Mathews, Landry Shamet and Alex Len to non-guaranteed contracts."

New York Knicks Guard Landry Shamet Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Some of those home-drafted pieces will be looking for opportunities in their sophomore seasons, as well as Ariel Hukporti, but he's already looked to have made some rotational noise as a handy reserve big for New York to deploy. And unlike their numerous recent-signees, those young pieces are trade-eligible.

One of Kolek, Dadiet or McBride won't be on the roster in a few weeks if the team is as serious about keeping both Brogdon and Shamet as we've heard, and those two prospects make for much more likely trade bait than McBride, who's still expected to play a bench role as one of the team's regular floor-spacers and scorers. The only case for his seeing the door would be those veterans, as well as Clarkson, superseding him as ball-handlers on Brown's watch.

The playmaking Kolek and the shooting Dadiet are now pushed to an even deeper corner of the bench, with the Knicks taking this season of contention more seriously than they have in decades. They're readiness to meet the few high-stakes opportunities they're provided will tell whether they stick around.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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