Running more offense through Karl-Anthony Towns has opened another lane for the Knicks, but it hasn’t really taken the burden off Jalen Brunson. If anything, Brunson is still carrying plenty of the load himself. One way to change that: put Tyler Kolek next to him more often.
The numbers make the point. Brunson is getting a bigger share of his made field goals off assists than he did last season, but his made threes are actually going unassisted more often, at 56 percent compared with 44.1 percent in 2025-26. He’s also spending far more of his court time with the ball - about 59.5 percent, up from 45.7 percent last year.
That isn’t an accident. Towns is doing his heaviest work when Brunson sits, so the captain doesn’t get the full benefit of that expanded offensive role. And even when they share the floor, Brunson isn’t suddenly getting fed nonstop.
In fact, about half of Brunson’s made threes come off assists when Towns is off the court. That number falls to 40 percent when they’re together.
At first glance, that feels backwards. Towns is second on the Knicks in touches and leads the frontcourt by a much wider margin than he did last year. In theory, that should be creating easier looks for everybody, Brunson included.
But Towns’ playmaking style doesn’t naturally mesh with Brunson’s game. The Knicks aren’t using a lot of inverted pick-and-roll with the two of them. Instead, Towns is often initiating from the high post or above, usually from a standstill, where he’s best suited to hit cutters and shooters moving off screens.
Brunson will move without the ball, but he’s not the kind of high-volume cutter or off-screen shooter that Towns is most likely to unlock. He also isn’t stationed in the corner much, which limits the chances for Towns to find him on drives.
So while there’s no real clash here, there’s also not much natural synergy. Brunson is still doing a lot of the work himself.
That’s where Kolek comes in.
A second playmaker with stronger live-dribble passing could help Brunson spend less time grinding through possessions. Kolek fits that idea. The third-year guard isn’t the near-zero-turnover player he once was, but he has done enough to earn Mike Brown’s trust again and settle back into the rotation.
Still, the two have barely shared the floor. Brunson and Kolek have played just six minutes together this season, and all of it came in one game. Last year’s sample was bigger at 122 minutes, but the broader concept still matters.
Kolek can handle the ball on the way up, which would let Brunson avoid as much full-court pressure. He’s also more willing to move the ball while driving.
This season, Kolek has 13 assists off drives. Towns has four.
There’s a tradeoff, of course. More Kolek minutes with Brunson would mean less time for Kolek next to Towns, and those two have already shown they can work well together. It would also mean more minutes without both Brunson and Kolek on the floor, leaving New York with less full-court ball-handling overall.
But the Knicks have already shown they’re willing to test things even when the fit isn’t perfect. This would be another one of those bets. And if the payoff is a fresher Brunson over the course of the regular season, the risk seems worth it.
In Other News...
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New York is weighing more than just the immediate fit. The front office is wary of locking into another expensive deal that could age badly as stars get older, especially with salary cap rules making every major commitment harder to unwind. The result is a familiar Knicks balancing act, one that could shape not only Towns' future but the flexibility of the roster around him. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Keep Finding Bargains And Jordan Clarkson Is Proving Why
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Landry Shamet offered a similar blueprint last season, arriving on a non-guaranteed deal before turning that opportunity into a multi-year contract after helping in the playoffs. In a salary cap era where every usable rotation piece matters, New York has shown it can uncover players who outperform the price tag, and Clarkson is giving that approach another boost. [Read more 🡒]