New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are expected to begin the 2024-25 season without center Mitchell Robinson.

According to SNY's Ian Begley, Robinson will not be ready for the start of the regular season and is targeting a "December/January return date." The Knicks want to ensure that the 26-year-old is "100 percent healthy" before his season debut.

Robinson wasn't expected to be ready for the start of training camp "earlier this month," per Begley.

The former second-round pick underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle on May 13.

Robinson is able to impact games with his rim protection and offensive rebounding when healthy, owning careers averages of 8.0 points and 7.9 rebounds to go along with 1.9 blocks per game.

Injuries have limited him in his career, as he's appeared in over 70 games just once throughout his six seasons in the NBA. He dealt with ankle issues during his 2023-24 campaign, suiting up in a mere 31 contests.

It'll be more difficult for the Knicks to replace Robinson's production after former center Isaiah Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency. Hartenstein started 62 games in the regular season and playoffs for New York last year.

The Knicks will likely start Precious Achiuwa at center until Robinson is able to return, but head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted at potentially moving three-time All-Star power forward Julius Randle down a position.

"We'll look at some different things, because we have versatility — we could see Julius more at the 5," Thibodeau said, per Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. "I don't want to do that for long stretches, it would take its toll, but to have him do it for 10 or 15 minutes, I think he can do it well. He also would create a lot of [offensive] advantages."

New York enters the 2024-25 season with more defensive versatility after re-signing forward OG Anunoby and trading for Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster deal with the Brooklyn Nets. This could result in Thibodeau trying out small-ball lineups featuring Randle at center, especially with Robinson's upcoming absence.

The Knicks are attempting to compete with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers near the top of the Eastern Conference standings next season, but they'll need to survive without their starting center in order to do so.

After being limited to just 46 games last season due to a dislocated right shoulder, New York Knicks star forward Julius Randle is reportedly on the right track in his recovery.

According to ESPN's Chris Herring, Randle "said his recovery is going well, and he's expected to be ready to play by or near the start of the season."

Randle injured his shoulder during a win against the Miami Heat on Jan. 27. He and the Knicks initially held off on surgery in hopes that he would be able to return for the playoffs, but he ultimately underwent a season-ending procedure in April.

A three-time All-Star, Randle has been one of the primary options on offense since he signed with New York in 2019. Before going down with his shoulder injury last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

The emergence of star point guard Jalen Brunson and the addition of swingman OG Anunoby opened up more opportunities for Randle and worked wonders for the Knicks, as Herring pointed out that the team went 11-1 and outscored opponents by 202 points in the 12 games that the three of them played together.

New York re-signed Anunoby and added two-way star Mikal Bridges among a string of impressive offseason moves, so the team's outlook for the 2024-25 season looks even more promising.

A healthy Randle would help the Knicks solidify themselves as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.

The New York Knicks have both Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa on their roster again heading into the 2024-25 NBA season. So they have a pair of players who can handle the bulk of the responsibility at center.

At the same time, the Knicks could stand to upgrade their depth at the position.

It's been a bit of a hot topic of late, as New York may look to potentially add a center at some point in the future. That could happen at any point between now and the trade deadline on Feb. 6.

Which centers might the Knicks target should they explore the trade market?

SNY's Ian Begley recently listed a few potential options, including the Charlotte Hornets' Nick Richards, the Utah Jazz's Walker Kessler, the Portland Trail Blazers' Robert Williams and the Washington Wizards' Jonas Valanciunas.

Of those players, Kessler could be the most ideal center for New York to pursue.

Kessler is only 23, with two years of NBA experience under his belt. The 7-footer has been a solid role player for Utah, averaging 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds over 138 career games.

Also, Kessler isn't set to become a restricted free agent until after the 2025-26 season. So he could be a long-term fit with the Knicks if they went out and swung a trade with the Jazz to land him.

There's a good chance that Kessler hasn't reached his full potential, either. He may only continue to get better as he gets even more time in the league.

Would Utah even be willing to move Kessler this early in his career? That isn't known at this point. And New York certainly shouldn't overpay in a trade to make something happen.

But if the Jazz are willing to listen to reasonably priced offers, then the Knicks would be wise to get involved. Adding Kessler to a roster that already has Robinson and Achiuwa would further strengthen the group of big men in their rotation.

Begley seems to think the Knicks could be engaged in trade discussions for a center sooner rather than later.

"I'm a little surprised that the Knicks haven't signed a veteran backup center at this point. They have opened a championship window here with the [Mikal] Bridges trade," Begley wrote. "It would surprise me if they waited until the trade deadline to address the center position."

Maybe an aggressive mindset could bring Kessler to New York. It's a move that could end up working out quite well for both sides.

New York Knicks fans are not shy when it comes to offering advice to the team's starts.

During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers alongside teammate Josh Hart, Knicks star Jalen Brunson spoke about fans walking up to him and telling him what they think the team and head coach Tom Thibodeau should be doing. He joked he would quickly let his coach know about their concerns.

