Knicks to Rest Regulars, Start Backups vs. Wizards

The New York Knicks are going with a literal back-up plan when they host the Washington Wizards in their penultimate exhibition game of 2025.

Per Ian Begley of SNY, the Knicks will hold out regular starting five OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Mitchell Robinson, and Karl-Anthony Towns out, as well as reserves Josh Hart, Ariel Hukporti, and Landry Shamet when the Wizards visit Madison Square Garden for a preseason tilt.

In the opening five's places, Begley reports, tenured point guard Miles McBride will headline the way next to touted newcomers Malcolm Brogdon, Jordan Clarkson, and Guerschon Yabusele while the quintet is rounded by 2024 first-round pick Pacome Dadiet. Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Hukporti was originally set to get the start but is out due to an illness, as is Shamet. Hart is missing his third consecutive preseason game since going down with a back injury during the Knicks' preseason opener in Abu Dhabi.

It's thus a night of experimentation for the Knicks (3-0), who will showcase some of their top offseason acquisitions with the backup five. By far the most intriguing case, however, is that of Dadiet, who will start for the second time this preseason.

Dadiet also started the aforementioned exhibition opener against Philadelphia earlier this month, getting the nod when Anunoby was dealing with a minor hand injury. The 25th pick in the 2024 draft out of France struggled in that showcase, going 1-of-6 from the field (including 0-of-5 from three) while losing three turnovers.

Dadiet's name has surfaced in recent metropolitan trade rumors, as the Knicks may have to send off a contract or two if they plan on keeping all of their offseason hauls.

"He's just got to continue to understand how big he is. He's long. He's a big wing. At time he doesn't utilize it," Brown said of Dadiet in his pregame statements in video from SNY. "At times, he's a little quiet because he's young and he's unsure at times of what he should be saying or doing. We keep trying to throw him in the fire as much as possible."

"Come the regular season, I don't know how many minutes he's going to get per game," Brown continued. "But he definitely has a chance to be a player in this league for a long time and you want to help try to speed that development up."

The game will also be lacking some relative starpower on the other end: per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Washington will hold out CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton, and Alex Sarr as it plays the latter half of a back-to-back while Bilal Coulibaly and AJ Johnson will each miss their second straight showing.