Mitchell Robinson’s exit leaves the Knicks with a problem that goes beyond the second apron and the missing offensive boards. The bigger hit may be what disappears from Jalen Brunson’s pick-and-roll life. That two-man connection was real, and it is not something Andre Drummond can simply recreate - or anyone else already on the roster, or on a training-camp deal.
James Wiseman is the closest thing New York has to that Robinson role, and he’s the one the front office ought to have in mind as it rounds out the roster.
A recent graphic from Sports Radar’s Todd Crumpler underscored just how strong Brunson and Robinson were together. Using points generated over expectation, it showed each team’s most productive pick pairing over the past five seasons, and the Brunson-Robinson duo didn’t just lead the Knicks. They ranked as the league’s eighth-most effective partnership overall.
That matters because this wasn’t some tiny sample. Over four seasons together, Brunson and Robinson piled up more than 3,600 combined minutes in the regular season and playoffs. Robinson may not have been the highest-volume scorer, but New York still lost a meaningful weapon when that two-man game went away.
The Knicks’ 14th roster spot, according to a recent note from Ian Begley of SNY, could go to Drew Eubanks because he’s the safer option. But the end of the bench is exactly where a team can afford to swing. If there’s a place to chase upside, it’s there.
Eubanks makes sense as a third big in a vacuum. He is the better screen-setter when compared with Wiseman, but he doesn’t threaten the rim the same way. More often, he drifts into the middle of the floor after the pick or pops into space rather than diving straight to the basket.
That can help if a team wants a short-roll passer or someone who can flip in a quick shot. It can also create a problem next to Brunson, because Eubanks can wind up crowding the same areas the guard wants to attack.
The numbers back that up. Eubanks has finished better than 125th in points over expectation per 100 possessions only once in the last six seasons as a pick-and-roll diver.
Wiseman’s record is not spotless either, but his ceiling is higher. He has qualified for these rankings only three times, and only once cracked the top 125.
That one season put him 46th. For a younger player on a camp deal, that kind of peak matters.
Even after the Achilles injury, Wiseman’s game still looks more like Robinson’s than Eubanks’ does. His rolls and cuts are more likely to carry him all the way to the rim, and he remains the more natural lob target.
The last time Wiseman was healthy and on a roster, in 2022-23, more than 46 percent of his made baskets came through alley-oops or dunks. That edges out Eubanks, whose last season with at least 1,000 minutes saw 43 percent of his makes come that way.
Drummond is a different kind of big now. His interior scoring has shifted more toward corner cuts, putbacks, and post-ups, and he is no longer the screen-and-dive force he once was. He also hasn’t been a positive roll man for a while.
Brunson’s downhill game and footwork deserve at least one true rim runner alongside him. Karl-Anthony Towns is too versatile to be boxed into that role.
Drummond and Eubanks don’t quite fit it. Robinson did.
And while Wiseman is a risky bet, the best version of him can still give Brunson something close to what the Knicks just lost.
In Other News...
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Pacome Dadiets place on the Knicks roster has become one of those quiet front-office questions that can linger longer than the box score suggests. With New York looking for every possible bit of flexibility, the idea is less about a splashy move and more about creating space, both on the roster and in the cap picture, for a team that keeps trying to sharpen the edges of its depth.
What makes this discussion more workable now is the draft capital New York has collected, which could help grease the wheels if the Knicks decide Dadiet is a piece worth moving on from. The league always has a few teams willing to talk when the right mechanism is in play, and the Knicks appear to have enough resources to explore those paths without forcing a larger deal, even if the final decision still feels very much like something that will take more digging. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Came Surprisingly Close To Watching Jalen Brunson Become The Enemy
Jalen Brunsons arrival in New York is one of the rare modern star moves that reshaped a franchise through free agency, and it still stands out because so few players of his caliber have changed teams that way this decade. For the Knicks, it has become the kind of signing that feels inevitable in hindsight, the sort of move that can make a front office look sharper long after the decision is made.
But the route to that reunion was a lot less straightforward than it seems now, with draft-night decisions and earlier trade discussions in Dallas helping shape the path that eventually sent Brunson to Manhattan. The Knicks were close enough to a very different reality that Brunson could have been wearing another uniform, and in a league where one altered draft or one different deal changes everything, that kind of near miss is the part worth remembering. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Starters Are Showing Early Signs Fans Were Hoping For
The first few preseason looks have offered the kind of early reassurance Knicks fans were hoping to see, with the starting group already showing the outlines of a much more dangerous offense. OG Anunoby has looked more comfortable finding ways to draw fouls, and Mikal Bridges has carried over the physical, downhill style he flashed in the postseason, using his strength on drives to make defenders work from the opening games.
New York also appears intent on keeping its attack varied and harder to scout, with the ball not always sticking in one place for long. Brunsons rhythm has looked sharp as he works his way back from offseason wrist surgery, and the staff continues to put Towns in spots where he can help initiate things from the high post, a wrinkle that gives the Knicks another layer to explore as the preseason unfolds. [Read more 🡒]