Knicks Bench Faces One Clear Downgrade This Season

The New York Knicks are days away from raising their first championship banner in 53 years.

Rings get handed out Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, with the 76ers in town for the opener. Most of that title team is still here. But look closely at the second unit, and one spot feels different.

Ian Begley tackled that on SNY’s The Putback, in a clip the SNY Knicks account shared on X. He started with the big picture.

“They pretty much brought everybody back except for Mitchell Robinson. You replace him with Andre Drummond... So I think the depth is pretty much the same,” Begley said.

Still, he admitted Robinson leaves a hole that’s tough to fill.

“Mitchell Robinson, when healthy, is a very unique talent and you can’t replace him with any backup center. And that’s not a slight to Andre Drummond,” Begley added.

He also pointed to the trust the front office has in this group.

“Those guys proved it last year. They feel like they can do it again this year. So I don’t think that on paper there’s been a big drop off,” he said.

The offseason moves tell the same story. Robinson took a three-year, $47.4 million deal with the Celtics, while Drummond signed for one year and $3.9 million.

Drummond still grabs plenty of rebounds. He’s no Robinson as a rim protector, but he made 63.1% of his free throws last season to Robinson’s 40%, so teams can’t hack him as easily.

The guards stayed. Landry Shamet returned on a four-year, $24 million deal, Jose Alvarado signed for three years, and Jordan Clarkson came back on a minimum deal.

Not every guard has long-term security. Miles McBride is in the last year of his deal with no extension, so he could hit free agency next summer.

This bench looks a lot like last season’s. If Drummond handles Robinson’s minutes, the Knicks should be set for a repeat run.