"They're like 'tell Thibs this, tell him that,'" Brunson said. "I'm like, 'you know what, I'll text him right now.," Brunson joked.

Brunson is entering his third season with New York and has quickly emerged as the face of the franchise. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 77 games for the Knicks in 2023-24, helping the team go 50-32 and earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

New York would fall in the Eastern Conference semi-finals but have high hopes for improvement in 2024-25. This started with acquiring Mikal Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby in the offseason, and Brunson's contract extension locked in the core for the next several seasons.

This helped tighten the talent gap between New York and the defending champion Boston Celtics and the pressure is on for this Knicks team.

As Brunson prepares for the next season and beyond, he should expect fans to have even more advice as the Knicks look to earn their first NBA Championship since 1973.

The New York Knicks are lacking some depth at the center position, but it sounds like star forward Julius Randle will help pick up the slack.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told Steve Ashburner of NBA.com that Randle will likely see time at center throughout the 2024-25 season.

"We could see Julius more at the 5," Thibodeau said. "I don't want to do that for long stretches, it would take its toll, but to have him do it for 10 or 15 minutes, I think he can do it well. He also would create a lot of [offensive] advantages."

The Knicks' depth took a hit when they lost center Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency after he chose to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Veteran center Mitchell Robinson will maintain his status as the starter, but he's working his way back from two ankle surgeries that cost him 50 regular-season games and most of New York's postseason run last year.

The team maintained some size by re-signing Precious Achiuwa and giving a training camp contract to veteran forward Marcus Morris. However, neither of them is a true center.

While Randle typically does most of his work from the power forward position, lineups with him at the center position could be effective for the revamped Knicks. The team acquired Mikal Bridges and re-signed OG Anunoby, creating one of the best wing combinations in the league. Along with star point guard Jalen Brunson and key reserves Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart, the Knicks will have a ton of talent on the floor at all times.

Randle has averaged five or more assists in three of the last four seasons, so moving him to center could allow him to play the role that Draymond Green played for the Golden State Warriors with their famed "Death Lineup." He would be an effective distributor who can open up opportunities for New York's three-point shooters.

The Knicks could suffer slightly on defense with Randle at center, but the benefit on offense would be too great to ignore. If the team can stay healthy, fans in New York will be in for some exciting basketball during the upcoming campaign.

The New York Knicks have added some depth in free agency as the 2024-25 NBA season nears.

The team announced Sunday that it had signed veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. to an Exhibit 9 contract after he spent the past season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks also signed Landry Shamet to an Exhibit 9 contract, meaning he and Morris will compete for the final roster spot. An Exhibit 9 contract is a non-guaranteed one-year deal that protects the team in case of a significant injury to the player.

With the addition of Morris, here's a look at how the Knicks depth chart could look when the season begins:

2024-25 New York Knicks Depth Chart

• PG: Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Tyler Kolek, Cameron Payne
• SG: Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Pacome Dadiet
• SF: OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Keita Bates-Diop, Chuma Okeke, Marcus Morris Sr. 
• PF: Julius Randle, Precious Achiuwa
• Mitchell Robinson, Jericho Sims, Ariel Hukporti

While Morris has certainly taken on a lesser role over the past few seasons, he could be a valuable veteran on a young Knicks roster. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season, playing 16.7 minutes per contest.

In the postseason, he put up 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds, including a 25-point outing in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

His competition for the final roster spot, Shamet, spent last season with the Washington Wizards, where he put up 7.1 points and 1.2 assists per game. The two play different roles with Shamet assuming more of a guard position, so the Knicks' decision on who to keep could come down to who the best fit would be.

The Knicks finished with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference a year ago at 50-32, falling just shy of beating the Indiana Pacers to advance to the Conference Finals. New York is looking to make a jump after reaching the conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons and will hope the addition of either Morris or Shamet would fill another hole.

The agent for Landry Shamet told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday that the veteran guard signed a one-year contract in free agency with the New York Knicks.

Shamet, 27, has had something of a nomadic NBA career thus far, playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards over the course of six seasons.

Last season, Shamet appeared in 46 games for the Wizards, averaging 7.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 three-pointers made in 15.8 minutes per contest.

Shamet was originally the No. 26 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft out of Wichita State by the Sixers, and he quickly developed into a valuable outside shooter off the bench.

He shot a career-best 42.2 percent from beyond the arc as a rookie, and averaged over nine points per game and exactly 2.1 three-pointers made per in game in each of his first three seasons.

Shamet's playing time has gone down over the past three seasons, though, as has his efficiency. Things bottomed out last season in Washington, as his 15.8 minutes per contest and 33.8 percent shooting percentage from long range were both career lows.

The Knicks are getting a player who shoots 38.4 percent from downtown in 348 career games, and he could be a useful player for them if he returns to performing at or near that level.

