Knicks Add Depth With Free Agent Signings | New York Knicks

Knicks Add Depth With Free Agent Signings | New York Knicks

The new Knicks coach has a couple of additions here off the bench. Knicks last year dead last in points per game off the bench. Well, he had 21.7 points per game. They hope that Jordan Clarkson can help that because in 11 years in this league, mainly as a bench player, he’s averaging 16 a game. What does he bring to this team? Well, he can flat out score. You have to give him minutes though to allow him to get those averages where they are. I mean, last year averaged 26 minutes. Year before 31 minutes, year before 33 minutes. So, he’s been trusted uh throughout the course of his career to make plays in an NBA uniform and out on the basketball floor. Um he’s a talented player. He can really score. He can really shoot. He’s got to make sure he takes good shots. That’s the key. Obviously, wherever he’s played last year in Utah, he had the fluorescent green light. Uh but coming in here with the Knicks, you know, this is championship aspirations, and he’s going to have to play especially both ends of the floor. Look at this, Wally. most bench points in the whole league since 2021. Clarkson has the most 3,540. As we get ready to watch Clarkson as a nick, what do you think we can expect in terms of style of play? I think it’s going to fit perfectly. Um, like I mentioned, you know, Mike Brown is going to demand excellence on the defensive end of the floor. Mike Brown also loves pace and space. Loves to play fast. Loves guys that push the ball up the floor that are athletic. Jordan Clarkson, he’s a jet. He’s really quick. Uh he can get up and down the floor. He can knock down threes in transition. He can score any way you want him to score. And he can also put pressure on the defense by getting to the free throw line. So he’s going to help Jaylen Brunson a lot not have to handle the offense and run the offense because he can be a combo guard, can play off the ball and can also run the point. Well, I think Nicks have also added Gershon Yabiselli to help off the bench. Has had great success internationally playing for France, especially in the Olympics and last year had a great opportunity. all the injuries in Philly, averaged 11 points off the bench and shot 38% from threes, about 6’8. Before we came on, you said you’d love his game. How come? He’s a winner. Did you watch him last year in the Olympics? Uh, in that final game, he went toe-to-toe with LeBron James in company and, you know, had that French team right there knocking on the door against Team USA. He is not going to be intimidated. He is not going to back down from anyone. And this guy wins. He is a winner. He started with the Boston Celtics early on in his career. He had to play a lot with the injury to Joel Embiid and he was kind of he didn’t know whether he wanted to come to the NBA because he was having so much success internationally overseas dominating, winning championships, winning games, but he found the right opportunity with Philadelphia. He seized the right opportunity here with the New York Knicks to have an opportunity to win a championship and to be a big time role, have a big time role with this roster and with this team. So, I think I’m very excited about this signing. He can really plug up the middle uh in different positions and he can also really defend and um it’s a big- time pickup, those two guys. All right, so as we sit here right now, the Knicks bench looks like this. Now, we don’t know as Mike Brown talked about if Mitchell Robinson’s going to start or Josh Hart’s going to start. For the purposes of this conversation, we have Mitchell Robinson starting as he did in the final games of the season. What do you think of this potential second five? Don’t forget about Ariel Huckport when he had an opportunity last year. He played well. Of course, had a knee injury that kind of curtailed his ability to contribute. But what do you think of this potential second five? Listen, it’s starting to really come together and this is a unit that you can give major minutes to to kind of take the load off the starters. Deuce McBride has proven that he can really shoot the basketball at a high level in the NBA. He’s an outstanding defender also and he was a favorite of Tom Pibido. Jordan Clarkson is a great compliment to Deuce McBride, just a scorer and a shot maker. And Yabuselli, he can play multiple positions. He can play the three, four, and the five. He’s very mobile and athletic. Huck, remember the way he dominated Scotty Barnes up in Toronto. That was one of his most impressive games of the year. Um, and then there are other guys that the Knicks are going to be trying to develop. Tyler Kohlick in company. So, I think bolstering the bench was a big need for the Knicks going into the offseason. And I think they did it. They did it with two really solid veterans. Mike Brown loves coaching veterans and you already have that core intact in the starters uh for a couple years to come in their prime and now you piece together some veterans around them. The roster is coming together nicely. Well, let’s say hypothetically that Mike Brown decides to start Cat and Mitchell Robinson. Might that lead to more minutes for Hucky as a big off the bench? What do you think? Possible. Listen, Mike Brown’s going to make you earn your minutes. Uh back when I played for him, he had two bigs and Ben Wallace and Zjuna Silgowskis. So he has no problem playing two big guys, but he likes pace and space. And now the new NBA, you need shooters all over the floor. So I don’t know how much the defense is going to work when you have Mitchell Robinson and Cat out there. Uh Mike Brown will figure it out if it can work. Huck is going to continue to develop. Um, you know, when he got that knee injury, it was just tough timing for him because he was just coming into his own. You know, his rookie season, he showed a lot of potential. And this guy has a big-time motor. And this guy plays hard. And that’s the type of guys Mike Brown loves. Guys that come in with a lunch pail and a hard hat and they go to work every single day and build on experiences and build on relationships. So, that’s going to be a big part of what Mike Brown’s going to try to do is unlock Hucky in his career. Don’t forget, Hucky stands seven feet tall. I mean, he’s got tremendous size and he moves very

Mike Brown will have some more depth to work with off the bench as the Knicks sign deals with Jordan Clarkson and forward Guerschon Yabusele. Bill Pidto and Wally Szczerbiak break down the signings and speculate on how Mike Brown will impliment the new look bench for the Knicks.

See the full Mike Brown Introduction Special as well as the Knicks Offseason Special – streaming in full on The Gotham Sports App – gothamsports.tv

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Knicks Add Depth With Free Agent Signings | New York Knicks