New York will have just 12 players and two of them out for weeks and months on end.
The New York Knicks will enter the 2024–2025 NBA season with the strongest roster the franchise has put together in years—if not decades—but one certainly thinner than anticipated.
Late-preseason injuries and roster cuts have significantly impacted the Knicks’ depth ahead of their opener against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, and the team will go to war with a thin 10-man rotation for at least the first few weeks of the season.
Your 2024-25 New York Knicks. pic.twitter.com/Vul66EnwXf
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 20, 2024
Among those wounded are center Mitchell Robinson, expected out until past New Year, and backup big Precious Achiuwa, who the team announced yesterday will be out for at least the next two-to-four weeks.
Those two were joined on the sidelines by the injured/released veterans Landry Shamet (cut after suffering a shoulder injury), T.J. Warren (will join G League’s Westchester, per Ian Begley), and Chuma Okeke (waived for good).
All things considered, the Knicks will open the season with just 12 players on guaranteed contracts—two fewer than the NBA minimum roster requirement—and three two-way players.
Robinson’s absence, due to an ankle injury, is the most damaging injury impacting the Knicks’ outlook and prospects for the regular season. Even if the arrival of Karl-Anthony Towns might mean his demotion to the second unit if KAT mans the five, Robinson is a bonafide starter in this League and true menace inside the paint.
Mitch will be out until January, if not longer, but he should return at some point before the playoffs—assuming the Knicks don’t move in him a trade before the deadline.
Achiuwa’s strained left hamstring, an injury he suffered in the last preseason game played in D.C. on Friday, will leave him off the court for at least two weeks. Keep in mind, that the Knicks announced he will be re-evaluated in two-to-four weeks, which means he won’t return in two-to-four weeks, but simply that the franchise will provide a new update at that time.
The loss of Achiuwa is a tough blow because he was the next-big-in-line coming off the pine knowing Robinson’s injury extent. The Knicks, as things stand, will have to run a big-man rotation featuring Towns, Jericho Sims, and rookie Ariel Hukporti (whose two-way deal is expected to be flipped into a standard contract). Not optimal!
Sims will have to go from afterthought with everyone healthy to second-string center. Hukporti, meanwhile, has all of a sudden turned into a key minute-eater for the Knicks at least at the start of the season and for the next few weeks depending on how long Achiuwa remains out.
To summarize, the Knicks have one of the best starting fives in basketball (Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns) but an absolute mess of a bench (Deuce McBride, Cam Payne, Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, Jericho Sims, Ariel Hukporti) right now.
NBA rules allow teams to carry fewer than 14 players for up to 28 days during the regular season and for up to 14 consecutive days.
2024-25 New York Knicks Roster
Guards
No. 1 — Cam Payne
No. 2 — Miles McBride
No. 11 — Jalen Brunson (PG)
No. 13 — Tyler Kolek
Wings
No. 00 — Jacob Toppin
No. 3 — Josh Hart (SF)
No. 4 — Pacome Dadiet
No. 8 — OG Anunoby (PF)
No. 9 — Kevin McCullar Jr.
No. 25 — Mikal Bridges (SG)
Bigs
No. 5 — Precious Achiuwa (re-evaluated in 2-4 weeks)
No. 20 — Jericho Sims
No. 23 — Mitchell Robinson (out until 2025)
No. 32 — Karl-Anthony Towns (C)
No. 55 — Ariel Hukporti
Starters in bold, non-guaranteed deals in italics
