After the Knicks faced mounting injuries that eventually ended their 2023-24 season, they revamped their bench depth this summer in hopes of avoiding a similar fate should they get similarly unlucky. They drafted four prospects and signed guys who played consistent bench minutes last season in hopes of withstanding whatever injury bug may hit them in pursuit of the franchise’s first championship in more than 50 years.
They proved last season that they could fight their way through the regular season without two of their three best players, marching to the second seed largely without Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. But by the playoffs, they ran out of options — are they prepared to avoid that scenario this time around?
Beyond their expected core nine-man rotation, the Knicks have: Jericho Sims, Ariel Hukporti, Jacob Toppin, Keita Bates-Diop, Chuma Okeke, Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar Jr., Tyler Kolek and Cameron Payne. They have some options at each position, but how reliable will they be?
Toppin, McCullar Jr. and Hukporti are on two-way deals, and are likely to spend most of their playing time in Westchester. It would be interesting to see Toppin get minutes, but he doesn’t appear to be high in the pecking order — and It’s rare for someone in his position to immediately make a positive impact on a competitive team.
Dadiet and Kolek have the chance to be exceptions. Dadiet’s was New York’s lone first-round pick this draft, but at just 19 years old coming off a rocky Summer League, it’s possible he also ends up getting reps in the G League.
Kolek looked much more NBA-ready, and is competing at a weaker position for the Knicks, with only Payne competing for the fourth guard slot. Kolek looked sharp with a historic assist-to-turnover ratio at Summer League, and appears to have an easily-translatable jumper and role.
Still, it’s difficult to project NBA performance off college and Vegas reps, and there’s an argument for looking towards the veteran option. Payne played 17.9 minutes a game in 78 appearances (including 10 starts) last season, averaging 9.3 points on 38.2% three-point shooting down the stretch for Philly.
As far as emergency guards go, a nine-year vet who’s been consistent from three and played in 58 postseason games — including a 2021 NBA Finals series, and impactful minutes against New York last year — isn’t a bad option. Neither Payne nor Kolek would be able to slide up a position, but if the Knicks are short a ball-handler, they will at least have their creation at the ready.
The wing is arguably New York’s strongest position between Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVinzenco and Josh Hart. However, its only real reserve option beyond the rookies is Okeke — 2019’s No. 16 overall pick — who didn’t lived up to his selection with the Magic.
Okeke is a strong wing who never added enough three to his three-and-D promise, as his deep shooting clip dropped every season to a lowly 28% from three. He should be able to maximize the rest of his game under Tom Thibodeau, but he’s no surefire option if somebody goes down.
It’s possible he could fill in at the four as well. Another option there is Bates-Diop, an athletic 6-foot-8 big who’s played for five teams in six seasons and joined the Knicks via the Bridges trade.
Despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks still have a value third-string center in Sims, or Precious Achiuwa should the former make a massive leap. Both have stepped up in the face of injuries before, to plenty of successes, and the Knicks have some creative options to play at the five should push come to shove.
SNY’s Ian Begley still believes the Knicks aren’t fully confident at the position and could look to sign a veteran five like Bruno Fernando, Omer Yurtseven, JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo. If they do so, the center and point guard spots are in decent enough shape to withstand a ding or two.
However, the middle of the floor is a little suspect — and it doesn’t take many absences to start looking towards rookies and options in the G League. The Knicks would have to cut guys to make room for additional signings, or could look to beef up the rotation at the trade deadline after watching the first half of the season play out.
That’s the likeliest outcome, given their expectations and injury history. The postseason takes a merciless physical toll, especially on a bruising team like the Knicks, and injuries will happen.
New York looked prepared for that last season, until it lost five players in two series. That may have been especially unlucky, but the lesson may be that you can never have too many reliable options.
