The Knicks can open the 2026-27 season feeling pretty good about almost everything.
They’re the defending champions. Plenty of people have them lined up for another Finals run.
Their starting five is loaded, their bench mattered in the playoffs, and the front office managed to keep the core together while adding only one new regular to the rotation. That newcomer is also on track to join the top-25 rebounders of all time.
And yet, even with all of that in place, New York still has one glaring issue lurking under the surface: depth.
It isn’t the kind of flaw that jumps out right away. If Jalen Brunson misses time, the Knicks are in obvious trouble.
A 3-time All-NBA honoree and reigning Finals MVP is not a player you replace. The same goes for Karl-Anthony Towns, who brings too much to cover in one shot, and OG Anunoby, who can score 30 and defend every spot on the floor from 1 through 5.
That kind of loss would wreck almost any team. But the second apron makes the problem even sharper, because it leaves New York with a roster built around highly specific pieces that don’t have easy stand-ins.
Josh Hart is his own kind of player. Mikal Bridges has taken plenty of criticism over his two years in New York, but he has still put up 16 points per game on 50/36/82 shooting while giving the Knicks an elite midrange scorer and defender.
Neither Hart nor Bridges needs plays called for them. Hart is dealing with a finger injury that will eventually require career-ending surgery, while Bridges has not missed a game since high school.
They’re not quite as singular as the other starters, but they’re still rare.
That same theme runs through the bench.
Andre Drummond and James Wiseman may both be big men, but that’s where the overlap ends. Drummond has built his game on durability and dominance on the boards; Wiseman brings youth, athleticism and the possibility of untapped scoring. If either one is lost, New York doesn’t have another reserve who can copy that exact job.
Backup guard might be the deepest spot on the roster, but even there, the Knicks are dealing with different specialists rather than true duplicates. Miles McBride is the classic 3-and-D combo guard.
Jose Alvarado is the better dribbler and more disruptive defensively, but he doesn’t have McBride’s strength or shooting. Landry Shamet can shoot with a quicker release than McBride, yet he doesn’t organize an offense like Alvarado and doesn’t bring McBride’s physicality.
Mo Diawara offers another example of the same idea. He has some of the traits of Anunoby and Hart, but he isn’t as strong or as polished as either one.
When Anunoby has been out this preseason, Diawara has looked more Hart-like, moving without the ball and growing more comfortable attacking closeouts. Even then, he’s still just a rough draft of what New York would be missing.
The Knicks are not alone in dealing with roster problems. The Celtics are trying to win with one scorer for the first time since Isaiah Thomas had Avery Bradley alongside him.
The Pacers have Tyrese Halibutron back from an Achilles tear, but he still has yet to play a single meaningful minute with new center Ivica Zubac. The Nuggets have also dealt with owners who have refused to spend on upgrades since winning the title three years ago.
So yes, defending a championship is hard. Doing it with most of the same group is hard, too.
Doing it when there’s almost no way to replace any one piece? That’s the kind of problem that tests even the best teams.
For now, the Knicks have already shown they belong in that category.
In Other News...
Knicks Frontcourt Plan Still Feels Unsettled After Dallas Center Drama
The Mavericks frontcourt picture took another turn when Dallas waived veteran center Dwight Powell before the roster cutdown deadline, easing a situation that had already been complicated by the clubs decision to match a two-year offer sheet for restricted free agent Moussa Ciss. Ciss had been viewed as a possible casualty if the Mavericks needed to keep Powell around, which made the move worth watching for teams around the league, including the Knicks, who had shown interest in the young center.
For New York, the ripple effect matters because the Knicks already settled on James Wiseman as their third-string center, leaving their own depth chart unchanged for now. Still, the fact that Ciss was even in the conversation underscores how unsettled the back end of the frontcourt can be this time of year, and it keeps the door open for more movement if another opportunity presents itself. [Read more 🡒]
Embiid Just Added More Heat To The Knicks Ring Night
Joel Embiid has already made clear where he plans to be when the Knicks stage their championship ring night, and it will not be courtside. The Philadelphia star said he does not intend to watch New York receive its rings and expects to stay in the locker room during the ceremony, a small but very real layer of edge for a game that was already going to carry some extra emotion.
The broader backdrop is just as important for the Knicks, because the opponent they need to get ready for is not the usual one. This matchup will come against a different 76ers roster that includes LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, which means New York has plenty to sort through beyond the pregame ceremony and Embiid's stance on it. For a team trying to keep the focus on basketball, the night already has enough noise around it. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Chose Size Over Bruce Brown For One Telling Reason
With their 14-man roster now set, the Knicks made a clear bet on structure over familiarity, waiving veteran guard Bruce Brown and bringing in James Wiseman instead. It was the kind of late-summer roster choice that says plenty about what a team thinks it still needs, and Mike Brown made clear the appeal of Wiseman had as much to do with the overall shape of the roster as it did with any one players rsum.
Brown pointed to Wisemans youth, athleticism and fit in the big man rotation, a clue that New York wanted another body with size in a spot where depth can disappear quickly over a long season. Bruce Browns versatility and track record still made him a meaningful option, but the Knicks ultimately chose positional balance and frontcourt insurance, leaving one final roster spot to reflect a bigger priority than simply keeping a proven veteran on hand. [Read more 🡒]