The New York Knicks will have plenty of guards at their disposal this upcoming season, but how they will stagger the minutes remains to be seen. Jalen Brunson will get the bulk of the point guard minutes as he is the team’s best player, they have a couple of options to run the second unit.
The official point guards on the roster currently are Brunson, Miles McBride, Tyler Kolek, and Cam Payne. Payne was signed to a one-year minimum deal and likely will be the team’s third-string guard, mostly serving as a depth piece in the event that they deal with a mountain of injuries again. McBride and Kolek are the main guards who will be fighting for minutes behind Brunson.
Miles McBride is expected to remain a key piece for the Knicks this upcoming season
McBride could have a slightly reduced role than the one he had last season given that Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart will likely return to the bench, but he is still expected to see the court a good amount after a breakout campaign last season.
McBride averaged 8.3 points and shot 41% from three in 68 games played last season. As a starter, he put his impact on full display by averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and shot 40% from three in 14 starts. Given that he is quickly developing into a strong rotation piece, he figures to be a key member of the second unit this upcoming season.
Tyler Kolek could crack the Knicks’ rotation as the backup point guard
Kolek was impressive in Summer League with the Knicks as he averaged 7.0 assists in five games. The second-round draft pick out of Marquette turned many heads with this performance and many believe he can make an immediate impact on the Knicks’ bench with his elite playmaking abilities and solid scoring prowess.
However, there is no clear lane for Kolek to earn serious minutes unless head coach Tom Thibodeau expands his rotation. The Athletic’s Fred Katz suggested that he could see the bulk of his rookie season spent on the bench, getting sporadic minutes occasionally as McBride did for the greater part of his first two NBA seasons.
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If Thibodeau were to expand his rotation to 10 players to get Kolek playing time, he would likely be the primary backup point guard with McBride assuming the shooting guard role in the second unit. That duo can be strong offensively, but the overall lack of size to the second unit could pose a challenge on the defensive side.
The Knicks need better offense from the second unit in 2024
The lack of defense might be a turn-off for Thibodeau, who emphasizes defense in his coaching style. However, the sacrifice may be worth it as the Knicks desperately need better offense off the bench to support Brunson in the minutes he is off the floor. The team’s bench ranked towards the bottom in a number of offensive categories last season, and the Knicks had an 8.6 net rating with Brunson on the floor versus a -4.8 net rating when he was off the court.
How the Knicks utilize the surplus of guards on the roster remains to be seen, but they have a variety of ways they can insert them into the rotation and provide them each with meaningful minutes to make the team significantly deeper this upcoming season.
