After the Knicks faced mounting injuries that ultimately ended their 2023-24 season, they revamped their bench depth this summer in hopes of avoiding a similar fate should they be similarly unlucky. They drafted four prospects and signed guys who played consistent bench minutes last season in hopes of weathering any injuries that may befall them in pursuit of the franchise’s first championship in more than 50 years.
They proved last season that they could fight through the regular season without two of their three best players, marching to the second seed mostly without Julius Randle and AND Anunoby. But before the playoffs, they ran out of options — are they ready to avoid that scenario this time?
Beyond their expected core nine-man rotation, the Knicks have: Jericho Sims, Ariel Hukporti, James Toppin, Keita Bates-Diop, Chuma Okeke, Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar Jr., Tyler Kolek and Cameron Payne. They have a few options at each position, but how reliable will they be?
Toppin, McCullar Jr. and Hukporti are two-way deals, and will likely spend most of his 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 make an immediate positive impact on a competitive team.
Dadiet and Kolek have the opportunity to be exceptions. Dadiet was New York’s only first-round pick this draft, but at just 19 years old coming off a rocky Summer League, it’s possible he ends up getting reps in the G-League as well.
Kolek has looked much more NBA-ready, and competes 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.
However, it is difficult to project NBA performance from college and Vegas representatives, and there is an argument for looking to 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 has been consistent from three and played in 58 postseason games — including a 2021 NBA Finals series, and effective minutes against New York last year — isn’t a bad choice. Neither Payne nor Kolek could slide up a position, but if the Knicks are short a ball-handler, they’ll at least have their creation ready.
The wing is arguably New York’s strongest position among Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVinzenco and Josh Hart. However, its only real backup option beyond the rookies is Okeke — the 2019 No. 16 overall pick — who did not fulfill his option with the Magic.
Okeke is a strong wing who never added enough threes to his three-and-D promise, as his deep shooting dropped each season to a lowly 28% from three. He should be able to maximize the rest of his game under Tom Thibodeaubut he is not a sure choice if someone goes down.
It is possible that he could also replace at the four. Another option there is Bates-Diop, an athletic 6-foot-8 big who played for five teams in six seasons and joined the Knicks via the Bridges trade.
Despite losing Isaiah Hartensteinthe Knicks still have a valuable third-string center in Sims, or Precious Achiuwa be the first to make a huge leap. Both increased before injuries before, to many successes, and the Knicks have some creative options to play at the five should push to come to a shift.
SNYs Ian Begley still believe that the Knicks are not fully confident in the position and could look to sign a veteran five as Bruno Fernando, Omer Yurtseven, JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo. If they do, the centers and point guards are in decent enough shape to withstand a ding or two.
However, the middle of the floor is a bit suspect — and it doesn’t take many absences to start looking at rookies and options in the G League. The Knicks would have to cut guys to make room for more signings, or could look to bolster the rotation at the trade deadline after watching the first half of the season.
That’s the most likely outcome, given their expectations and injury history. The postseason takes a merciless physical toll, especially on a bruised team like the Knicks, and injuries are going to happen.
New York looked set for that final season, until it lost five players in two series. That may have been particularly unlucky, but the lesson may be that you can never have too many reliable options.