New York already has one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA, so it won't necessarily need Shamet to play significant minutes.

At guard alone, the Knicks have Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Cameron Payne, plus quality wings such as OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.

As a result, the Knicks are among the top contenders to win the Eastern Conference and perhaps an NBA championship, but it will take quality depth to get to that point.

Shamet has shown during his career that he can step in and be productive should injuries arise, and even if they don't, he can given them a quality 10 minutes in a playoff game and help shift momentum with a trifecta.

Shamet is the type of player contending teams always seem to be on the lookout for, and now the Knicks can stop their search after reaching a deal with him.

The New York Knicks had an extraordinary offseason, with the arrival of Mikal Bridges to the Big Apple and Jalen Brunson taking a team-friendly discount so that the organization can assemble the best team possible around him.

Despite the overwhelming positivity surrounding the team, there is one major uncertainty at a key position for the Eastern Conference powerhouse: center.

The team lost Isaiah Hartenstein left for Oklahoma City and an $87 million deal, leaving the team with Mitchell Robinson at the five and Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as his backups.

Though Robinson has played well, his lengthy history of injuries is worrisome and neither Achiuwa nor Sims are players any contending team wants to trot out in an extended starting role.

Achiuwa struggles to protect the rim while Sims and rookie Ariel Hukporti do not have the experience to calm any nerves about the weakness in the Knicks' otherwise stacked lineup.

For that reason, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on NBA Today (2:00 mark) that the team is expected to be buyers throughout the upcoming season and into the trade deadline, with Robert Williams III of the Portland Trailblazers being someone to watch.

The seventh-year man has a career average of 6.9 steals per game, shoots 72.9 percent from the paint, and adds nearly two blocks a game. In his best season, 2021-22 with the Celtics, Williams averaged 29.6 minutes and eight rebounds.

He is an explosive jumper, with an enormous 7-foot-5-inch wingspan and he would provide the Knicks with the depth necessary behind Robinson so that should the starter experience any ill effects from the ankle injury that prematurely ended his season, the team is not left to the unproven or ineffective options it currently has behind him.

The team has made the moves necessary to compete in the East against the likes of Boston, Philadelphia, and Miami. Not going the whole way and making sure the roster is as strong as it can be would be a massive disappointment to the players and the team's loyal, passionate fan base.

Williams fills that void, serves as an insurance policy in the event of any roadblocks with Robinson, gives the Knicks that physicality at the center position, and a chance to win the battle at the rim.

The team will not get to where they want to go without it.

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is apparently interested in a new watch.

After a viral video showed a man more excited to receive a signed Brunson jersey than he was to get a Rolex as a wedding gift, Brunson joked that he would trade the fan another signed jersey for the watch he received.

"I'll give you another jersey for the Rolex lol," Brunson said on X in response to the video.

To New York fans, a signed Brunson jersey is probably worth more than a Rolex these days. The seventh-year player has helped revamp the Knicks over the past two seasons and fans believe he can be the star that finally brings New York another championship.

He had a career year last season, putting up 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, leading the Knicks to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 50-32.

Despite missing Julius Randle and other key players in the postseason, Brunson took New York to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where the Knicks took the Indiana Pacers to seven games before falling short in Game 7 as Brunson left with a fractured hand.

Brunson's heroics didn't end after the Knicks' season. In July, he agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension with New York, $113 million less guaranteed than he would have been eligible for next offseason.

He made the unselfish move to give the Knicks more financial freedom to build a roster around him that's capable of competing for a championship.

The decision led to New York fans revering Brunson even more than they already did, and it's clear he'll be a fan favorite for years to come. Perhaps enough of a fan favorite to get a new Rolex.

New York Knicks star Julius Randle posted a cryptic message on social media after a fan photo made the rounds purportedly showing the team store not selling his jersey.

Randle reposted the photo in an Instagram story and then wrote, "The truth shall come to light."

It appears the Knicks store at Madison Square Garden does in fact have Randle's jersey on display, so maybe that's the "truth" he was referencing.

This comes against the backdrop of the 6'8" forward's long-term future in the Big Apple being in some doubt. He's eligible to become a free agent next offseason and him declining his $30.9 million player option seems a likely outcome with the salary cap going up and up.

Extending Randle is a tricky call for the Knicks because they've already committed a lot of money to OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson. Next on the list will be Mikal Bridges, who can hit free agency in 2026.

Paying Randle at his market rate on top of that would significantly restrict New York's financial flexibility moving forward. He nonetheless remains on the roster despite what might be an expiring contract, though that could be partially down to other factors.

The Athletic's Fred Katz reported on Aug. 21 that "I don't believe there is a team in the NBA that would value the three-time All-Star more than the Knicks do." He cited one front-office official who said Randle's trade value is "neutral, at best."

So don't expect his jersey to be leaving the MSG store anytime soon.