Projecting The New York Knicks Rotation For Next season

Everything in an NBA season does not go according to plan, but in this theoretical world of projections it will.

After a dizzying move of transactions the NBA is starting to quiet down for a prolonged break until the regular season is ready to start back up again. This is the time to start mapping out how teams will look as rosters are already pretty much set.

The Knicks didn’t shake things up this summer, but instead they decided to stay quiet in making one addition to the rotation while shipping out their backup power forward. This is a tremendously deep team that will need to rely on the sum of their parts rather than the pure high-end talent considering the lack of presence of a top-15 superstar on the team.

Will Tom Thibodeau stay with a nine-man rotation?

Last year Thibodeau tried to exercise his depth by playing more of the bench. The lack of cohesiveness in the beginning of the season led to him eventually strapping Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose to the bench, which gave the Knicks a consistent nine-man rotation. It will be interesting to see what the fiery coach ultimately chooses to do.

The Obvious (The star minutes)

Jalen Brunson- 35 Minutes

Brunson is the best player on the team and had a fabulous postseason run. This number could change a tick if the team is grinding at the end of the season to avoid the play-in tournament, but having a capable backup point guard lessens the need to overextend Brunson.

Julius Randle- 36 minutes

He’s basically averaged this amount over the past two seasons, but it’s important to note the lack of size behind him in the rotation. The chatter with fans and analysts surrounds how they’ll replace the Obi Toppin minutes, which likely means Randle will at least soak up all of his minutes and more from years prior.

The Indispensable (The 121 minutes left at the guard, wing, and forward spots)

Quentin Grimes- 25 minutes

The crunch is incredibly real when you get past the first two players on this list. Grimes is going to be a valued player of the Knicks this season because of his shooting and defensive acumen. He’ll likely be the starter next to Brunson, but the competition in the rotation doesn’t give him the longest leash if he gets off to a cold start.

RJ Barrett- 24 minutes

The last 10 games from Barrett were very encouraging, especially when you consider the production came during the playoffs. He is a true wing that gives the Knicks the size they need on the perimeter, but will need to do the little things in order to stay on the court. This is a steep drop in minutes for Barrett from his career average of 33 so it’ll be interesting how he handles such a difference in workload.

Immanuel Quickley- 24 minutes

In some ways Quickley was the star of the show last year. His ability to fill in for Brunson and keep the ship going when he was off the floor made him one of the most valuable backup point guards in the league last season. He averaged 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the 21 games that he started last season. Brunson battles through nagging injuries, but the outsized load he handles on offense makes it likely he’ll miss a similar amount of games to last season. That’ll give Quickley some more opportunity to drive the offense.

Josh Hart- 26 minutes

The Knicks went 23-13 in the 36 games that Hart played with the team to end the season. His ability to influence the game with his effort and hustle is paramount to the second unit, and helped the Knicks close many tight games throughout the season. He may be only 6’5 but it’s likely he’ll be the one to take on some of the backup minutes at the power forward position this season. His rebounding is elite and it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up against bigger opponents.

Donte DiVincenzo- 22 minutes

The newest member of the Knicks may be the one that needs to sacrifice the most. He would get the least amount of minutes from this grouping, but will still be an essential part of the team. The shooting on offense and ability to rack up deflections on defense makes him a player that will quickly endear himself to Thibodeau.

The Centers

Mitchell Robinson- 27 minutes

These may be the two easiest players to project minutes for. Last year Robinson took a step forward in his offensive rebounding rate and continued to be a force to be reckoned with on defense.

Isaiah Hartenstein- 21 minutes

Robinson has a tendency to miss 10-20 games every year so Hartenstein is a pivotal presence on this team. He started the year slowly due to an achilles issue, but still was able to play in every single game. Thibodeau was willing to let him do a little bit more from the high post as a facilitator toward the end of the year so that may be something to monitor.

Outside Looking In

Jericho Sims

He’ll have a role on the team, especially with Robinson’s injury history. Hartenstein is an iron man, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to repeat that level of durability. Thibodeau needs a true center on the court at all times making it likely that Sims suits up in 30-40 games.

Miles “Deuce” McBride

In an ideal world McBride would have been prepared to take on DiVincenzo’s assumed role, but he just didn’t flourish in his minutes last season. He’ll be the emergency guard that may gain some time if one of the guards is forced to miss some time. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him in an enlarged role if the team chooses to make a consolidation trade at the deadline or next season.