Jalen Brunson paused. So did Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. The Knicks are less than a month away from tipping off a season loaded with championship expectations, but one question still looms as training camp opens in Tarrytown:
What will this all look like when the games begin to count?
“I don’t really know honestly,” Hart said Tuesday at the Knicks’ Media Day. “I think we are going to have to figure it out.”
The Knicks will get their first look on Oct. 2 in the preseason opener. The real thing begins Oct. 22. And in a wide-open Eastern Conference devastated by injuries to Jayson Tatum (Boston) and Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana), and further shaken by Damian Lillard’s departure from Milwaukee, the path at least back to the conference finals appears favorable.
But new head coach Mike Brown isn’t banking on assumptions. He’s chasing identity — and as training camp opens, that identity remains under construction.
“That will emerge as we make the decisions,” Brown said. “But one thing we want to make sure we do offensively is we want to play fast, get the floor spaced — not just in the full court but in the half court, too — with a certain cadence.
“And then defensively, we want to be physical. We want to get people to feel us. And we want to do so without fouling. So those are two things at the forefront of what I’d like to get accomplished with this team.”
While the identity remains under construction, the changes looming at Madison Square Garden are clear.
JALEN CURRY?
Brunson will still have the ball in his hands in crunch time. But Brown wants to dial back the volume early in games — both to conserve his All-Star point guard and to involve others more consistently.
Last season, Brunson led the NBA in time of possession, dribbles per touch and seconds per touch. The results were undeniable — 50-plus wins for a second straight year — but the heavy burden showed late in the year. The offense, at times, stagnated. And teammates often watched rather than played.
“He seems like he’s a versatile player. The biggest thing I want to do for him is try to get him — as well as everyone else — easy shots,” Brown said. “And one of the easiest shots in the game of basketball is a spray three. I’m a big proponent of touching the paint and spraying that basketball for a catch-and-shoot three. Within what we do, we are going to try to give [Jalen] a lot of those situations.”
Towns likened the new philosophy to the Golden State Warriors — where Brown served as an assistant on Steve Kerr’s coaching staff for three championship runs.
“If Mike has said that, then we’re going to have to do a better job of getting [Jalen] open,” he said. “And in a way like Steph Curry, we’re going to have to go find ways to make it easier for him to get the ball in space and help him get clean looks at the rim.
“Again, I don’t know too much right now, but what I can say is if he said that, then my idea already goes to thinking of Steph Curry. How do we find ways to get him open with screens and movement that can help make it easier on him getting to the basket or shooting the ball?”
Brown said he’s seen the buy-in on the practice floor. Brunson, of course, has adjusted before. He went from ball-dominant at Villanova to off-ball alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas. For the good of the team — for a championship — he’ll do it again.
“I made it work. I’ve always been in different roles throughout my career, even in college,” Brunson said. “When I lock in on a role, figure out how I’m going to be best with it I’ve done pretty well with it. So try to keep that same thing going.”
NEED FOR SPEED
One of the biggest takeaways from Media Day? Brunson looks leaner. More agile. And that’s by design.
The Knicks plan to play faster — and under Brown, that’s not lip service. His Sacramento Kings teams routinely ranked among the league’s fastest in pace. Brunson may operate off the ball more, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be standing still.
“We want [him] to keep moving,” Brown said. “The little bit that we’ve seen so far from Jalen during these optional workouts, he seems like he’s embraced it. Because you have to be in great condition to play this way.”
So how do you speed up a team that’s historically slow?
“That’s the first thing,” Brown said, laughing. “Tell them to be faster.”
In truth, increasing pace requires structure — and for Brown, it starts with wing urgency, not point guard tempo.
“For us, the biggest thing is get to the corners. We got to have guys who are capable of getting to the corners quickly,” he said. “If you have guys who commit to the corners — especially guys who can shoot the ball and make plays like we do on this team — then that’s going to flatten the defense. And it’s going to start the dominoes to fall. So we emphasize that.”
Bridges has championed fast, free-flowing offense since arriving in New York. Hart believes the shift can unlock the team’s full potential.
“I think playing fast is gonna help us get to another level,” Hart said. “When you got guys like Mikal and OG [Anunoby], who can play very good off the catch and getting them into transition and getting them into position where they can attack the basket and make plays. And then you got guys obviously like Deuce, who can attack the rim and knock down shots, it causes the defense to collapse, which gives Jalen and KAT more space.
“The ball finds energy. We do that, obviously it trickles into all other aspects: making sure defensively we’re there and communicating and those kinds of things. So, I think it’s gonna help a lot.”
A 10-MAN WHAT?
A once unspeakable phrase during the Tom Thibodeau era is set to become the new norm under Brown.
“If you look at what I’ve done in the past, it’s usually 9-and-a-half to 10 guys. I try to play as many guys as I can,” said Brown. “Even when I was in Sacramento and we had an injury during the season, there was a point in time when I started a two-way guy in Keon Ellis. So I’m going to try to play who is going to help us win — and I’m going to try to get guys an opportunity.
“Hopefully, with as deep as our roster is, everybody will get an opportunity at some point in the course of the season.”
There’s a fair argument to be made that given both Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, Thibodeau, too, would have expanded his rotation beyond his core seven. But the difference may very well be at the end of the bench, with young players who were typically an afterthought under Thibodeau. Brown will give those players their shot. Plus there’s a competitive training camp with Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon headlining the long list of players trying to suit up in orange and blue for what is expected to be a championship push.
“I’ve played JC [Jordan Clarkson] for years [out West]. He’s a fierce competitor,” Towns said. “Obviously we all know what he can do when he’s scoring the basketball. So he’s going to be a benefit for us — a huge benefit. And Guerschon, we’ve all seen what he can do. Biggest stages, he’s showed up. And those are two big additions to our team.
“I’m excited for this team. We have great depth. That gives us a chance to feel good about any part of the season — whatever the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs — we have a team that’s fully ready to go regardless of the situation.”
