The Knicks are headed into training camp with something rare for an NBA champion: real continuity.
After winning their first title in 53 years, they kept most of the group intact. Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti are gone in free agency, and veteran center Andre Drummond steps in for Robinson. The front office also added a batch of non-guaranteed training camp signings over the past two weeks - Bruce Brown, John Konchar, James Wiseman, Drew Eubanks and Ochai Ogbaji - though none of them is assured a spot on the final roster.
That stability matters, but it doesn’t erase the questions. With 10 of their top 11 players back, the Knicks still have plenty to sort out, from the last roster spots to the rotation to whether last season’s playoff machine can keep running.
One of the biggest storylines is Mohamed Diawara. Knicks fans have reason to be excited, but maybe not ready to crown him just yet.
The rookie showed real promise, with a respectable three-point shot, a solid handle, strong defensive instincts and surprising court vision. Still, the sample is tiny - 634 total minutes in 67 games - and opposing teams didn’t exactly game-plan for him.
Even so, the upside is obvious. As the 51st pick in the 2025 draft, Diawara doesn’t need to become a star to be a huge win.
If he turns into a rotation-level wing, the kind of eighth- or ninth-man piece every contender wants, that would be a major payoff. At 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds, he could give the Knicks real size and depth on the wing, an area where they’ve been thin behind OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.
Landry Shamet has filled a wing role too, but he’s smaller and has bounced in and out of the rotation for three years.
The fit is clear if Diawara keeps building. He shot 36.9% from three, showed the ability to attack closeouts and held his own defensively. Add in his new four-year, $11.2 million contract, and he suddenly looks like the kind of low-cost piece championship teams dream about finding.
The other major question sits at backup center, where the Robinson-for-Drummond change is hard to ignore. Robinson’s value was tied to his rebounding, rim protection and vertical pressure.
Drummond brings strong offensive rebounding and a little more skill with the ball, but he isn’t the same defensive force or athletic presence. The price tags tell the story: Drummond carries a $2.4 million cap hit this season, while Robinson’s cap hit with the Celtics is $15 million.
Last year, Robinson posted a Value Over Replacement Player of 1.6. Drummond’s was 0.4.
That leaves a pretty simple bar: can Drummond be half as good as Robinson at about one-eighth of the cost? If he gets close to that level off the bench, the Knicks should be fine.
If he doesn’t, the trade market will become a real possibility, and plenty of fans already think that search has started with Miles McBride trade rumors floating around.
That backup-center issue matters more than it might for a typical champion because Karl-Anthony Towns is foul-prone and, at 31, likely to be managed through the regular season so he’s fresh for the playoffs. Drummond may wind up playing a much larger role than a normal reserve center.
Then there’s the biggest question of all: what exactly was last season’s team?
The Knicks’ 2025-26 run was wild from start to finish. They had a solid but uneven 53-win regular season, fell into a 2-1 first-round hole, then flipped into a juggernaut. They won 13 straight games, put up the greatest point differential in NBA history and survived a Finals run that was basically a string of comeback scares, with double-digit deficits in each of their four wins.
The key issue now is whether that version of the Knicks is real enough to repeat. During the playoff surge, the offense found a cleaner balance between actions, touches and shot distribution. Anunoby, Bridges and Shamet aren’t going to stay that hot from deep forever, but the broader rhythm looked right, and the Knicks posted a 119.9 offensive rating in the playoffs.
Defensively, the signs were just as encouraging. Towns played the best defense of his life, the wings were disruptive, and the team did a better job covering for Brunson when opponents tried to target him. They were already a top-10 defense in the regular season, and they took it up another notch in the postseason.
Training camp won’t answer everything, but it should reveal a lot about the mood. The veterans on camp deals are there to add competition and energy, and the Knicks would love to look like a group ready to chase another title. The alternative is a team that feels the weight of a short, busy offseason after playing into June and getting showered with attention in New York.
Either way, the road to April starts now.
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James Wiseman and Drew Eubanks are in the mix on training-camp deals, but neither has locked down a standard roster spot yet. With no agreement or trade in place, the Knicks still have time to add another big if they decide the depth chart needs more certainty before opening night. [Read more 🡒]