The Post’s Stefan Bondy breaks down the Knicks’ top storylines heading into training camp.
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Bondy → break → camp
Best battle
The starting lineup is set and the bench rotation feels settled enough.
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rotation → set → battle
The Knicks signed five established NBAers on nonguaranteed deals — Bruce Brown, John Konchar, James Wiseman, Drew Eubanks, Ochai Agbaji — and are letting them battle it out in camp.
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them → sign → camp
It’s similar to last season’s fight between Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon and Garrison Mathews.
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It → ’ → Shamet
Assuming there’s no cap-clearing trade before the start of the season, the Knicks only have room to keep one player and stay under the second apron.
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Knicks → assume → apron
Since their position of need is center, Wiseman and Eubanks have the inside track.
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Wiseman → have → track
But Konchar or Brown could impress enough to compel Leon Rose into a cap-clearing trade, most logically by shipping Pacôme Dadiet elsewhere.
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Konchar → impress → Dadiet
Miles McBride, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart have been eligible for extensions for months but still haven’t signed.
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McBride → sign → months
We’ve already heard Towns is unlikely to reach a deal before the season starts.
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season → hear → deal
According to sources, he’s being asked to take a discount well below his $276 million max.
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he → accord → max
Hart isn’t leaving New York, but he also has a team option in his current contract for 2027-28.
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he → leave → 2027
So the Knicks aren’t pressed to make a deal until it makes sense for both sides.
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it → press → sides
McBride is a long shot to sign even though he’s the most urgent.
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he → sign → ?
Unlike Towns and Hart, there are no options in McBride’s contract, so he’ll become a free agent after the season with no extension.
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he → be → extension
Coach’s toughest challenge
Keeping winners motivated.
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winners → keep → ?
Mike Brown has to help the Knicks steer clear of complacency after capturing the title, and he has experience as the associate head coach of the back-to-back Warriors of 2017 and 2018.
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he → have → 2017
The chip can’t be removed from the shoulders.
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chip → remove → shoulders
Most intriguing rookie
Not much is expected of the second rounder Tyler Nickel, and he’s most likely bound for the G-League, but his encouraging Summer League brought hope of real NBA potential as a 6-foot-7 3-point specialist.
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League → expect → specialist
Andre Drummond is actually the only rotational newcomer, representing an important piece as one of only two natural frontcourt players under contract.
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Drummond → represent → contract
The Knicks need a productive Drummond, who has gained better shooting over the years but lost a lot of his mobility.
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who → need → mobility
Mitchell Robinson became a cap casualty because owner James Dolan didn’t want to spend into the second apron, sending the former longest-tenured Knick to Boston in free agency.
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Dolan → become → agency
Nobody on the roster can replicate Robinson’s rebounding and rim protection.
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Nobody → replicate → rebounding
But the Knicks can also worry a little less about injuries and free throws.
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Knicks → worry → injuries
Miles McBride was tremendous last season before undergoing a sports hernia surgery, then rushed back and wasn’t the same in the playoffs.
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McBride → undergo → playoffs
It bothered him.
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It → bother → him
Now he’s entering camp fully healthy for very possibly a contract year.
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he → enter → year
McBride also has to re-establish himself as the top guard off the bench after Shamet’s emergence in the playoffs.
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McBride → have → playoffs
Don’t be surprised if…
The Knicks starters don’t play much in the preseason.
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starters → play → preseason
They’re a veteran bunch, and maybe rust is an issue after three months off, but chemistry is certainly not a problem.
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chemistry → ’re → months
The starters know their role, they know their strengths, and preseason minutes aren’t going to change that.
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minutes → know → that
The Aporia
