New format awaits Westchester Knicks in G League

Jericho Sims, the New York Knicks‘ 58th pick in the NBA Draft, will have more games to develop with the Westchester Knicks in the reformatted G League season.

The new G League format will feature two tournaments within the season.  On top of the 36-game regular season, a 14-game expanded Showcase Cup will bring the total games to 50 for each team.

The Showcase Cup tips off on Nov. 5 and will conclude at the annual NBA G League Winter Showcase from Dec. 19-22. Meanwhile, the regular season begins on Dec. 27.

The G League Ignite is the pathway program of the NBA for the top high school prospects who didn’t go the college route.

In the Showcase Cup, the 29 regular teams and the G League Ignite will be divided into four regional pods where they will play 12 games against each other in NBA G League markets.

The teams with the best winning percentage in each regional pod and the next top four teams across the league will advance to the single-elimination NBA G League Winter Showcase.

Team records will reset in the 36-game regular season as the NBA G League Ignite and expansion team Capitanes de la Ciudad de México will only play in the Showcase Cup. The top six teams in each conference will qualify for the NBA G League playoffs.

The Knicks will open their Showcase Cup schedule against Capital City Go-Go in back-to-back road games on Nov. 5 and 6.

Their regular season tips off against the Lakeland Magic in similar back-to-back road games on Dec. 28 and 30.

Sims, who signed a two-way contract with the Knicks, averaged 8.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, one assist, and one block in the NBA Summer League. He shot a staggering 81 percent from the field. As a two-way player, Sims is eligible to join the Knicks’ active roster up to 50 games in the regular season.

Joining Sims in the Knicks’ G League team is former UCLA point guard Jaylen Hands, acquired from the Long Island Nets on Monday. The Knicks sent the returning rights of Bryce Brown to the Nets in exchange for Hands, the 56th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Hands played overseas last season, averaging 8.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 12 games for the FMP of the ABA League First Division and Basketball League of Serbia.

MJ Walker and Aamir Simms, who played for the Knicks Summer League team in Las Vegas, will likely join Sims and Hands in the G League. The Knicks signed both Walker and Simms to an Exhibit 10 deal last month.

Walker averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in three games with the Knicks’ Summer League team. On the other hand, Simms posted 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in four games in Las Vegas.

The rest of the Westchester Knicks roster is expected to be announced in the next coming days.

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