Mike Brown doesn’t need much preseason from his starters, and that makes sense for the Knicks.
New York opens its preseason Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers, but the reigning champs won’t be rolling out their full first unit for long. Brown said Saturday at the team’s practice facility in Tarrytown that the starters will get only a brief look.
"Yeah, I'll probably use them. But, you know, not much," the coach told reporters on Saturday, according to SNY, at the team's practice facility in Tarrytown.
That approach fits where the Knicks are right now. They’re coming off the shortest offseason in the league outside of the San Antonio Spurs, so this is not a team that needs a preseason built around getting the core back in sync.
The 76ers have room to use these games to knock off rust and sort through a new-look roster. The Knicks, by contrast, are bringing back the same starting five that just finished at the top.
For New York, the more valuable preseason work belongs to everyone else.
Brown spent the 2026 season managing that exact balance, pushing for wins while also keeping the regular season from wearing down his team. He found ways to get sophomore guard Tyler Kolek on the floor in 62 different regular season games, plus the NBA Cup Championship.
He also kept rookie wing Mohamed Diawara involved across 69 regular season appearances, including seven starts. Diawara went from a relative unknown to a player who recently signed a new four-year contract after helping the Knicks win the title.
That’s why the minutes on Monday matter more for the younger and less proven names. Incoming rookie Tyler Nickel, the team’s two-way talent, and the veterans on Exhibit 9 contracts all need real court time far more than the starters do. New York still has one roster spot to fill, so there’s a real opportunity in front of those players to show they belong.
The Knicks also know the bigger picture is waiting beyond October. In a crowded Eastern Conference, they’ll be chasing homecourt advantage again, which means regular-season games still matter plenty. Brown is not likely to hand heavy minutes to the youngest players just for the sake of it, but those reps can help clarify who can be trusted when the schedule gets long and the pressure rises.
Kolek already showed he can handle that kind of moment when his name was called in Las Vegas, on Christmas Day, and against the Los Angeles Lakers. Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado just spent four series proving the same thing in the playoffs. Preseason is where the Knicks can start sorting out who can answer that call next.
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